Dr. Do Manh Cuong: "Education should make man truly “human”

At Forbes Talks with topic "The future of education" hold by Forbes magazine,  which took place on October 20th, in Ho Chi Minh City, views from Dr. Do Manh Cuong - Permanent Member of NHG's Board of Education, Academic Director of Nguyen Hoang Group (NHG) attracted many attentions.

The following is the narrative report of Dr. Do Manh Cuong.

First, thank you for your applause and all of you. Especially greet the youths - who will embrace and manage the future of education.

Let me ask you a little:

- Who among us thinks that over the past few years, over the past few decades, our educational system is developing just as we want and is sustainable? Please raise your hand
Few, very few.
- Do you think that in the future of next 10-20 years, the education of Vietnam will develop in the right direction and sustainability? Please raise your hand.
- Thanks, not much.
Maybe we do not believe in the thought and that's all there is to it. In the past, we were also worried, but today when I came here, on a topic of "The future of education" - today's education was not what I wanted, its future is unknown. - so that we still sit here, almost intact after the break. Then, how can not believe the future of education will be good?

Education is not only about learning

We have just heard three presentations by the speakers, which gave us positive information and hope.

Obviously, with the advancement of IT, it has helped us a lot, not just in our lives, even the most difficult of which is learning and teaching. We can now learn anywhere, anytime, with the machine learning system that can answer hundreds question in short time (while only answering our children three times can easily get us annoyed)

We have great possibilities but it seems to be a bit off. It seems that when talking about education we talk about learning only. But education is not only about learning. Because today's education is no longer a monopoly of man. As the presentation of the previous speaker, the future of artificial intelligence developed, the machine will soon learn very well, very fast, much better and faster than human beings.

We want people to be human rather than machine-learning. Therefore, I think that besides the positive information that the speaker has given, we need to discuss more about how to define the sustainable education. Then, is it a sustainable school, sustainable educational content or sustainable school system?

What is sustainability? And what can affect that sustainability?

Our experience is that we have only about nine years experience of intensive education investment with only two years making stronger steps in this field. So, talking about the sustainability of education, we can only provide information that meets our perspectives, so that we can go along the path of a difficult career path; but education should not be lonely. People ourselves are most afraid of being alone.

We see that besides the benefits that IT development brings to people, humans are gradually losing their monopoly. As before: learning, logical thinking were the monopoly of man. However, when IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer defeated the Russian chess giant - Garry Kimovich Kasparov, logical thinking is no longer human's exclusion..

Educators should now start to be anxious because there are so many warning signs, not only human knowledge, skills, logical thinking, but also many other special things that without it we may not be human anymore.

70 years ago, an Italian thinker said, "The biggest mistake of modern times is to lose sight of the bad." It is the most dangerous, when people do bad things without realizing it is bad. That can destroy people.”

IT brings a lot of values, but it puts people in opposite positions, even if people do not want it at all. There is no contradiction between VinaSun's driver with Grab or Uber but it's apparently there and the indirect cause seems to be thought of by technology, or rather the way people master and use technology.

Industrial Revolution 4.0 has come to reality in Vietnam, not in the future anymore, there are companies a few months ago people have cut 80-90% of workers to replace with robots. Recently, there is another field that is relatively human monopoly, connecting people together but also appeared substitutes: robot teachers, sex robots ...

This change can be in our home. This picture (family members sitting on the dining table but everyone holding an iPad and staring at it) do you often see? We meet it anywhere, IT has eradicated geographic boundaries, pulling people far apart, but at the same time dividing people who are very close together.

Education should make man truly “human”

Facing the future with the advancement of artificial intelligence, a lot of things people will not need to do. Educators have to look back, perhaps the human being is "stepping" outward, no longer the central place anymore. Future education education must make people truly human.

Nick Vujicic, in terms of functionality, he does not have both hands and feet. But as you see, he still brings many other things, inspiring the lives of hundreds of thousands.

Mother Teresa did not create any great material values, but by her great love, she had helped all the poor to "die as a human".

Those values ​​are called “Human spirit”

What makes us “Human”?

The philosophy of human education has the following points, humanity is the most important thing to distinguish human beings from all other beings:

- Wisdom: Not only knowledge but also wisdom, the use of knowledge in the relationship between oneself and others, the creation of values ​​...

- Love: Sexual robots only meet the body but can not give love. Human love sometimes surpasses all limits, overcomes life and death ...

- Freedom: The human decision can give them happiness when making that decision in freedom. Forcing love is not happy ... Freedom is very important.
Another view holds that human core humanity is: Wisdom - Courage - Equality - Temperance. It is the skills that we want young people to have as a collection of these four core values..

UNESCO identifies 12 core human values ​​as flowers on a tree.
Many people think that business people need money, this success must be the next success, bring new revenue. But if there is only success without any value, then there is no fruit. There are too many unsuccessful but fruitful lives.

Many years ago I took some people to Ben San (Binh Duong) camp. We found many relief teams and social workers to give gifts. When I asked, the answer was: They are used to receiving. I asked: Why do not make something for them to do. They answered: No, they don’t know what to sell while people can’t buy.

Not accepting that scene, we booked a departmental study, we went to camps across the country, we tested a lot of things but eventually we decided to do something related to the profession. - because they mostly came from farmers. We carry a bunch of seeds, they plant in their small land. One day when I went to visit one family, the other two, they told me the joy when they saw the big cucumber, they collected 10 fruits and gave it to everyone. By this time, I have never seen such a radiant face and happy eyes.

They have been made people, have values ​​to share with others. They did not succeed in money but their success was to plant the tree, fruit and then share it with everyone.

No experience can ever be gained with only theories

We can not educate something so big that we can only educate people in the relation of human life (relative to others, to society, to nature). We want to bring the experience not just theoretical but the real value that students and students can get in the learning process. Experiential learning does not mean that we look negatively on technology. Education is about bringing children to life, being useful, human, on the technology foundation and becoming a global citizen.

The NHG has a philosophy of humanitarian education. There is wisdom - love, respect - habits, actions - health. But that philosophy can not be done sporadically, a little bit now that it must be in a unified, closed from preschool - high school - university - postgraduate.

We have also designed with many domestic and foreign partners so that our students have the best opportunity to experience and master the technology with practical approach.

We choose education as a spearhead for what? We know the saying: "Whoever gains the world's profit loses himself or loses his personalities, what will be useful?"

NHG does not just want us to bear fruits. No one can be happy alone if around unhappy people.

Thank you for listening./.

BRANDING & COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT