COMPARISON OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM BETWEEN VIETNAM AND THE UNITED STATES

Today, there are many students from Vietnam who want to study in a foreign country. Some of them go to Korea, Singapore which is near Vietnam. The other ones go to England, France, or the USA because they think these countries have a better education system than Vietnam. After they graduate from college or university in a foreign country, they'll have more opportunities to find a job. Why do they think so? The differences between the educational system of Vietnam and the United States will now be explored.

The first thing that is different is the structure of the education system. In Vietnam, the structure is 5-4-3; five years of elementary school (grades 1-5), followed by four years of secondary school (grades 6-9), and three years of high school (grades 10-12). Higher education programs last between two and six years. In the United States, the structure is 5-3-4. However, both the U.S students and Vietnamese students have the same thing; they have to study a total twelve years for basic education programs from grade one to grade twelve.

Since 1971, a 10 point grading system has been in use at all levels in Vietnam. The normal passing level is 5 and the official definition of grades are: 9-10:xuatsac (excellent), 7-8: kha (good), 5-6: trungbinh (average), less than 5:yeu (fail). However, some researchers show that most students in the world don't agree with that grading system. They think a 100 point grading system like in the United States is much better,

because the students would have more opportunities to get points on a test, and a teacher can easily grade for the students. For example, if a test has 10 questions, so each question will be 1/10 of the total points. In the U.S, you will get 10 points for that instead of only 1 point in Vietnam.

The other differences in Vietnamese schools and American schools are rules and policies for each school. In the United State, schools are very easy for the student. They do not have many rules that make students uncomfortable. Vietnamese schools are different. According to School Is Bad for Children by John Holt, "If we don't make you read, you won't, and if you don't do it exactly the way we tell you, you can't" (p.59). Parents attach much importance to teaching children the dignity of people. They want their children taught to be an exemplary student. Thus there are many rules that the students must execute. For example, students have to wear uniforms. Boys wear black pants and a white shirt, and they must tuck their shirt into their pants before going to school. Girls wear long dresses (ao dai). They can not dye their hair or paint their nails For this reason, many students feel this environment is very hard, and they do not have too much freedom in school.

In Vietnam, students can't decide the subject to study. All schools have the same standard level for each grade that students must follow. For example, all junior students in Vietnam take the same class in wherever school they're studying. They have to take twelve classes for the whole year, and there are five periods (forty five minutes for each) everyday. In the other hand, Althen assumes that "The most important thing to understand about Americans is probably their devotion to individualism" (p.5). Therefore, American schools are different. Their students should be allowed to choose the course they take. They can choose whatever classes they want to study for a semester provided that they will get all credits to graduate. Many people agree with this system because the students can easily take any classes that they think are suitable for their education level.

There are more things that are different between Vietnam and the U.S. Like in Vietnam, students wait for a teacher to come to class, and they don't have to run around each period like in the U.S schools. A number of students in one class don't change during the time they study in that school. It means that all the friends in your 10th grade class will be there for you in the 11th grade and 12th grade

In Vietnam there is one proverb, "It takes you 10 years to plant a tree, but it takes 100 years to train one person". The education system is very importance to every country. One country that wants to progress quickly must have a good education system. Today, most people agree that America has the best education system in the world that makes students flexible and interested in their studies. It would be better if all schools in Vietnam change the education system to be like the United State.