Imagine you are a student in the Tonkin Free School in 1910. How would you react to
a) What the textbook says about Vietnamese?
b) What the school tells you about hairstyles?
Dear Student,
a. Like other colonisers, the French also thought that they were on a civilising mission. Thus, the Tonkin Free School was opened in 1907 to give Western education.
b. The school taught science, hygiene and French, other than the common subjects. For these three subjects the students had to attend evening classes and also pay separately.
c. The students were not only made to attend these classes but they were asked to sport modern looks too.
d A typical example of this was that Vietnamese were asked to cut off their long hair and adopt a short hair cut which was
absolutely against their culture.
Refer the following:
i. As a student of Tonkin Free school I would have surely resisted to such a move and , would have sought support of other Vietnamese students
ii. It was certainly an attack on our culture, tradition and an attempt to dismantle our education system
iii. I would have surely protested against such a ,move
iv. Any attempt to negate Vietnamese could not be accepted
v. Glorifying French rule, by negating Vietnamese is not accepted
vi. Likewise, I would have defied the order of cutting may hair short
Regards
a. Like other colonisers, the French also thought that they were on a civilising mission. Thus, the Tonkin Free School was opened in 1907 to give Western education.
b. The school taught science, hygiene and French, other than the common subjects. For these three subjects the students had to attend evening classes and also pay separately.
c. The students were not only made to attend these classes but they were asked to sport modern looks too.
d A typical example of this was that Vietnamese were asked to cut off their long hair and adopt a short hair cut which was
absolutely against their culture.
Refer the following:
i. As a student of Tonkin Free school I would have surely resisted to such a move and , would have sought support of other Vietnamese students
ii. It was certainly an attack on our culture, tradition and an attempt to dismantle our education system
iii. I would have surely protested against such a ,move
iv. Any attempt to negate Vietnamese could not be accepted
v. Glorifying French rule, by negating Vietnamese is not accepted
vi. Likewise, I would have defied the order of cutting may hair short
Regards