Prison officers teaching inmates literacy at two southern Vietnamese jailhouses encounter problems not usually found in school settings but they believe understanding the prisoners plays an important role in the task’s success and turning the offenders’ lives around.
Nguyen Ngoc Lam, an officer instructor at the Xuan Loc Penitentiary in Dong Nai Province, has been teaching illiterate inmates for around six years with all his heart at the institution but he said the job is exceedingly difficult.
It is fraught with stress, Lam said, since prisoner students belong to different age groups and typically develop an indifferent attitude and seem to have little concern about their future.
“Many came to class but learned nothing. Some quit half way because they were unable to learn,” Lam recalled.
As a solution, he has treated the learners with considerateness, gentleness and patience, and provided instant help on an individual basis.
He used to have problems in dealing with an inmate student named N.T.E., who was serving a life sentence for murder, showed no repentance and consistently breached jail regulations.
Lam later decided to know about the student’s family background and psychological problems, and conversed with him in person.
“We talked with each other not as officer and prisoner, but as humans on the same footing,” he said.
“I mentioned my family to make him mention his. I told E. that his mother missed him terribly and was expecting a letter from him. The story touched him and has transformed him completely every since.”
The offender began learning to write and now can read and write quite well.
Lam also faced failures in his role as a teacher in prison.
A case that has scourged Lam was when the officer could not dissuade a male convict from violating prison rules and give him literacy before his release.
“Looking at him step out of the jailhouse, I felt really guilty because I hadn’t fulfilled my duty as an instructor,” Lam said.
Another officer instructor, Tran Thi Diem Thi, at the Thu Duc Penitentiary in Binh Thuan Province, commands respect and love from her inmate students for her kindness showed in teaching hours.
Tran Thi Diem Thi is seen in this photo by Tuoi Tre. |
To earn the affections, she usually spends more time talking with new prison learners than teaching them in the first sessions.
“Although they’re kept for punishment, they’ll place trust in us if we respect and give them sincere care,” Thi said.
“I teach mainly with my kindness, combining strictness and tenderness. The students always feel comfortable when working with me.”
Most of Thi’s students are characterized by diligence and they may yell in joy when receiving a full mark for homework.
“I’m really happy to see the students who like learning and appreciate their performance,” Thi added.
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