Kids are Kids

The little preschool is on a dirt road, set in a field of rice near the Perfume River.  This is rural Vi?t Nam – out where almost everyone is a farmer.  Preschools are not run by the Ministry of Education and Training – they are run by the villagers who get together (with some help from the provincial government) to provide the same kind of experience as kindergarten.  There is a small kitchen for preparing a light meal for the kids, but there is only one classroom.

(Be sure to put your mouse over the photos and click – you’ll see a full sized picture that way.)

She is not a regular teacher trained at a su pham (teacher’s college), but rather a local lady who likes kids and has some background in early childhood pedagogy.  Her job is to bring some social skills to the kids and introduce them to the basic stuff like colors and the alphabet.  Gentle Readers may notice the poster behind the students and see there are three different triplets of Os and As and other vowels.  The Vietnamese alphabet is similar to ours in that it uses Roman characters, but many vowels have special markings on them which change the pronunciation of the letter.

As soon as the big westerner and his camera showed up, total chaos reigned.  The kids went wild trying to show off for the camera – in spite of my desires to get some shots of them in the classroom.  Nor did the teacher seem inclined to channel the madness, though she did put them into a nice class pose – the kind of shot I did not want.

I had to learn how to be sneaky in order to get the shots I wanted.  I noticed these three girls sharing a bag of snacks, but each time I aimed the lens at them, the pack quickly surrounded the three and I got nothing but multiple faces mugging for the camera and putting fingers on the lens.  Therefore, I devised a miss-direction play.  I pretended to be setting up a shot in one place, but really had my eye on the girls.  When I saw a good shot, I quickly swung around to get them – and the pack couldn’t respond quickly enough.

Gap-toothed smiles were everywhere.  The tooth fairy must have been very busy in this village recently.

But I also acquired a new photography assistant.  I had set my belt pack down so it would be easier for me to get up off the floor, but a few minutes later I noticed a very young lady slinging my  lenses and other do-dads over her shoulder.

She was cute, but not a very good assistant – she disappeared when the time came to clean the fingerprints and dust off the camera and lenses.

(I was on assignment when I took these photos for MEDRIX, a very fine non-profit organization based in Seattle.  One of their major projects is to provide safe water to rural clinics and schools.  MEDRIX has developed a very effective and inexpensive unit that kills bacteria in the water, is easy to maintain, and can be manufactured locally.  If you would like to help MEDRIX, visit their web site and make a contribution.)

Comments

[Triet]

wonderful!

[Tom]

Doug,

This is the type of school we want to build with Think About the Children funds. In USA colleges of education they are called Early Childhood Development Centers. I think this type of assistance in rural villages is so important. At least one good, solid meal a day is provided for the kids. The kids are in a safe place so mom can help dad support the family financially. In some cases that may double family income. Finally, with the correct teacher a love of learning can be established very early in life.

In the USA there is research that suggests literacy exposure between 2 and 4 years old can effect the success or failure of students throughout their entire schooling experience, all of the way through high school. I believe a quality exposure to books and reading can change a child's life. In Viet Nam where so much poverty exists and a family can live on $25 a month this is especially true.

[Sam]

Hi Doug,
Can you still remember & describe the direction to the school? If so, please drop me a note, I will send someone to pay a visit and meet the teacher. BTW, how long will you be there?

Thanks
Sam