2 Henchmen + 4 Puppets = 6 Monsters

DESPITE the intensity of the military struggle, the Communists in South Viet Nam have never ceased their drive to indoctrinate the populace. In Communist-controlled areas, a political lecture is an intrinsic part of everyday life. For the youngsters in Viet Cong-run schools, the effort to instill the "spirit of struggle" begins right in the first grade. Ten-year-olds learn from their chemistry textbooks how to mix and use explosives, and in physics they are taught how to build a bunker so as to make it safe against various kinds of allied shelling and bombing. If they do well at these lessons, they are rewarded by being declared "Uncle Ho's good nephew (or niece)." The following first-and second-grade arithmetic problems, taken from a textbook published by Hanoi's Liberation Publishing House and widely used in V.C. country, illustrate the approach:

> Ten vicious puppet troopers come into a village and are mauled by the guerrillas. Two of them are killed, and the rest flee. How many troopers flee?

> After a firefight, you find one American invader wounded by a spike trap, two vicious henchmen blown up by a grenade booby trap and five puppet soldiers shattered by a mine. How many dead and wounded are there?

>Puppet authorities issue identification cards to Highlanders with the purpose of levying taxes on them. Each I.D. cardholder pays 20 piasters. If five I.D. holders pay their taxes, how much money do puppet authorities collect? >Fifty youths at a school in North Viet Nam enlisted as volunteers to fight the American monsters in South Viet Nam during the morning. Forty more volunteered in the afternoon. On that day, how many youths volunteered? > Three antihelicopter teams meet to review their accomplishments. In the past year, the three teams shot down a total of 18 helicopters. Team One shot down six. Team Two shot down seven. How many helicopters did Team Three shoot down?

>To make countersweep preparations, you intend to build three boards studded with spikes. Each board has four spikes. How many spikes do you have to sharpen?

Such is early mathematics, Communist style. By contrast, the South Vietnamese government takes the conventional approach. Sample problem from a government textbook for children of a comparable age: "Mother came back from the market. She gave Hai two oranges, gave Ba three and saved five for Daddy. How many oranges did she have?"

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