The Coming of the King/Why We Teach (English)

I am currently four days deep into our six-day practicum week, practicing teaching English to a real, live Cambodian class.  While there have been frustrating moments, I view the week as a huge success so far as I am concerned.  I have been in front of my class about four times now and have enjoyed every moment. 

We all work in groups of three Peace Corps Trainees - all of us newly-minted and greenhorn English teachers.  We are only midway through our Pre-Service Training, so this is the time that we begin to use some of the teaching tactics and strategies to see what works, what doesn't and what will cause your kids to laugh at you for minutes on end in a standard Cambodian classroom. 

It can't be mentioned enough, I am working with some of Peace Corps' finest future teachers - Libby and Gilbert - thanks to you both for a fantastic and smooth (so far, knock on wood, throw salt over your shoulder, hit the light switch three times) week.  We are teaching an "English Crash Course" focusing on some of the basics, but really just "testing" our methods out on these amazingly bright and eager kids.  The feedback we have gotten from current PCVs doing the job that we will be soon has been invaluable, but more so is the chance to get in front of a class and just start teaching (finally).

Today was a pretty big day for us PCTs, as well as for our school, as the King of Cambodia drove by our school, waving out the top of an SUV.  I should disclaim, this isn't a HUGE deal, and probably made us PCTs more excited than the rest of the school.  Cambodia is about the size of Minnesota, so whenever the King travels he tries to "greet his people."  Also, there are only like eight paved roads in Cambodia, so he is bound to pass you by a few times a year. 

As our school emptied, students and staff lined the highway (yes, kids on a highway is usually a bad idea, but not so irregular in Cambodia...) with pictures of the King and waved Cambodia flags as his motorcade drove by.  My kids noticed, what I am told, is my huge resemblance to the King on day one of teaching them, and ever since we found out that the King was driving by they couldn't help but hold up his picture next to my face to compare.  I have to admit, at one point I had delusions of grandeur that the King would see me waving to him as he drove by, stop the car, and recognize me as the American brother he never knew - but it wasn't meant to be (though I am fairly sure that our eyes locked as he drove by, and that we shared something beyond words...). 

I can't say how rewarding and educational this week has been so far with still a few more days left to go.  I hope it is a sign of things to come, but the reality is that many Cambodia classrooms are in terrible shape, students are taught by and large by teachers who are ill-trained and unmotivated, and often times they have difficulty learning due to hunger or a lack of materials and supplies.  Many of the students I have taught this week speak English fairly well already and we know they are eager to learn as PC asked the community for volunteers since school is out of session this time of year. 

All this rambling brings me to my point: the Peace Corps' mission in Cambodia is a valid and difficult one.  I am not tooting my own horn nor am I commenting on the politics of how well Peace Corps does or doesn't do their work in a larger sense.  I want to point out the difficulties and need in what will soon be a tiny sliver of the world that I feel partially responsible for in some way.  Cambodia is a nation that is still trying to gain its footing after a decimating civil war/genocide in the 1970s and is simultaneously trying to compete against some of Asia's biggest rising (economic) powers like Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.  As my grandma always says, "Education is the great equalizer," and thus the Peace Corps is here. 

Teaching English abroad may be some backpackers' wet dream for a "true cultural experience."  It is a way, for some, to put in a small effort teaching a skill they are already masters of to others who need those language skills to acquire better jobs, make more money, etc. Its a way for someone to say, "I did this, I helped and I have pictures to prove it," without giving too much thought to what happens next to the community you just helped.  It automatically makes you "worldly." I am not criticizing, help is help for those that need it. 

The way Peace Corps does it, is to not simply turn us loose upon the poor Cambodian masses and start getting them to pronounce the "th" sound (its really hard for them!), but to give us the tools, methods, language and cultural experience to become fully integrated members of our communities, to identify their problems and provide sustained and lasting help as one of them.  Teaching English opens doors for many, many students in Cambodia, and not necessarily for all the reasons one might guess.  Yes, many English speakers in this country strive to be tour guides or interpreters for rich American companies and the like.  However, the native language here, K'mai, is spoken by a very small minority of the world.  Combine this with the mass killings of Cambodia's intellectual class by the K'mai Rouge and you have a wayward, starving country that then must rebuild itself and compete with the world without the help of its best and brightest.  Beyond this, after the K'mai Rouge, Cambodia had no way of educating its youngest generation in specialized skills as the majority of its teachers and intellectuals were also killed.  English then, becomes a bridge for higher learning for many Cambodians.  If you want to be a doctor, lawyer or virtually any other kind of professional, you need to speak English (ok, ok I hear the anti-imperialists...English OR another highly used language like Chinese or French...) to be able to learn and acquire the necessary skills to practice your trade.  "Just teaching English" then becomes the ladder to the next level for many young, bright Cambodians and may give this country more of an edge to compete against other nations and forger a better future for itself. 

So for all you Peace Corps/English Teacher naysayers, here is a point for the good guys, and hopefully makes some folks understand why I want to be here and why I am really excited to start doing my job.