Finding a Routine

I was just on a bus for a few hours with teachers from 3 schools -- Nong Waeng, Nong Wat, and Nong Koo. These are the 3 schools trying out the new kind of curriculum and school structure, as far as I can tell based largely on team teaching and mind mapping. The school where we are now staying models this methodology and is overlooking and training us. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet; I'm sure it will help to see the real thing.

The funny thing to me about his alternative methodology is the process by which it is being imposed on all of us. It's probably a great methodolgoy, but mind mapping for every element of a curriculum might seem excessive for some teachers. On the other hand I can't see how imposing team teaching could be a bad thing (as I alluded to in my last entry) -- I suppose because team teaching seems a less finite aspect, and should open doors rather than close them.

The effect the new methodolgoy has on my position at Nong Waeng is not so great, that's for sure. Not having the majority of my time to spend with my supposed teaching team, and not having one straightforward classroom is starting to wear on me in the context of everyone else having it. But maybe it will just take longer for me to become part of each teaching team and eventually I can be part of 3 teams, settled in 3 classrooms, and have a good handle on all 100 or so of my students. It would be awesome if I could follow my current P4 class all the way through P6. But that would take the 3 years everyone wants an ITT member to stay, and I'm not sure about that yet.

For now, I'm going to try spending my whole Wednesday with P6 and my whole Thursday with P4. That will only leave Tuesday for my Nong Waeng KKEI classroom, but hopefully after 1 month of this I will know and feel more comfortable with both the P4 and P6 students and teachers, and can return my usual time with P5.

I wish I could have been here to see the P5 classroom transition from being little monsters to the mature kids they are now. I don't know specifically what to attribute the changes to, and want to help ensure the other classrooms also have success leading the kids towards maturity. Is it simply the contemplative activities or are their other aspects to highlight and help the other teachers see and maybe adapt? This is actually P'Noos and P'Aom's challenge right now -- passing on their experiences to the other teachers at Nong Waeng.

KKEI is having an "action resarch" training next weekend, led by P'Ben from the local Waldorf school (which is who P'Goong was talking about last KKEI meeting). ...So the KKEI-Waldorf acquaintence continues. Maybe leading towards a partnership some day??

The great thing about P'Goong's participation in KKEI is her method. She asks questions to push people and provides resources to make for a feeling of moving towards sucecess. I hope I can develop my own faciliation of KKEI by watching and working with her. In fact, probably all of the current KKEI leaders could learn something from P'Goong, and thus we could develop more facilitators in the group rather than stepping over the potential ones.

I enjoyed planning and facilitating the last meeting with P'Dtaeng, but unfortunately I think I stepped over her at the end, as we were running late and she has a slower facilitation style. I haven't asked her how she felt about our faciliattion partnership yet, but should do so in the coming week.

Jennifer has decided to volunteer her time with KKEI teaching three days a week in P'Tuk and P'Daeng's class and one day a week with me and my P4 Nong Waeng class (the most difficult class I have). I think her Non Thun expereince will be a challenge, as she has yet to understand their philosophy and style. Additionally, when we did our last check-around it was clear that P'Tuk and P'Daeng, themselves, feel very challenged and heavy this year. Who wouldn't teacing 30 or so kids from levels P1 to P6 all at the same time...and when their last year was not the most successful?

The rest of our check-ins were more positive -- mostly wanting more of what we already have. Mine was a little less so, the major point of mine being, "I'm squished between top down policy and bottom up wants and needs." But I also shared this quote, which I will leave with you:

"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlyn... "is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins,...you may see the world around you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honor trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then -- to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you." --T.H. White, The Once and Future King

And the way I see it, everyone in the world is in some stage of depression, whether that's denial, anger, bargaining, or acceptance. So if we can create an environment of learning everywhere, including schools, that will be the first step to making the world a better place!

Before I really really sign off, I also want to share a couple student moments, since I am blessed to spend most of my time with kids:

1) I was happy to see Non from P4 improve 1,000% from last week's English class. He is the only student I was able to get to stay with me after class, sending him to lunch a little late. I asked him why he beat up the other kids and he said he lost his temper. So we talked about keeping our temper by counting to 10 and breathing in and out. And I asked him to help his friends, too, since they didn't stay behind to talk to me. I also told him he seems very smart and able to do the assignments but a lot of the kids who are trying aren't able to do it because he and his friends weren't creating a good learning environment, and that we'd have to stay on the basics forever if they didn't help each other.

This last class Non was totally keeping people in check and taking repsonsibility for himslef and others. I have to compliment him ASAP so I don't lose him again!

2) I want to adopt Pon from P5. I've always loved Pon. Last year his fatehr died, leaving his aunt (?) and neighbors to look after him. This year he seems very down and seems to have little energy to do anything, though he's intersted once he can get himself to do it. Last Wednesday he wouldn't go to Chonobot District to study silk with the rest of the class. He said he was too lazy to go. Before we left him behind, he asked me about America:
"Do people kill each other in America?"
"Yes."
"A lot?"
"Yes, I think so."
"People kill each other a lot here. A whole lot."

He said he'd do his English homework instead of go. And he watched the bus drive away from the second floor of the school, following us around the building.

I think silk just doesn't interest him.

Back 2 School!

The first week of school is over and I'm starting on my second. The old ITT are making their ways back to the States, along with the CIEE Interns. So basically, by the end of the next couple weeks, I'll have no white friends in Khon Kaen! Freak!

I feel surprisingly comfortable with the fifth graders at Nong Waeng. I look at their faces and simply absolutely love them. They have matured considerably since their first year in P'Noos and P'Aom's classroom (my first semester with KKEI -- see old blog entries). It's impossible not to notice that, and also, how they compare to the sixth and fourth graders this year. It is testament to the value of relaxed routine/discipline, steady role models/teachers, and deep student-teacher relationships. It may also speak to the multi-cultural teaching team, and how that affects their curriculum.

I suppose it could speak to many values cultivated by the intentionality of an ideal KKEI classroom.

Though I get to spend most of my time with these fifth graders -- which I love because such a classroom also cultivates a happy work enviornment -- I spend the other 60% of my time between 3 other classrooms.

Fortunately the municipality has instituted a policy changing all of Nong Waeng's classrooms to be more like P'Noos and P'Aom's, meaning each grade has a teacher pair assigned to them who will for the most part keep that class throughout the day. I'm happy for the teachers and the school because I think the policy leaves potential for a better working and learning environment for everyone. There will be a lot of challenges inherent in such a top-down approach, though.

And meanwhile my job has become more similar to how the school was before. English remains split between 2 teachers, so that I have to teach the fourth and sixth graders by myself one morning each per week. The greatest challenge of this is the number of kids and the behavior of about a third of them, especially when they see they have been left with "just" a foreigner. My first challenge is simply to get to know each of them, so that we can gain each others' trust and not spend the rest of the year bullying each other.

The fourth and final classroom I help take care of is at Non Chai -- 12 kids who don't do well in the regular seventh, eigth, and, ninth grade classrooms. So far we seem to be taking pretty well to each other and I'm excited to work with them on English. My co-teacher for that classroom (it is a KKEI classroom) is P'Gaolee. Unfortunately he's been off doing camps or something outside school about 50% of the time, so my Monday role with this class remains completely unclear. Friday afternoons after I teach English, I'll be teaching violin to one student...so I guess I have to brush up!

In general every challenge has seemed minor, probably because I am so happy to be back at school and at a "real" (and steady) job.

We also had our first KKEI meeting last week. Besides Lukas and me, I think KKEI is extremely fortunate to have two new volunteer members -- P'Goong, an organizer with experience in education, and Jennifer, a Philipino with experience in training and an education in psychology.

P'Goong has agreed to take on our KKEI "action research" as she knows someone who can help us structure it, and who can train us over a day. It was exciting to see all KKEI members leaning forward for that discussion -- a complete win!

I'm off to school; see you next week.