Return to Vietnam after 60 Years – a Montessori Experience
Saigon (modern name Ho Chi Minh City) Then and Now
It was 1964, many people back in the USA didn’t even know there was a war going on. Our student voyage of four months circling the globe was the last non-military ship allowed into Vietnam. We met with university students and professors and US special forces soldiers, and then our trip was cancelled. We were shot at from the banks of the Saigon River as we sailed to the open sea to travel on to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. To say that this was a pivotal moment in the lives of most of us would be an understatement; we were never the same.
The Schools
During this 3+ week trip I consulted with three schools in or near Saigon and gave several parent, teacher, and public lectures. Seeing children all over the world—on all continents—enjoying the same work, concentrating and helping and teaching each other, is always a pleasure. Some of the teachers had AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) diplomas; some had other Montessori certification; some had no previous training. But all were ready and eager to learn, and no matter what one knows in this field, there is always space to learn more.
Years ago, I received a letter from a school administrator in Asia who complained to me about having children work on the floor because they preferred to be modern and have the children sit at tables. She was pleased to learn that the modern practice of sitting on chairs for much of a day is one of the main causes of back problems. Sitting on the floor, getting up and down from the floor, and squatting on one’s heels is healthy. I was pleased to see this here in Vietnam.
Executive functions
Even though it has been made clear in the last 100 years that authentic Montessori “works,” it is through the work of neuroscientists like my good friend Adele Diamond, with her research on executive functions, that we are beginning to understand “why” it works.
Before leaving for Vietnam Adele and I communicated about what I was going to share. The core EFs include working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control. These skills are critical for positive cognitive social and psychological growth and are more important for school readiness than IQ. All these skills are supported even in very young children when they concentrate deeply on a long practical life activity when they must keep many steps in mind as they carry out the work, where they will adapt to success and “failure” in their attempts, and when they are not pressured to rush, so they learn to have patience with their own attempts to solve problems.
The picture at the left of Adele in the above pictures shows a video that I created years ago that shows examples of this kind of sustained work possible in AMI Montessori infant communities (for age 2-2.5 and 3) in Japan and the USA. It is available on YouTube. Please excuse the quality as it was my first time using a video camera, but it has proven worthwhile because it inspires opportunities of work even for older children. Click: 0-3 Video
Adele also reminded me that stress can prevent EF development, and this is not the case in Montessori environments because children learn to help and teach each other, so they are not isolated or lonely. Also, stress is eliminated when walls are not filled with clutter, posters and bulletins boards, but are white walls with only lovely small pictures at the children’s eye level. And finally, the children can be in touch with their own need for sleep at any time rather than the traditional “trained” nap time, so they are not sleep deprived. More about Adele at this blog post: CLICK: Adele
Mid-work Break in the Central Highlands Exploring the Culture
After working with two of the schools and delivering three lectures (first PowerPoint slides shown above) my hosts, their parents and children, and I, flew to Da Lat in the central highlands, to explore the culture and for a break from the 100-degree temperatures of Saigon.
There are many beautiful temples here, but this one was special because it was far from any city and very quiet and calm.
Anh, the daughter of my hosts, and I were even able to play the traditional drums and a xylophone made of stone.
In the 2007 movie The Bucket List I had heard about a coffee made from beans that had already made their way through the body of a small mammal. The coffee is called Kopi Luwak and it is made right here in Da Lat! Of course I tried it and brought some home!
Each night these young people, who have been working in the fields during the day, gather for their second job as dancers in the traditional Da Lat Gong Show attended mostly by locals, beginning with a bon fire, accompanied by fresh rice wine sipped through straws from a common jug, and ending with the audience joining the dance with lots of clowning and laughter.
You can find more online, but above is one of the short videos I made with my phone.
There was even time for a game of chess which I played with Anh, who had learned chess from her father who followed the directions in my book. We played a “level two” game (page 91) where players help one another make the best moves, with no thought of a checkmate. For book information CLICK: No Checkmate Chess Book
Time with AMI Trainers
My friends and colleagues Julia Hillson and Sharlyn Smith were in Vietnam for the second section of an AMI Assistants to Infancy (0-3) course, and we were able to spend some time together and I was able to visit the beautiful school where the training is held. Here we are having the famous North Vietnamese coffee made with egg yolk and sweetened condensed milk. We found egg matcha and egg mocha also on the menu so ordered all three, delicious.
We also visited the bảo tàng mỹ thuật fine art museum where we discovered, along with a lot of beautiful two- and three-dimensional art, an oil painting of the Da Lat Gong Show I saw in the highlands.
A Big Thank You to the Schools
I would like to thank the staff of all three schools where I was so welcome. On the last day I was handed a large photo album full of pictures and personal thank you notes from so many of the teachers. There were 60 photographs and 70 hand-written, hand-decorated notes from people at the third school who had attended my lectures and wanted me to remember this work. I am so grateful for this beautiful creation.
One piece of advice is consistent. I completely understand the impulse for an AMI diploma holder to try to “train” their teachers, rather than running a class, just to get Montessori started in a new country. But I have never seen anything close to the miracle that brought people from all over the world to that first class in the slums of Rome, unless there were classes taught by AMI diploma holders with no other responsibilities (such as trying to “train” adults). This is the best way to present true, authentic, Montessori practice to the world and there is no substitute. So, I always recommend a goal of two AMI primary teachers teaching in the same school, supporting each other, with no responsibilities other than to carry out what they learned in training. I am sure this will happen in Vietnam.
Last Picture
It was difficult to select pictures for this blog post because I photographed so much beauty. So here is the last one – the balcony view from my first (on the left) and last (on the right) of the four hotels where I stayed during this trip.
Update: Books
As of January, 2025, five of my fifteen Montessori books are translated, or being translated, into Vietnamese.
Travel-inspired Art
I am often inspired to paint following a Montessori trip. Above are two that followed this work in Vietnam. The first is now in Vietnam, purchased by the family of the little girl playing the ancient lithopone in the highlands.
The second much larger painting will take many more months. Both are clearly connected to pictures and text above. A print of the first is available to purchase on this website: CLICK: Susan’s Art
Blessings,
Susan
Home page, CLICK: Susan