Many must walk a long distance. In crowded schools, the students work in shifts so that all the children in the community can get an education. Then a second group comes to school in the afternoon. Often there is a long break for lunch because the weather gets very hot. People usually take a nap after lunch.
Schools located in farming areas schedule long vacations for harvest time.
Young people who work on the family farm or become laborers often cannot continue their education beyond primary school. Care has been taken to include information of interest to elementary children, and that provides a basis for comparison with their own lives. For example, in the excerpt directly above, the school situation is very different from contemporary western schools. North American children will also be intrigued by the practice of shopping at markets rather than department stores with fixed prices, and by the domestic arrangements, leisure activities and career expectations of young Vietnamese. In North America, many people think of puppets as toys for children but, in Vietnam, puppetry is enjoyed by young and old.