It’s been a strange few weeks in Phnom Srok lately. The weather has suddenly turned a few noticeable degrees cooler and I’m taking two blankets to bed most nights and usually left longing for some socks and a cardi most mornings. It is harvesting time also which means most of my colleagues at the DOE are somewhat distracted by the fact that their fields of rice need cutting. In fact the whole district is busy with harvesting. Those that don’t own fields are busy working in their neighbours fields and it’s the main reason for the half empty classrooms I’ve visited recently as so many children need to work as well or look after their younger siblings while their parents work. 
I tried my hand in one of Mr Sophan’s fields and managed to cut my little finger on a scythe and make a complete hash of my flooded patch of field. It looks so easy and there must be some system to it but it just wasn’t my day! I got sunburnt and bored! Tough work! I was much more successful at bagging the dried rice after threshing. I actually enjoyed this: partly because I had turned up to an empty office so was glad of having something remotely useful to do; partly because the late afternoon is such a beautiful time to be outside in the Cambodian countryside and party because it was highly amusing to observe passing Khmers almost falling off their bikes in shock at the sight of a female barang doing manual labour!
Encouragement has been found in the cluster core schools I have visited this month – thank God! I have been so pleased, motivated, overwhelmed and even proud of the developments I’ve witnessed in all the schools I’ve been to since the ETL training and Resources workshops of the last few months. Instead of walking into sad, bare classrooms I walk into classrooms with children’s work on display, learning posters hanging from string, clean water available for students to wash their hands, lessons being carried out without textbook dependency, children enjoying games as a learning activity. What has almost moved me to tears has been the school and cluster directors falling over themselves to show me around their school, motivated teachers who look proud rather than scared to death of the thought of us peering into their classrooms, and very happy children!
Sound perfect? Ha ha – well it’s not, it’s all still a long way off the inclusive child-friendly objectives the World Bank are dreaming of but it’s such an enormous and positive step in the right direction! To my relief the cluster schools who were given materials last month have actually used them and, more to the point, have shared them with and encouraged their satellite schools to do the same! Amazing! The newly acquired office laminator has never been so busy!
So, fuelled with very positive feelings about the progress Phnom Srok schools are making and desperate to spend some VSO money, we have made lots of exciting plans for the next few months and the infamous emotional rollercoaster is on the upward climb. Life is fantastic once more and I realise that even in the most boring of times there is never a dull moment.
I tried my hand in one of Mr Sophan’s fields and managed to cut my little finger on a scythe and make a complete hash of my flooded patch of field. It looks so easy and there must be some system to it but it just wasn’t my day! I got sunburnt and bored! Tough work! I was much more successful at bagging the dried rice after threshing. I actually enjoyed this: partly because I had turned up to an empty office so was glad of having something remotely useful to do; partly because the late afternoon is such a beautiful time to be outside in the Cambodian countryside and party because it was highly amusing to observe passing Khmers almost falling off their bikes in shock at the sight of a female barang doing manual labour!
Encouragement has been found in the cluster core schools I have visited this month – thank God! I have been so pleased, motivated, overwhelmed and even proud of the developments I’ve witnessed in all the schools I’ve been to since the ETL training and Resources workshops of the last few months. Instead of walking into sad, bare classrooms I walk into classrooms with children’s work on display, learning posters hanging from string, clean water available for students to wash their hands, lessons being carried out without textbook dependency, children enjoying games as a learning activity. What has almost moved me to tears has been the school and cluster directors falling over themselves to show me around their school, motivated teachers who look proud rather than scared to death of the thought of us peering into their classrooms, and very happy children!
Sound perfect? Ha ha – well it’s not, it’s all still a long way off the inclusive child-friendly objectives the World Bank are dreaming of but it’s such an enormous and positive step in the right direction! To my relief the cluster schools who were given materials last month have actually used them and, more to the point, have shared them with and encouraged their satellite schools to do the same! Amazing! The newly acquired office laminator has never been so busy!
So, fuelled with very positive feelings about the progress Phnom Srok schools are making and desperate to spend some VSO money, we have made lots of exciting plans for the next few months and the infamous emotional rollercoaster is on the upward climb. Life is fantastic once more and I realise that even in the most boring of times there is never a dull moment.
1 comment:
great to read of the progress and your encouragement. so glad I was able to visit one of the schools with you in Nov. I can imagine your excitement at their responses. O dear still don't seem to have got the hang of replying on the blog
Mum
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