It's half way through my second full day in Chiang Rai at Mae Lao Wittayakom School and I love it here!! I taught my first class today, a relatively small class of 20 students in Matayom 4/1. This essentially means that they are the equivalent of 10th graders in the states. The "1" refers to their ability level, level 1 being the highest. The students were very smart and seemed very excited to learn. My lesson might have been too easy for them, but they were forced to speak a lot through my games and activities, so perhaps they will be more comfortable speaking English on a daily basis.
Yesterday I had the chance to observe three classes. Two were taught by my host teacher, Ajarn Jao (Jiriporn) and another was taught by a recent graduate of a University in Chiang Rai. Some students are more willing to speak than others, it seems, so I'll probably have my work cut out for me! Nonetheless, I enjoy the challenge. I really want to be the best teacher I can be!
I feel extremely welcome at Mae Lao. All of the faculty and staff have been very inviting and very helpful. I have my very own desk here at the school! And my house is beyond awesome! I feel bad, in a way, for having such a wonderful place when I know the other Fulbrighters have a lot less, but I also feel really good about all of the convenience. The owners of the "resort" I'm staying at have asked me to call them grandma and grandpa - Khun Yai and Khun Dtaa. I find that really comforting. I don't know how I got this lucky, but Khun Yai will be fixing me dinner every evening during the week and all three meals on the weekend!!! Of course, I will be paying her extra, but it's just amazing to me how set up I am here!
Ajarn Jao told me I would be teaching around 21 periods each week, which seems like quite a bunch. It's not really that bad, though. I will see each class only once a week, so one or two lesson plans, depending on which levels I teach, will get me through the week! I figure I will be teaching all of the Matayom levels, the equivalent of 7th through 12th grade. My plan, as a "Conversational English" teacher, is to steadily build a long conversation throughout the classes. So I started today with introducing myself and some simple greetings. I'll build up to expressing feelings and emotions, telling about hobbies and activities, giving directions, etc. If I am asked to give a final exam, it would make sense for me to give an oral exam. Maybe I'll split students into pairs and have them create a long conversation and speak it to me... Who knows! No need to worry about that now.
I'll post pictures of the house and school when I get a chance! Just wanted to let everyone know I'm doing great!
My new address:
Brad Foster
Maelaowittayakom School
Chiangrai - Chiangmai Road
Dongmada Sub-district
Muang District
Chiang Rai
57250
Thailand
I don't know what most of that refers to, but they tell me if you write that, I will be able to get your mail!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Teaching for the First Time
So I've taught four out of five practice classes so far at an all-girls' middle school in Bangkok. Somehow the director of the Fulbright Program managed to persuade a bunch of students from the host school and several surrounding schools to come and listen to me be horrible at teaching. For my sake, I'm glad they came, but I've got to admit that I feel sorry for them...
Thai kids - all of them, it seems - are incredibly shy and extremely reluctant to talk in English in front of their classmates. In Thai culture, it is paramount that one never "lose face" - become angry or embarrass themselves - in front of others. To lose face is to injure your ego for weeks. I guess that's where the reluctance to speak comes from. So...I go to teach for the first time in my life and it is very, very difficult to run a class in which students basically refuse to participate.
But, nonetheless, teaching has been very fun! The first day I did nothing but play games to try and bring the kids out of their shells. Subsequent days I have tried to teach lessons with some amount of substance, but it is difficult, in a few short days, to judge the level at which most of the kids operate and adjust the lessons accordingly. The lessons I have taught, and I assume the lessons most other Fulbrighters are teaching, are way below the levels of the majority of students. But again, it's difficult to judge with students who are reluctant to speak.
I'm learning a lot about what not to do in classes. Here are a few things I've picked up so far:
1. Never give Thai kids a drawing assignment at the beginning of class. They will never finish.
2. Never play a game that will create a drastic gap in groups of friends. They will refuse to separate and you will be left looking stupid.
3. Kids will refuse to volunteer. For anything. Plan accordingly.
4. Thai kids like to compete, so make most everything a competition.
5. Thai kids refuse to volunteer names for their teams. When they do, they are wierd names like "Team Rainbow" or "Team Sunny". This is not an important lesson to learn, but it's entertaining all the same.
6. Learn how to adjust your lesson quickly and efficiently. I haven't really learned how to do this, I just know that I need to...
7. I need more practice......
So, with that in mind, I'm heading up to teach for real in Chiang Rai next Monday. I'm worried about teaching multiple classes in one day, and teaching in general. Fulbright probably made a bad investment selecting me to teach!
Thai kids - all of them, it seems - are incredibly shy and extremely reluctant to talk in English in front of their classmates. In Thai culture, it is paramount that one never "lose face" - become angry or embarrass themselves - in front of others. To lose face is to injure your ego for weeks. I guess that's where the reluctance to speak comes from. So...I go to teach for the first time in my life and it is very, very difficult to run a class in which students basically refuse to participate.
But, nonetheless, teaching has been very fun! The first day I did nothing but play games to try and bring the kids out of their shells. Subsequent days I have tried to teach lessons with some amount of substance, but it is difficult, in a few short days, to judge the level at which most of the kids operate and adjust the lessons accordingly. The lessons I have taught, and I assume the lessons most other Fulbrighters are teaching, are way below the levels of the majority of students. But again, it's difficult to judge with students who are reluctant to speak.
I'm learning a lot about what not to do in classes. Here are a few things I've picked up so far:
1. Never give Thai kids a drawing assignment at the beginning of class. They will never finish.
2. Never play a game that will create a drastic gap in groups of friends. They will refuse to separate and you will be left looking stupid.
3. Kids will refuse to volunteer. For anything. Plan accordingly.
4. Thai kids like to compete, so make most everything a competition.
5. Thai kids refuse to volunteer names for their teams. When they do, they are wierd names like "Team Rainbow" or "Team Sunny". This is not an important lesson to learn, but it's entertaining all the same.
6. Learn how to adjust your lesson quickly and efficiently. I haven't really learned how to do this, I just know that I need to...
7. I need more practice......
So, with that in mind, I'm heading up to teach for real in Chiang Rai next Monday. I'm worried about teaching multiple classes in one day, and teaching in general. Fulbright probably made a bad investment selecting me to teach!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Tear Gas in Thailand...Getting a Handle on the Current Political Situation
Before I left for Thailand there was a little concern about the current political demonstrations, etc. Resting assured that Fulbright would not walk me into a war zone or anything, I came Bangkok with little reservation. It is the nature of the Thai, it seems, to be peace-loving and easy-going. However, the most recent demonstrations, government house take-overs, tear gassings, and even deaths are deviations from the Thai norm. These sorts of things, to us in the US, are reasons for concern, discussion, and worry. The opposite is true in Thailand. Because opinions differ so widely across the population, little is talked about, and people seem wary to speak to us openly about what’s going on. For those of you at home, here’s what I understand so far.
The current situation is a struggle between (as it’s been described to me) two parties, two different ideas of democracy. The protesting party, Peoples’ Alliance for Democracy (PAD), has beef with the majority party in Parliament, the Peoples’ Power Party (PPP). The PPP, for all intents and purposes, finds its origins in the first democratically elected prime minister to ever serve a full term in office – a businessman turned politician, Thaksin. A populist party, the PPP worked to try and bridge the gap between the Bangkok wealthy and the upcountry poor through a mixture of farming initiatives, healthcare policies, and provincial handouts. As such, it finds much of its support in the Northern and Northwestern Provinces, where most of us Fulbrighters will be stationed to teach. The PAD boasts a constituency of mostly middle- and upper-class urbanites and educated folk who struggle, supposedly, for the good of the monarchy and “Thai-style” democracy.
Some time ago, the leaders of the PAD occupied the Thai equivalent of the White House and kicked out the current PPP Prime Minister. The PAD cites a laundry list of problems against the PPP, including corruption, failure to properly respect the role of the monarchy, human rights abuses, and vote buying. Many, if not all, of these accusations are true. However, as a few lecturers have explained it to me, these crimes are common among all parties and past governments, including PAD governments. The event that seems most infamous is former PM Thaksin’s sale of this telecommunications company to a group in Singapore. This sale came after Thaksin pushed new business laws through Parliament to make the sale possible. Capping it all off is the fact that Thaksin never paid taxes on his sale.
At the real heart of the issue, however, seems to be the classic struggle between the rich and poor, the powerful and underrepresented. Since we can basically call all charges of corruption and vote-buying equal across parties, the main struggle here is evident. Thaksin has become, it seems to me, the scapegoat for the PAD, the object of demonization that all charges from the PAD emanate from. The educated, powerful, and wealthy are growing tired of policies that favor the poor over them, I would guess.
Attempting to persuade popular opinion, the PAD sells propaganda on its 24-hour cable channel, claims to be representing the monarchy, plays up the PPP’s corruption while downplaying their own, and asserts that it’s fighting to traditional Thai democracy. Unfortunately, their protests seem to be undoing democracy rather than building it. The past three PPP prime ministers have been democratically elected, and the PAD is attempting to force out elected officials. PAD plans for future government include a Parliament that is 70% appointed and 30% elected. They seem to assert that the uneducated, provincial poor lack the ability to decide and vote intelligently. Contrary to reason, the poor vote for the candidates that will help them out…
So, despite the popular opinion among those Thais closest to us in the Fulbright group, I think that the PPP is the lesser of two evils right now. Understand, though, that my opinion is something much less than informed. This information is gleaned from some very timidly-shared opinions in I’ve received.
Currently, the PM is the brother-in-law of Thaksin. I think the PPP could have made a wiser decision on whom to nominate as party candidate in the last election, given that Thaksin and all those associated with him are the primary targets of the PAD. Electing Somchai only fuels the fire for the PAD. There seems to be no real end to the conflict in sight. Most likely it will end in a relatively bloodless coup. I say “relatively” because at least two people have already died in the government house occupation and many others have been wounded. Tear gas and other crowd control implements have been used. As foreigners (in Thai, Farang) we are not advised to go near the demonstrations at all. Taxi drivers won’t go near the place.
The current situation is a struggle between (as it’s been described to me) two parties, two different ideas of democracy. The protesting party, Peoples’ Alliance for Democracy (PAD), has beef with the majority party in Parliament, the Peoples’ Power Party (PPP). The PPP, for all intents and purposes, finds its origins in the first democratically elected prime minister to ever serve a full term in office – a businessman turned politician, Thaksin. A populist party, the PPP worked to try and bridge the gap between the Bangkok wealthy and the upcountry poor through a mixture of farming initiatives, healthcare policies, and provincial handouts. As such, it finds much of its support in the Northern and Northwestern Provinces, where most of us Fulbrighters will be stationed to teach. The PAD boasts a constituency of mostly middle- and upper-class urbanites and educated folk who struggle, supposedly, for the good of the monarchy and “Thai-style” democracy.
Some time ago, the leaders of the PAD occupied the Thai equivalent of the White House and kicked out the current PPP Prime Minister. The PAD cites a laundry list of problems against the PPP, including corruption, failure to properly respect the role of the monarchy, human rights abuses, and vote buying. Many, if not all, of these accusations are true. However, as a few lecturers have explained it to me, these crimes are common among all parties and past governments, including PAD governments. The event that seems most infamous is former PM Thaksin’s sale of this telecommunications company to a group in Singapore. This sale came after Thaksin pushed new business laws through Parliament to make the sale possible. Capping it all off is the fact that Thaksin never paid taxes on his sale.
At the real heart of the issue, however, seems to be the classic struggle between the rich and poor, the powerful and underrepresented. Since we can basically call all charges of corruption and vote-buying equal across parties, the main struggle here is evident. Thaksin has become, it seems to me, the scapegoat for the PAD, the object of demonization that all charges from the PAD emanate from. The educated, powerful, and wealthy are growing tired of policies that favor the poor over them, I would guess.
Attempting to persuade popular opinion, the PAD sells propaganda on its 24-hour cable channel, claims to be representing the monarchy, plays up the PPP’s corruption while downplaying their own, and asserts that it’s fighting to traditional Thai democracy. Unfortunately, their protests seem to be undoing democracy rather than building it. The past three PPP prime ministers have been democratically elected, and the PAD is attempting to force out elected officials. PAD plans for future government include a Parliament that is 70% appointed and 30% elected. They seem to assert that the uneducated, provincial poor lack the ability to decide and vote intelligently. Contrary to reason, the poor vote for the candidates that will help them out…
So, despite the popular opinion among those Thais closest to us in the Fulbright group, I think that the PPP is the lesser of two evils right now. Understand, though, that my opinion is something much less than informed. This information is gleaned from some very timidly-shared opinions in I’ve received.
Currently, the PM is the brother-in-law of Thaksin. I think the PPP could have made a wiser decision on whom to nominate as party candidate in the last election, given that Thaksin and all those associated with him are the primary targets of the PAD. Electing Somchai only fuels the fire for the PAD. There seems to be no real end to the conflict in sight. Most likely it will end in a relatively bloodless coup. I say “relatively” because at least two people have already died in the government house occupation and many others have been wounded. Tear gas and other crowd control implements have been used. As foreigners (in Thai, Farang) we are not advised to go near the demonstrations at all. Taxi drivers won’t go near the place.
Advice
Some advice I got from a guy named Tony Zola, an American who’s been living in Thailand/Laos since sometime in the ‘70s:
- Be “jai yen” (literally, cool hearted)
- Be very humble and always reject a compliment
- Be full of praise and give compliments readily
- Be helpful, concerned, caring, genuine, and almost Victorian in your manners
- Don’t speak about contentious issues
- Remember “geng gua” or “proper fear”, meaning show reverence and respect where necessary
- Never refer to yourself in the first person – always use third person
- Use the phrase “kit wah” or “I think that…” less
- Use the phrase “rusak wah” or “I feel that…” more
- Practice speaking Thai at the local market as much as possible
- Practice your excuses for not being able to do something – Thais are great at excuses
- Never speak negatively about Thailand or “Thai-ness”
- Remember that people in high positions have large egos
- Thais have a poor sense of distance when telling you how far away something is
- Remember to lighten up
- Thailand operates within the realm of organized chaos
- Thailand is a matriarchal society masked as a patriarchal one
- Always be evasive, ambiguous, and ambivalent
- Always be the mouse, not the elephant (ie. Keep a low profile)
- Control your body language
- Remember that you’re on stage all day long
- Say thank you (kob cun krup) for everything
- Say excuse me all the time
- Bargain for everything
- Be ready to absorb a lot of bad situations
- Thailand is all about sen (connections)
- Be “jai yen” (literally, cool hearted)
- Be very humble and always reject a compliment
- Be full of praise and give compliments readily
- Be helpful, concerned, caring, genuine, and almost Victorian in your manners
- Don’t speak about contentious issues
- Remember “geng gua” or “proper fear”, meaning show reverence and respect where necessary
- Never refer to yourself in the first person – always use third person
- Use the phrase “kit wah” or “I think that…” less
- Use the phrase “rusak wah” or “I feel that…” more
- Practice speaking Thai at the local market as much as possible
- Practice your excuses for not being able to do something – Thais are great at excuses
- Never speak negatively about Thailand or “Thai-ness”
- Remember that people in high positions have large egos
- Thais have a poor sense of distance when telling you how far away something is
- Remember to lighten up
- Thailand operates within the realm of organized chaos
- Thailand is a matriarchal society masked as a patriarchal one
- Always be evasive, ambiguous, and ambivalent
- Always be the mouse, not the elephant (ie. Keep a low profile)
- Control your body language
- Remember that you’re on stage all day long
- Say thank you (kob cun krup) for everything
- Say excuse me all the time
- Bargain for everything
- Be ready to absorb a lot of bad situations
- Thailand is all about sen (connections)
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