As I leave Thailand, I want to thank everyone for such an amazing time and how I am so overwhelmed by your kindness and generosity. I especially want to thank a few people.
Ms. Busaba, without you none of this would have been possible. You worked tirelessly to ensure that I felt welcome and had an enriching experience. I look forward to continuing to work with you to further develop the Ubon-Vermont relationship.
Ms. Ying, you are an incredible teacher. Working with you provided me with much inspiration. I will never forget the incredible projects that you motivated your students to create. Thank you for letting me play a role in your classes.
Mr. Tongchai, you are a patient and kind person. Thank you for putting up with my frustration and antics. Teaching with you has given me a new perspective and I will certainly be a better teacher for it.
And, Ms. Supawaddee, I do not know where to start. You helped me whenever I had any problems. You tried to get me fat with all the delicious food. You always patiently answered any questions. Without you, my experience would have never been as great as it was. I wish to say thank you, over and over again. You are an amazing person and I hope to see you again.
Below are photographs with some of my classes and teachers. Under the photographs is a deeper reflection on my time in Thailand. This will be my last post in the Thailand section. Posts from China will be under the In China blog.
Ms. Busaba, without you none of this would have been possible. You worked tirelessly to ensure that I felt welcome and had an enriching experience. I look forward to continuing to work with you to further develop the Ubon-Vermont relationship.
Ms. Ying, you are an incredible teacher. Working with you provided me with much inspiration. I will never forget the incredible projects that you motivated your students to create. Thank you for letting me play a role in your classes.
Mr. Tongchai, you are a patient and kind person. Thank you for putting up with my frustration and antics. Teaching with you has given me a new perspective and I will certainly be a better teacher for it.
And, Ms. Supawaddee, I do not know where to start. You helped me whenever I had any problems. You tried to get me fat with all the delicious food. You always patiently answered any questions. Without you, my experience would have never been as great as it was. I wish to say thank you, over and over again. You are an amazing person and I hope to see you again.
Below are photographs with some of my classes and teachers. Under the photographs is a deeper reflection on my time in Thailand. This will be my last post in the Thailand section. Posts from China will be under the In China blog.
With my final days in Thailand upon me, I find myself with great sadness. I always get at least a little sad when I am leaving someplace that I have been for a prolonged amount of time, even if I do not like the place. What is most sad is leaving the people that I have met. I cannot recall a group of people ever being so kind and generous to me. Whether fellow teachers lending me a motorbike for my entire stay or bringing me breakfast nearly every morning or the kind gestures by the shop owners on my street, offering me rides or food. These gestures were not done because of a long standing friendship, but just a willingness to help someone out. I hope to return to Ubon Ratchathani in July 2012 for a few days, but leaving feels more permanent.
A former student contacted recently because she would like to do an article about my experience for Spaulding’s newspaper. This has given a little time to reflect on my time in Ubon and I would like to post a few of her questions and my answers.
1) What is the biggest cultural difference you notice between the United States and Thailand?
Time is a huge difference. Sometimes classes start late, sometimes end early. Other times classes will be canceled because students need to practice dancing or attend some random ceremony. Teachers in the States would go absolutely mad if this took place once, let alone nearly every day.
In general there does not appear to be the same competitive rush that is often seen in the States. It seems like things roll off people’s shoulders quite easily. It is a rarity to see a student cry and I am talking about students from kindergarten through 12th grade. I have sensed little to no tension between people. There are not fights at the school. NONE. Maybe people are less judgmental and just generally more laid back.
There also seems to be a stronger sense of respect for elders and certain professions, and along with this a greater degree of obedience.
2) What has been the most rewarding aspect of this experience thus far? What has been the greatest challenge thus far?
I don’t know about rewarding. The whole experience is life changing but I often am not able to put my finger on something rewarding until after the fact, when I am looking back on it. This is true in most things for me, including teaching in the States. I may feel like I am complete failure with a certain class and only later realize that the students learned something or greet me with a smile in the hallway. So………………
I guess my most rewarding experience is that my students have thanked me for working with them, that some of my students clapped for me today when I received a certificate for my services, that, for some reason my colleagues have treated me with such kindness. I don’t know if these qualify as rewarding. I suppose one thing that stands out for me was a play, Snow White, put on by a 10th grade class. I lent my assistance weekly and to just have that small part in helping them was wonderful. Especially, when they performed their play in front of 300 students and it was possibly the most spectacular project that I have ever seen students do. I talk much more about this play in an earlier post.
Greatest challenge, well there is always language. But, in the classroom I like to set a certain environment, a certain atmosphere where we develop mutual respect and understanding. Probably only towards my final few weeks have I gotten a little close to this. Being in the classroom only once week, it was difficult for students to learn the kind of classroom I hoped to achieve. Furthermore, there appears to be an acceptance of cheating and little development of critical thinking, which I base much of my teaching on.
School here runs at a different tempo. Class times are fluid, classes are repeatedly cancelled for students to practice for some dance performances or other presentations. A great deal of time is spent doing other things rather than pursuing academics. This has been a huge challenge for me, maybe it is better, who knows?
3) Do you find that there are significant differences in the study habits and overall cooperation of American and Thai students? How do the teaching strategies of Thai teachers compare to those of American teachers? Do you think you'll bring any of these strategies back to the states with you? If so, how/why?
I can only base things off of the school that I am at. The classes have about 50 kids in them and at any one time many students may be sleeping or making no effort on their assignments. But I think this happens back in the States also, depending on the class and teacher. The academic rigor, with critical thinking, really appears to be lacking.
Discussions are not common and cheating is ever present. Class size has been a big stumbling block for me. It is extremely difficult to have a discussion and get most of the students involved. Even if I want to have them practice speaking English, the class may be over after having all the students respond to one question. But I also do not know how much the concept of discussions and questioning is promoted in the educational system. It seems much more based on memorization and rote learning. So I guess if I brought this back to the States I would be going against the educational movements of the last 100 plus years of pedagogical research.
I think what I will bring back, or at least hope to, is a greater understanding of the struggling student, and how to get students to understand me when it may seem like I am talking another language. Furthermore, I hope to get certified in English as a Foreign Language, and I think I have I learned an immense amount on how to approach this. However, my knowledge of teaching this is in its infancy.
The school that I am at puts forth a great deal of time and effort on appearance. The cooperation of the students can be exemplary. For a variety of school parties, classes will get cancelled haphazardly for students to practice their performances. They choreograph, while often making their costumes, extraordinary dances. Some of the dances are hip-hop, others based to pop, and others traditional Thai. Their ability to coordinate and cooperate to put together the dances is something that I feel is foreign to American cultural and education. The students spend the entire year with each other for all classes, focusing on English, science, or math. Many times they are all in the same classes for several years. Consequently, classes form an incredible bond and closeness. I cannot imagine American students, or my students in Vermont, taking the leadership and cooperating to such a degree of putting together elaborate choreographed dances or plays or other presentations. Students always are using white out to eliminate mistakes, as opposed to just crossing it out. Students are always using rulers to ensure they have a straight line to write on. Appearance and presentation.
4)You mentioned in the article last year that you wanted to get Thai and American students to communicate through the internet. Has this plan been successful? What types of interaction have occurred?
If you look at the web site you can see two separate projects completed with the cooperation of Spaulding’s Social Studies Department. In one project students, in their respective countries, created videos and/or writings with images that depict what life is like for a teenager. After posting this on my web site students from each country asked the other country questions based on the videos. Nothing has been as successful as I would like because I really want a sustained conversation and discussion to take place from people on opposite sides of the globe. However, it may serve as a start. Not to mention, some of the Thai student videos are absolutely amazing, although they were not practicing their English, and will certainly serve as a resource in the future.
Another project was an electronic pen pal where individual students were paired together. The outcome was rather inconsistent with some students going back and forth with questions, comments, and photographs and other students doing nothing more besides the basic introduction letter. But be aware, the students I was working with would be like a Spaulding student taking a Spanish or French class, so communication for them is a really challenge. But, like in almost any school, anywhere, some students were more motivated that others and I failed to motivate those who did not continue with the project. Another problem was the lack of access to technology. I could not show the students the web page in the classroom, nor could I take them to a computer lab for them to work on the assignment.
My lack of accomplishments are many. After two months of studying the language only to be met with confused Thai faces, I became lazy and did not continue to develop my knowledge of the language as much as I could. I have not become a scholar of Buddhism nor do I know the intricacies of the social and political problems afflicting Thailand. While I may not have achieved these earlier goals, I believe this has been one of the most amazing experiences in my life. I have learned a great deal about myself and how different cultures can be. I have spent time with the kindness people to ever cross my path. I can never thank them enough for all they have done for me.
China will be a whole new bag of tricks, but ohhhhhh, the weather. How am I supposed to get used to 40s-50s when it is in the 80s or 90s everyday in Ubon?
A former student contacted recently because she would like to do an article about my experience for Spaulding’s newspaper. This has given a little time to reflect on my time in Ubon and I would like to post a few of her questions and my answers.
1) What is the biggest cultural difference you notice between the United States and Thailand?
Time is a huge difference. Sometimes classes start late, sometimes end early. Other times classes will be canceled because students need to practice dancing or attend some random ceremony. Teachers in the States would go absolutely mad if this took place once, let alone nearly every day.
In general there does not appear to be the same competitive rush that is often seen in the States. It seems like things roll off people’s shoulders quite easily. It is a rarity to see a student cry and I am talking about students from kindergarten through 12th grade. I have sensed little to no tension between people. There are not fights at the school. NONE. Maybe people are less judgmental and just generally more laid back.
There also seems to be a stronger sense of respect for elders and certain professions, and along with this a greater degree of obedience.
2) What has been the most rewarding aspect of this experience thus far? What has been the greatest challenge thus far?
I don’t know about rewarding. The whole experience is life changing but I often am not able to put my finger on something rewarding until after the fact, when I am looking back on it. This is true in most things for me, including teaching in the States. I may feel like I am complete failure with a certain class and only later realize that the students learned something or greet me with a smile in the hallway. So………………
I guess my most rewarding experience is that my students have thanked me for working with them, that some of my students clapped for me today when I received a certificate for my services, that, for some reason my colleagues have treated me with such kindness. I don’t know if these qualify as rewarding. I suppose one thing that stands out for me was a play, Snow White, put on by a 10th grade class. I lent my assistance weekly and to just have that small part in helping them was wonderful. Especially, when they performed their play in front of 300 students and it was possibly the most spectacular project that I have ever seen students do. I talk much more about this play in an earlier post.
Greatest challenge, well there is always language. But, in the classroom I like to set a certain environment, a certain atmosphere where we develop mutual respect and understanding. Probably only towards my final few weeks have I gotten a little close to this. Being in the classroom only once week, it was difficult for students to learn the kind of classroom I hoped to achieve. Furthermore, there appears to be an acceptance of cheating and little development of critical thinking, which I base much of my teaching on.
School here runs at a different tempo. Class times are fluid, classes are repeatedly cancelled for students to practice for some dance performances or other presentations. A great deal of time is spent doing other things rather than pursuing academics. This has been a huge challenge for me, maybe it is better, who knows?
3) Do you find that there are significant differences in the study habits and overall cooperation of American and Thai students? How do the teaching strategies of Thai teachers compare to those of American teachers? Do you think you'll bring any of these strategies back to the states with you? If so, how/why?
I can only base things off of the school that I am at. The classes have about 50 kids in them and at any one time many students may be sleeping or making no effort on their assignments. But I think this happens back in the States also, depending on the class and teacher. The academic rigor, with critical thinking, really appears to be lacking.
Discussions are not common and cheating is ever present. Class size has been a big stumbling block for me. It is extremely difficult to have a discussion and get most of the students involved. Even if I want to have them practice speaking English, the class may be over after having all the students respond to one question. But I also do not know how much the concept of discussions and questioning is promoted in the educational system. It seems much more based on memorization and rote learning. So I guess if I brought this back to the States I would be going against the educational movements of the last 100 plus years of pedagogical research.
I think what I will bring back, or at least hope to, is a greater understanding of the struggling student, and how to get students to understand me when it may seem like I am talking another language. Furthermore, I hope to get certified in English as a Foreign Language, and I think I have I learned an immense amount on how to approach this. However, my knowledge of teaching this is in its infancy.
The school that I am at puts forth a great deal of time and effort on appearance. The cooperation of the students can be exemplary. For a variety of school parties, classes will get cancelled haphazardly for students to practice their performances. They choreograph, while often making their costumes, extraordinary dances. Some of the dances are hip-hop, others based to pop, and others traditional Thai. Their ability to coordinate and cooperate to put together the dances is something that I feel is foreign to American cultural and education. The students spend the entire year with each other for all classes, focusing on English, science, or math. Many times they are all in the same classes for several years. Consequently, classes form an incredible bond and closeness. I cannot imagine American students, or my students in Vermont, taking the leadership and cooperating to such a degree of putting together elaborate choreographed dances or plays or other presentations. Students always are using white out to eliminate mistakes, as opposed to just crossing it out. Students are always using rulers to ensure they have a straight line to write on. Appearance and presentation.
4)You mentioned in the article last year that you wanted to get Thai and American students to communicate through the internet. Has this plan been successful? What types of interaction have occurred?
If you look at the web site you can see two separate projects completed with the cooperation of Spaulding’s Social Studies Department. In one project students, in their respective countries, created videos and/or writings with images that depict what life is like for a teenager. After posting this on my web site students from each country asked the other country questions based on the videos. Nothing has been as successful as I would like because I really want a sustained conversation and discussion to take place from people on opposite sides of the globe. However, it may serve as a start. Not to mention, some of the Thai student videos are absolutely amazing, although they were not practicing their English, and will certainly serve as a resource in the future.
Another project was an electronic pen pal where individual students were paired together. The outcome was rather inconsistent with some students going back and forth with questions, comments, and photographs and other students doing nothing more besides the basic introduction letter. But be aware, the students I was working with would be like a Spaulding student taking a Spanish or French class, so communication for them is a really challenge. But, like in almost any school, anywhere, some students were more motivated that others and I failed to motivate those who did not continue with the project. Another problem was the lack of access to technology. I could not show the students the web page in the classroom, nor could I take them to a computer lab for them to work on the assignment.
My lack of accomplishments are many. After two months of studying the language only to be met with confused Thai faces, I became lazy and did not continue to develop my knowledge of the language as much as I could. I have not become a scholar of Buddhism nor do I know the intricacies of the social and political problems afflicting Thailand. While I may not have achieved these earlier goals, I believe this has been one of the most amazing experiences in my life. I have learned a great deal about myself and how different cultures can be. I have spent time with the kindness people to ever cross my path. I can never thank them enough for all they have done for me.
China will be a whole new bag of tricks, but ohhhhhh, the weather. How am I supposed to get used to 40s-50s when it is in the 80s or 90s everyday in Ubon?