Ben and Jildou in Fang, Thailand: Time goes fast

Here you see teacher Aer and Chai talking about what can be improve in the lessons at the schools.

Last week has been a full week with many good things. First of all we have been busy setting the ground work for our coming teacher training. We looked around for a while for the right person who could understand what we wanted to achieve and who would be able to provide the right training for our Free Schools teachers. Just when we started to worry that it will never happen things started to take shape. With our Western attitude we are so focused on doing everything quick and we have to adapt here in Thailand where things just go with a slower pace. So we have secured the services of Chai who has committed to the training project. Chai is a government teacher whose English is wonderful, allowing us to communicate at a high level. He is very perceptive and has already visited some of the Free Schools in preparation and can see each teacher's individual needs. We are both very excited about his involvement. Chai will visit each freeschool and observe the teachers and spend time with each of them. Then to plan and provide the 1st day of teaching. After that pay a follow up visit to each teacher and individually assist with implementation of learned techniques. Then to prepare and provide the second day of training in early October.

The Thai learning habits are very passive. The teacher is telling the children what to do and the children learn passively without to much active input in lessons. What we see in some of our schools is that children hardly speak and that is of course rather important in learning a new language. They should start straight away with repeating after the teacher the language sounds, letters and words. One of the Nong Tao Six students is struggling a lot at the government school and the teacher is frustrated that he doesn't answer her at all. His behaviour is, for me personally, easy explained knowing that the boy hardly ever speaks out loud in Thai. Copying all the letters in his notebook is one thing but trying the reproduce the sounds is something else and is much more difficult.

I went Friday again with Darrin to the hospital so she can be looked at by the nurse and get more medicines for her TB. She seems to be doing well but the poor girl is always so nervous to go. We always go to the market afterwards to buy some fresh vegetables, some fruit and some chicken for her and her guardian mother. Her diet is really poor but she really needs fresh food to fight her illness. Was a good day.

The roof of Poy's school is finally fixed, or so we hope and we will see if it holds on our next visit when it will rain. Our friend Sarayut took on the job and fixed the few wholes and as well the tables for the children. To do the job he took 2 other men with him so it was quickly fixed. Ben went along to guide the workers but I'm not sure if next time there is a problem he now would be able do the job himself... :)

Further there is a newsletter from the organisation in which they now have written about the project in Thailand. I could not place it on the blog and could not find a link but I will soon get it so you can read it if you like.

This week was for some our Free School Government students a very exiting week. In every district the schools compete between each other with dancing, drawing, singing etc. Two schools, Huay Poo and Huay Nam Yen, in the Thaton district had their day on Tuesday and Ben and I went to have a look. It was great to see the students so exited and all did very well.