Pedagogic methods in the Kindergarten

I find it difficult to compare the Kindergarten with a Danish Kindergarten (where the employees are social workers with pedagogic methods), and here in Vietnam, the employees are teachers – so for that reason, I consider Hoa Thuy Tien as a school. There aren’t any education for social workers with pedagogic methods here in Vietnam.

The teachers get a guideline from the government, and they have to follow it throughout. The teachers have a weekly schedule they must follow. The teachers don’t have much time for playing with the children, as they mainly have lessons. The children don’t bring their own lunch to the Kindergarten; it’s all prepared in the kitchen by the chefs. Their meals (nutrition and vitamins), how much liquid each child should drink for a day, is also a part of the guidelines from the government.

Even though they have to follow the guidelines regarding teachings/lesson, the teachers chose their own topics of the week. The topics are mainly relevant to the Vietnamese culture or social system. When the teachers have a meeting (once a week), they make plans for the following weeks, which the vice principal and the principal have to approve.

I consider the principal as a humble person, even though she has a lot of authority, however I don’t get the impression of that she’s taking advantage of her power. On the contrary, every teacher shows fear for the vice principal. During the lessons, the vice principal often visit all the classes; to check if the teachers are teaching the children in the correct way.

Apparently, there’s only one way to teach, one way to speak, one way to think. There are no room for being an individual, even though if you’re a teacher. Sometimes she tells the teachers how it should be done, because they’re not teaching in a proper way.

Most of the teachers don’t know how to justify what they’re teaching in, or why they use that kind of methods. Most of the times, they just say “Miss Phuong” which means, it’s because that’s how the vice principal wants the work to be done.

The children don’t have free play like the children in Denmark. It’s controlled by the teachers. Most of the times, they games are linked to the weekly topic. The only time they play were they aren’t under the influence of the teachers, is when they play Lego or in the play ground.

The Kindergarten has subjects like Vietnamese, maths, psychical skills, music, creativity, personal/social skills and topics that are related to their culture. The teachers chose the main themes of the week, were the children will be taught about the themes/topics, and they combine it with activities so the children get a better knowledge of the topics.

For instance, the topic was “Pagoda”. The children were taught what about the Pagoda – why it’s made and who comes to visit, and for what reason? A trip to the Pagoda was arranged, and the children spent a couple of hours at the Pagoda. When they returned, they had to draw their impression of the Pagoda.

This method is used in all the topics. They get taught about something, and then they make activities that are related to the topic. During my time, as a student (even though the children has to show the same courtesy to me as the other teachers) in the Kindergarten, we have had “Pagoda” “seed – plant a seed” “Hat” and now “Primary school”.

The children in my class are nearly at the end of their journey of Kindergarten. Right now they’re all preparing for school. In their last week of the Kindergarten, the children will have a test in all the subjects, so they can get evaluated by the teachers. This test is made, so the parents know what level their child is in, when they start at the Primary School.

If I should link any theory to the teachers’ methods in teachings, I’d combine it with behaviorism – more specifically “Operant conditioning” that sometimes also is referred to as instrumental conditioning. It’s a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior.

For instance, in the English classes they get rewarded. All the good “pupils” get stickers as a reward, or the teacher encourage all the other children to applause the good child, and tell them, that they should look up to the child for his/her exemplary behavior/skills.

They use the same method in the drawing classes. The child with the best drawing, get applauded, and the ones that are less talented get overseen by the teachers.
It’s funny the teachers have their own opinion on, what is pretty/nice. I believe all the children do the best they can, and should therefore be acknowledged for their skills – for who they are as individuals. But here in Vietnam, there are certain ways on doing things in a specific way.

In the writing class, a child showed me his handwriting. It was the letter “ph”. I thought he was doing well, but also told him he had to practice a bit more. He went proudly towards the head teacher, and showed her his handwriting. She said it was ugly, told him to rub it out, and start all over again. I fell so sorry for the poor boy, he was so proud of himself and suddenly he had to start over again. The children that finish quickly get to play Lego. His concentration was low, as all he could focus on, was the Lego, as he really wanted to play with his mates.

If a child is behaving badly, the child gets told off, and as for punishment, they have to sit in a corner doing nothing. The child isn’t allowed to speak to anyone, and in this occasion, the other children laugh at the child and make fun of him/her. Sometimes, when the child is misbehaving, the teacher threat to call the parents, so they can get send home for the rest of the day.

They kiss and cuddle the children a lot, but when it comes to a crying child. They tell the child to stop crying (as I said before in “my expectations” section, it’s not a part of the culture to display one’s emotions). When a child is crying, it’s not considered as a positive behavior. It shows weakness, and the Vietnamese people are a very proud nation. When a child is crying and I’m giving them comfort, I usually get told, that I should leave the child alone, as I will shape the child into a soft person, or the child will get so used to it, that it will demand comfort each time he/she is hurt. I know it is part of the culture, but I can’t help on being frustrated sometimes.

My parents used exactly the same methods in my childhood when I was hurt – no comfort at all. I remember how devastated I was, when I was a child. I can relate to those children when they don’t get comfort when they’re hurt. However, I also know I can’t change this mentality which has been shaped for centuries. I just know, there’s a reason for the child is coming to me, when he/she is hurt and not the teacher. So I believe the child knows how to adapt to one another person – as they can tell the differences on me and the other teachers, when it comes to seeking comfort. I don’t think I’m confusing the child with mixed messages, regarding giving the children comfort, so I’ll continue on tat act, as long as no one is preventing me.

From a Danish perspective, I’m convinced that one would think these teachers are cold, unacknowledged towards the children and lack common knowledge on children. But we mustn’t forget, there a culture that is so strong in their traditions, norms, and child upbringing that it’s so far from the Danish culture. In order to get a better understanding of the teachers’ actions or teaching methods, you have to have a better understanding of the Vietnamese culture….