A Thai Education

On my third and fourth mornings in Ubon (Monday and Tuesday), I went back to school.

I'd kind of forgotten what it felt like to be in a little kid's classroom, permeated with that distinct chalk/crayon/wet marker/dried glue stick/dusty/sticky smell, with old desks permanently tattooed by successive generations, year in, year out.  I hadn't seen maps and laminated colored worksheets hung up on a wall in years.  Bags of colored pencils, pencil sharpeners, safety scissors and construction paper only made me wistful for a simpler time.

As a Fulbright scholar with the U.S. government, my sister is the English teaching assistant and teaches second graders to ninth graders.   She also runs one English class for the Thai teachers.  The school covers every grade from first grade to ninth grade, and the students attend class in the same classrooms.

I gave a little exclamation of surprise and joy when I saw World Book encyclopedias on the back shelf.  Remember those things?  They also had National Geographic magazines dated from 1967 to 1983.  Those relics could probably go for some $$ on eBay!  Many of these items are donated from various American organizations and schools.  It's likely that the financial accounting textbook and the Microsoft Office manuals are not getting much use in this classroom, however.

The best part of going to school was getting to meet many of the students.  They were quite shy towards me, but above all very, very curious.  I would be reading my Kindle or cutting out construction paper and feel their steady gazes on me, or spy the quick movements as students whipped their heads into the room to stare at me.  I was constantly introduced as the "peesaw jingjing", the older sister.

Playing a memory vocabulary game

Everyone loved making Valentine's Day cards

Really showing the enthusiasm now!

Once the camera really came out, the kids lost their shyness and hammed. it. up. for the camera.  So precious!

I learned a lot from my visits to the school and really cherish the experience.  A few things really struck me.  For better or for worse, seniority and hierarchy is very important in Thailand's schools.

Shaded classrooms

Teachers are considered professionals in Thailand and are given a great deal of respect by the students.  When we pulled up to school at 7:40 in the morning, all of the school kids would line up and wai us, which is the respectful Thai greeting that a subordinate gives an elder.  It consists of a slight bow, with the hands pressed together in a prayer like fashion.

The school kids would then clamor to the car and wait for us to park before bounding over to pick up our bags for us.  All of the school kids get to school early by walking from their respective homes and farms.  Once there, they do chores around the school, such as washing, cleaning, sweeping or any other administrative task that keeps the school running.  Can you imagine American school kids doing this?

The school's central field

Another thing I noticed is the different style of teaching and learning.  Everyone greets the teacher with a rousing, unanimous, "Good morning, teacher, how are you?"  Teachers use a lot of worksheets.  Students are not expected to volunteer, and I highly doubt the teacher would get any volunteers even if they were sought.  Working together / copying off each other on class work (other than exams) is completely accepted.  No homework is assigned.  (Of course, this is a village school.  I'm sure it's quite different at an elite private school or a magnet public school in a bigger city.)

Finally, all of the students take off their shoes and walk around in socks (or for the very little ones, barefoot) while in the classrooms.  It's because many of the students only have one pair of shoes and it has to last them for at least the year.   Yeah, that made me feel kind of crummy for bringing three pairs of shoes for my four day trip.

A little bit away from the central yard and classrooms is the school's farm.  All of the students help on the farm:

Tending the school's vegetable patch

My favorites

Green green rice field

The more senior teachers all eat lunch together in their usual spot in the cafeteria.  My sister eats with them every day, and I was politely invited to join them.  We usually brought fresh fruit to the potluck.

On the second day, at our request, the PE teacher allowed some of the ninth grade boys to play futsol and takraw with my sister and me.  Let me just say that these boys were really, really kind and incredibly generous with us, considering how atrociously, embarrassingly, unathletically awful we were.  (Not to put too fine of a spin on it or anything).

Futsol is a modified version of soccer, played with five members on a team, on a much smaller pitch, with a smaller ball, and with much smaller goals.  Takraw is a fascinating game akin to foot volleyball, played with three members on a team, who are serving, passing and "killing" a rattan cane ball over a net.  Check it out.

Let's just say my sister and I were really happy if we managed to make contact with the ball!