School Projects with Wonderful Memories

A curriculum can be more rewarding when projects are created for the students to go out and find answers, become more creative and venture into social studies. I worked on a major project in Thailand where students were asked to create an environmentally model, friendly city with new rules. Almost like Singapore was created over the years the students had to create a clean, safe city for the citizens to live in. The cities had to be named and built using materials from home and around the school. Classes in the school were separated in two sections in each year, an A class for the stronger students and a B class for other students. This worked really well with my students as they were always aware they needed to achieve higher grades to be promoted into the higher class. The project was a true reflection of how the students in each class could achieve.

Materials were collect over a few weeks and the students began their assignment to build a new city. Groups were formed for the project and a time limit was announced on the first day of the project. I allowed the students around three weeks to complete the course. I learnt over the weeks that a project needs to have a carefully considered time scale otherwise the students begin to lose interest. The time scale was a little long but I wanted to get some good photography in for the principal to use on open days for parents to view the conclusion. I managed to take hundreds of photographs that reflected the student’s feelings during the project. The photographs will be available on this blog when I get the gallery up and running.

The students from the lower B class seemed confused at times and the groups argued about who was to be group captain. I chose group captains from the beginning but some students said the captains weren’t assigning them to do group activities needed to build the city. Some students in Group B became upset with occasional tears. It became obvious that the upset students were upset and the high achievements from the higher class A. If I had to implement the project again students would be mixed from both classes to give the project a more balanced theme.

The final outcome of the project however was not far from amazing and the school principal was delighted with the model cities on display in the schools corridors. Parents were allowed to view the projects and leave comments. Each model city had a neatly written set of rules implemented on the cities finalisation. The rules were to reflect on how the city was to be run, who was in charge and how the cities people were to live. The girls constructed an incredible city with rules that demonstrated how a real modern city is controlled and run today. The building scales were accurate and roads had painted lines for traffic separation. Hospitals were constructed with clean and tidy playgrounds. Some groups were mixed with both boys and girls working together but several groups were of the same sex. Girls were more accurate but boys had more variation within the city, more buildings, and better improved rules. The winner of the project went to an all girl group from class A, who had demonstrated the project’s outlines with perfection.

The environmental project was a treasured memory in my teaching days in Thailand and I miss the students dearly. I had taught some of the students for four years because parents wanted me to follow them up a grade each year. From grade three I moved up to grade four bilingual, then to grade five and eventually grade six. The two years I taught grade three were also treasured moments with a fantastic Thai teacher assistant who loved the children so much. The assistant was a good friend who warmed to the children in beautiful way.

Students in the lower class, grade 5 one day became upset with their position in the lower class and complained they felt inferior to the higher class A. They were unusually quiet when I walked into the room and I wondered why. I explained to the students that they were capable of achieving higher grades even when in a lower class. The students complained that they had never been told they were doing well at school. My speech to them was warm and affectionate. I asked the students to think back about other projects about the Greek empire, the Egyptian pyramids and the Aztecs and Inkers and how well they had answered comprehensive questions. Some of the students were almost in tears but from that day on they began to achieve higher grades in some cases higher than the A class. The higher A class were also aware of this and began to over achieve making the whole year a race to improve for promotion the following year.

It was a wonderful year that ended with a student thanking me at the school gates for helping him become the second highest grade winner in the class. I remember the student very well; he invited me to stay at his father’s beautiful hotel on the island Koh Phi Phi. The parents often expected too much from the students but never once bothered me during parent’s evenings about their grades or position in class. The parents trusted me to help the students gain confidence and motivation in the English language. The funny thing about the parents was that their children spoke much better English than they did by the time they had reached grade six.

Working and Living in Asia

On my return from an 18 month travel holiday trip through Australia, Thailand and Vietnam I had decided Asia suited my lifestyle and contacted several training centres in Thailand to take my TEFL certificate and become an English Teacher in Thailand. I eventually returned from Asia to the United Kingdom and found employment for around five months, enough to save for the TEFL course I had chosen with Text and Talk academy, Thailand. The course was something I needed to gain confidence to teach.

The teacher trainer for our particular course was called Carmeta, from Canada who became a good friend with a great attitude to training new teachers. I remember the first few days of training when she taught us Japanese in order for her to help us understand how easy learning a language can be. She had chosen Japanese after working in Japan for several years. Carmeta’s method worked and we soon began to understand how to learn again after so many years out of college, University and school. It was now time to illicit information from students in order for them to learn English. The whole experience was exciting and secured all teachers on the TEFL course employment after the course.

After the course I secured several teaching positions within the school teaching on Saturdays and soon became familiar with the needs of Asian students in an English teaching environment. I eventually secured several more positions teaching business English in Bangkok, something I really enjoyed. Teaching business in and around Bangkok was rewarding and looks great on a resume. I worked for a television production company, a graphic design, re-touching advertising company and a travel software company. The management always took care of my lunch and often invited me out for dinner and social gatherings. I became very familiar with the requirements and problems businesses were facing and later went on the teaching business letter writing and application form completion. I remember on one occasion I was asked to retrieve exhibition fees from a French company with success. Teaching in Asia is rewarding and your student’s often become friends especially when teaching business English. It was at that time still working for an Agency and found it difficult to finance the travel in between each job and eventually decided I needed something more secure with less travel. I sometimes wonder where I’d be today if I had continued teaching Business English but even though I loved it, I couldn’t afford to continue. Maybe I should have taught private business English.

I was soon offered a full-time position at Saint Francis Xavier, a Catholic school in Thailand’s second largest city, Nontanburi. I moved near the school into a condominium that overlooked a huge lake. My condominium, a one bedroom with separate kitchen, bathroom and living room only cost around seven thousand baht. With Internet installed, electric, water and council funds, the whole package cost around thirteen thousand baht. Living and teaching in Thailand can be financially rewarding if you can live and eat where the Thai’s do. I was paid around fifty five thousand baht at Saint Francis Xavier and was able to live a good life for the four years I was employed there. It all sounds a little lonely at this point doesn’t it? To be honest during my first few months teaching in Thailand I was very busy and had no time to socialise but later that year I began dating a Thai girl who I stayed with for three years until it was time for me to depart. Sometimes overseas relationships work, sometimes they don’t like any I guess, mine didn’t but I was happy to see her grow into something really special after working for the USA embassy and later moving overseas, something she had always wished to do. At the time of leaving Thailand I had spent almost five years in the country and decided to leave during holiday time when I was able to obtain my holiday pay of one month plus the end of the month salary.

Most importantly I must mention that Thailand is a none confrontational country and I have never witnessed assaults or crime of any nature. The local paper, The Bangkok post covers stories of crime but if you remain calm and become familiar with Thai culture you’ll soon understand where to go, what to say and how to keep out of trouble.