Promoting Vietnamese literacy
Vietnam has the unfortunate nature of suffering from inadequate literacy, which is at barely 10% of the population. The vast majority of the country does not know how to write, nor read. The French have oppressed us, attempting to keep the country uneducated and stupid, and have instead of schools built prisons. Furthermore they have focused on the education of an elite which is hostile to us, further reducing the number of literates in our ranks. If Vietnam is to truly break free of colonialism and rectify its backwardness, it is necessary to pursue an important program of education which will solve the internal lack of literacy among our population. Only therefor will we be able to advance to the next stage of history, and to be able to educate our people about the true meaning of the eight-fold path.
Thankfully, we do have the advantage that Vietnamese is easy to learn, and has an efficient writing system. This aids us in the promotion of our mass literacy campaign (Bình Dân Học Vụ). Vietnam traditionally used Chinese characters or Chữ Nôm, a writing system based on Chinese. However, the colonial government has itself introduced Chữ quốc ngữ, which is a romanization for Vietnamese, utilizing the Latin alphabet and with diacritics to represent its tones. The French have used it for their administration and training elites, alongside the introduction of the French language. Due to its nature, it is much easier to learn than the former Chữ Nôm script. It has gradually been growing in Vietnam for the past few decades, although the vast majority of the masses remain illiterate.
Therefor, the government has established The Association for
the Propagation of Quốc Ngữ with the objective of spreading writing to the masses. It will use new teaching methods with the aim of reaching the general population. For example, for letter identification, the following:
“T,” students are taught that:
i, t, both these letters are like hooks
i, is short and has a dot (sometimes compared to a gun shooting a bullet at the French)
t, is a long with a bar (no reference to the Catholic cross was made)
Three variations on the letter “O” are taught :o, ô, and ơ
o is round like the egg of a chicken
ô wears a peasant straw hat
ơ has a whisker
By doing so it enables Vietnamese students to quickly learn, when they have other lives which take up much of their time. In the army, it is expected that each company have a teacher, preferably one of the soldiers themselves, to teach the letters: if possible this will be moved down to the platoon level. In civilian life, villages receive so-called "barefoot teachers", to educate both men and women. These educators do not need to be perfect themselves: the basics will suffice for now, and in the future we will expand on them! But above all else education is most important in being transmitted through the Red monks, from the Red monasteries - for in Vietnam, monks follow both the path of Lenin and Buddha. The Party has been working extensively with the elites of the Eight-Fold Path, to prepare it for its role as the leading faction of the intelligentsia in society, and it is expected that the monasteries will be the principal groups who will be response with the spread of literacy to the nation. Most classes will be evening and night classes, although there will also be classes at other time, as is advisable by region - it will be left up to commune administration itself to organize this. There will be bother sedentary and travelling teachers. It is expected that students will be able to ultimately sign their names, know appropriate phrases from Marx ("Workers of the world unite, for you have nothing to lose but your chains!", "The theory of Communism may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property.", "From each according to his own: To each according to his needs.") Buddhist chants, and a variety of quotes from Nguyễn Thiện Ngôn, the dear leader. This will form the base, and later on it is hoped to be able to expand this.
For example, one goal for the secondary stage writers will be to be able to write and read the following poem:
Studying in the Mass Education movement is patriotic!
Teaching in the Mass Education movement is patriotic!
Helping in the Mass Education movement is patriotic!
Killing the enemy of ignorance makes Viet Nam strong!
Fighting the disaster of illiteracy is like fighting against a foreign invader!
State propaganda will be organized to encourage literacy and to declare that illiteracy is shameful and blocks the free development of Vietnam into a great and independent nation. Coercion will be utilized as necessary as well, but we are confident that above all else immense popular enthusiasm will push forwards the work of the revolution. After all, the destruction of feudalism is a glorious achievement and one which is wildly acclaimed, but it will only be finished by the full literacy of the masses. Education sessions will also provide a splendid opportunity to instill revolutionary fervor among the people, and to make them aware of their rights and responsibilities. News and politics, as well as a proper understanding of the Eight-Fold path, will represent vital subjects that will be discussed in mass literacy sessions, as will teaching hygiene, new farming practices, and health measures. Women will be included in these meetings, as Buddhist-Socialist mothers are needed to instill the values of the nation into their children. A nation of ill educated mothers can only produce ill educated children, and we must be the engineers of humanity to correct this.
Another important objective will be the full translation of all previous Buddhist theology, the Communist Manifesto, previous Vietnamese cultural treasures written in the old dialect, the writings of Marx and Lenin, into Vietnamese in the vernacular writing system. This will doubtless take some time, but the state has already instructed that there are to be created several translation institutions. It is of the utmost necessity that we are able to demonstrate the intellectual equality and openness to the world of Vietnamese, for only with an appropriately large base of knowledge behind it will it be able to fulfill its mission. This must be married to the production of our own literature, through a new generation of writers, playwrights, and scholars, who produce a new literature for Vietnam which shapes the spirit on the eight-form path and the six-fold society towards enlightenment and communism. We will elevate our cultural level, and hence elevate Vietnam.
It is intended that our counterparts in Laos will undertake a similar mass literacy program under our tutelage, promoting the Laotian language. Similar methods will be used.
Work is being undertaken for the improvement of current education facilities for children to enable more conventional education, at both the primary and secondary level. The establishment of Red Buddhist colleges will enable us to raise the future elites of the party, and the Lycées that the French have established will ultimately fall into our hands as well, such as the Lycée Albert-Sarraut de Hanoï. But these are projects which we will only be able to fully take into hand once victory in war is achieved. For now, we will have to content ourselves with drawing up our objectives, and scholarizing the masses.
Thankfully, we do have the advantage that Vietnamese is easy to learn, and has an efficient writing system. This aids us in the promotion of our mass literacy campaign (Bình Dân Học Vụ). Vietnam traditionally used Chinese characters or Chữ Nôm, a writing system based on Chinese. However, the colonial government has itself introduced Chữ quốc ngữ, which is a romanization for Vietnamese, utilizing the Latin alphabet and with diacritics to represent its tones. The French have used it for their administration and training elites, alongside the introduction of the French language. Due to its nature, it is much easier to learn than the former Chữ Nôm script. It has gradually been growing in Vietnam for the past few decades, although the vast majority of the masses remain illiterate.
Therefor, the government has established The Association for
the Propagation of Quốc Ngữ with the objective of spreading writing to the masses. It will use new teaching methods with the aim of reaching the general population. For example, for letter identification, the following:
“T,” students are taught that:
i, t, both these letters are like hooks
i, is short and has a dot (sometimes compared to a gun shooting a bullet at the French)
t, is a long with a bar (no reference to the Catholic cross was made)
Three variations on the letter “O” are taught :o, ô, and ơ
o is round like the egg of a chicken
ô wears a peasant straw hat
ơ has a whisker
By doing so it enables Vietnamese students to quickly learn, when they have other lives which take up much of their time. In the army, it is expected that each company have a teacher, preferably one of the soldiers themselves, to teach the letters: if possible this will be moved down to the platoon level. In civilian life, villages receive so-called "barefoot teachers", to educate both men and women. These educators do not need to be perfect themselves: the basics will suffice for now, and in the future we will expand on them! But above all else education is most important in being transmitted through the Red monks, from the Red monasteries - for in Vietnam, monks follow both the path of Lenin and Buddha. The Party has been working extensively with the elites of the Eight-Fold Path, to prepare it for its role as the leading faction of the intelligentsia in society, and it is expected that the monasteries will be the principal groups who will be response with the spread of literacy to the nation. Most classes will be evening and night classes, although there will also be classes at other time, as is advisable by region - it will be left up to commune administration itself to organize this. There will be bother sedentary and travelling teachers. It is expected that students will be able to ultimately sign their names, know appropriate phrases from Marx ("Workers of the world unite, for you have nothing to lose but your chains!", "The theory of Communism may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property.", "From each according to his own: To each according to his needs.") Buddhist chants, and a variety of quotes from Nguyễn Thiện Ngôn, the dear leader. This will form the base, and later on it is hoped to be able to expand this.
For example, one goal for the secondary stage writers will be to be able to write and read the following poem:
Studying in the Mass Education movement is patriotic!
Teaching in the Mass Education movement is patriotic!
Helping in the Mass Education movement is patriotic!
Killing the enemy of ignorance makes Viet Nam strong!
Fighting the disaster of illiteracy is like fighting against a foreign invader!
State propaganda will be organized to encourage literacy and to declare that illiteracy is shameful and blocks the free development of Vietnam into a great and independent nation. Coercion will be utilized as necessary as well, but we are confident that above all else immense popular enthusiasm will push forwards the work of the revolution. After all, the destruction of feudalism is a glorious achievement and one which is wildly acclaimed, but it will only be finished by the full literacy of the masses. Education sessions will also provide a splendid opportunity to instill revolutionary fervor among the people, and to make them aware of their rights and responsibilities. News and politics, as well as a proper understanding of the Eight-Fold path, will represent vital subjects that will be discussed in mass literacy sessions, as will teaching hygiene, new farming practices, and health measures. Women will be included in these meetings, as Buddhist-Socialist mothers are needed to instill the values of the nation into their children. A nation of ill educated mothers can only produce ill educated children, and we must be the engineers of humanity to correct this.
Another important objective will be the full translation of all previous Buddhist theology, the Communist Manifesto, previous Vietnamese cultural treasures written in the old dialect, the writings of Marx and Lenin, into Vietnamese in the vernacular writing system. This will doubtless take some time, but the state has already instructed that there are to be created several translation institutions. It is of the utmost necessity that we are able to demonstrate the intellectual equality and openness to the world of Vietnamese, for only with an appropriately large base of knowledge behind it will it be able to fulfill its mission. This must be married to the production of our own literature, through a new generation of writers, playwrights, and scholars, who produce a new literature for Vietnam which shapes the spirit on the eight-form path and the six-fold society towards enlightenment and communism. We will elevate our cultural level, and hence elevate Vietnam.
It is intended that our counterparts in Laos will undertake a similar mass literacy program under our tutelage, promoting the Laotian language. Similar methods will be used.
Work is being undertaken for the improvement of current education facilities for children to enable more conventional education, at both the primary and secondary level. The establishment of Red Buddhist colleges will enable us to raise the future elites of the party, and the Lycées that the French have established will ultimately fall into our hands as well, such as the Lycée Albert-Sarraut de Hanoï. But these are projects which we will only be able to fully take into hand once victory in war is achieved. For now, we will have to content ourselves with drawing up our objectives, and scholarizing the masses.
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