My favorite part of my time here has been with my boarding school class. I initially didn't think I would really enjoy the teaching component of this project but accepted it as part of the assignment. Was I ever wrong! I go out of my way to make sure I have something new for them to study nightly and to make sure I am never late to class - I often turn up 15 minutes early so students can come early if they have questions.
The first week I was by myself but once Gina and Jo arrived we split the class into beginners, which Jo taught, intermediate (meaning they speak at least a little bit of English - even just hello, my name is, thank you, and can count to 10) which is what I teach, and advanced (which means they can hold small conversations) which Gina teaches. Having students of such varying levels is incredibly difficult - you can't hold conversations with people who have no vocabularies and if you go to slow the advanced students get bored and stop coming.
These classes are strictly voluntary - if they want to come they do - if not nobody really cares. This has meant I have many students who have dropped in for a class or two and then are never seen again. It also seems many of the boys come for maybe a week and then usually disappear - especially if there is a soccer or volleyball game they could be at instead. So class sizes range from 2 (once during a holiday only two students showed up) to my high of 17. I have probably had over 45 students wander into my class over the 10 weeks I have been here and Gina and Jo probably had another 15 students I haven't met also attend their classes as well.
I have a regular core of about 6 - 10 students, mostly girls although there are two boys who come quite a bit, who attend probably 4 - 5 days per week. The students range in age from 15 - 20 years old and there are also a few non-students who also attend our classes. Gina has a local teacher who is 27 years old and another local man who is also 27 years old attend her class. I had a girl named King attend for 6 weeks, she was 26 years old, but she went to study at a university in Thailand about a month ago.
The students who attend regularly vary in abilities and that sometimes scares me. They are not use to native English speakers talking to them - so they read English much better than they can speak or listen to it. Thus I am forced to write everything down on the dry erase board and then I ask them the questions I just wrote. They copy everything I write down word for word - so if I misspell anything - a dozen copies of it will exist in their notebooks. How is that for pressure! Also, if a student doesn't know the answer to a question, within a few seconds somebody else in the class is saying the answer either in English or telling them in Cambodian or the Bunong language. At times they will even debate things in their Bunong language for several minutes - arguing about what I mean or how to translate something I said. I just stand at the front of the room until the debate ends since they seldom let me in on what the problem was.
Of my core students I have two boys, Sroy - age 20 who wants to be a teacher and Sa - age 15 who also wants to be a teacher. Sroy's English is pretty good. The girls range in ability but in general the girls seem much more intent on learning English. The girls are: Sreynhurk - age 15 who wants to be a doctor, Namta - age 15 who wants to be a teacher, Dary - age 17 who wants to be a teacher, Sreypov - age 17 who wants to be a hairdresser, Sophy - age 17 who wants to be a lawyer, Narady - age 17 who wants to be a teacher, Sreynet - age 17 who wants to be a doctor, and Dani - age 20 who wants to be a teacher. Have you noticed any patterns to the jobs? There are few career jobs in this province - so many people only know about being a doctor, nurse, or teacher. If this was Phnom Penh there would be many more career options but here in the sticks - there is no factories, large companies and most students really have no idea what opportunities exist. I was actually happy to see that someone wanted to be a hairdresser and a lawyer! Two much more unique opportunities!
The ages of the students vary widely. While most students are between 15 - 20 that is in no way an indication of their year in school. Many students seem to take a year or two off if they are needed on the farm or to help out at home - so sometimes a 20 year old could only be in grade 10. Seems it doesn't really matter to the school system. I actually had one boy who was 20 come to a few classes - he seemed rather big compared to the other students and when I asked what grade he was in he said grade 9. A few other students laughed but I give the kid credit for at least trying to finish his high school education! He is the exception to the rule here in rural Cambodia!
Seems in August the grade 12 students take an exam to get into university. If they pass the exam they can attend university, if they fail they have to wait a year and can try again. Also, depending on how they do, that will determine which university they can attend and if they will be offered financial aid. Obviously lots of pressure rides on that one exam. Seems most of the universities are also in Phnom Penh - a 5 hour bus trip from here, and a world apart from rural Mondulkiri province! Currently there are 7 local Bunong students attending universities in PP. Several of the students in Gina's class graduate this year and will take the exam this summer. Several of them speak decent English and I'm hoping some or all of them qualify for university and will also be offered financial aid! Otherwise their career prospects are rather slim.
Other provinces have training programs run by NGO's (non-governmental organizations - similar to of non-profits at home) that teach people how to work at restaurants to become cooks, waiters, and managers and also at guesthouses to become housekeepers, receptionists, and mangers along with tour guides and drivers. While these aren't great white collar jobs they do offer a constant salary and options to many people who have few opportunities. Unfortunately, no such training schools or programs exist in this province.
I hope to talk with some of my students and ask what happens to most of the Bunong students who graduate high school and either don't pass the university exam or don't receive sufficient financial aid to attend university. While I am somewhat scared of the answer (I figure many return to their villages and become farmers or laborers) it will help me understand their plight better.
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