Educational Differences: Summer Vacation

This summer I noticed a huge difference in the Vietnamese educational system and the American educational system. All of my private students spent the summer reading and studying the textbooks for their upcoming academic year. The kids were basically teaching themselves Math, Physics and Chemistry from the moment one grade ended to the beginning of the first day of the new school year. My students told me that they have to teach themselves the material first before the teachers teach it in class. They said that the teachers basically review the material and check for understanding from the students. To be honest though, I'm not sure if this is true for all Vietnamese students or just my private students who happen to attend some of the best public schools in Vietnam.

This is vastly different than in the states where generally our summers are spent goofing around with only the occasional required schoolwork to be done (i.e. read "The Agony And The Ecstasy" for AP European History).