6:30am
Wake up and get ready for the day, grabbing a piece of bread and spreading Pineapple marmalade on it and filling up your water bottle so that you can stay hydrated in the heat and humidity. They don’t use toilet paper here, but rather a water-spray system, so y’all use “facial tissues“ instead. You hope you’re not out (again).
7:30am
Head downstairs to greet the children (ages 0-5) at the door as parents bring them in their motor bikes dressed in colorful cotton ”suits”…aka pajamas. Most kids say goodbye to their parents and run inside. Some however have to be physically dragged off the motorbike and scream and cry as their parents drive away.
8am
The bell rings! All students line up in front of the doors to their classrooms and say “good morning” to their teachers as they file into the room (ideally lol). You have 22 students in your class, and at least 3 usually cry for at least the first 30 minutes of class. They are three years old after all. Students continue to arrive for the first hour (at least) so you review what you learned the day before so you don’t have to teach something new 20 times. Then you review the charts of vegetable, fruits, animals, numbers, letters, etc. and sing songs accordingly. Then you introduce the number they will be learning today. You write it on the whiteboard, then allow them each to come up and try to write it themselves. (Everything is rewarded with a high five)
9am
The bell rings and students line up in front of the door to file out into the commons area for recess. You play with the kids, and help them open the packages to their snacks. You also make sure everyone pees in the toilet (not all over the bathroom) and that no one kills anybody ;).
9:15am
The bell rings again and the students line up to begin the second session. You fit all 22+ students around 3 small plastic tables, and hand out their worksheets on which they will practice writing and spelling and counting to the number they’re learning that day. Amidst this chaos, you try to write the names of the students on their worksheets, as well as the date and your own name. You encourage everyone to color and write only on their own papers, even though they’re so crammed they are all overlapping. You try to pay attention every time a child yells “teacher!” because you know they’re either showing you what they’ve accomplished (and therefore expecting a high five) or they have a question. You also try to help everyone finish their worksheets in a timely manir, all while making sure no one is climbing on the tables or throwing their pencil at another child.
10am
The bell rings for another recess. Repeat what happened at 9.
10:15am
The bell rings and their session begins. The kids file back into the classroom, and you explain what activity they will be doing. Line everyone up (again) and play a lined-up/walking version of “red light greene light” to keep the kids in line, walking slow, and paying attention. An activity (such as writing the number on the wall with water and a paint brush) somehow is accomplished(ish) while trying to keep children from running into the street or climbing fences. Then you line up and play the game again to head inside. You help everyone find a seat and tell them a story that you make up based on the pictures of a kids book from their office, because of you read it from the pages of the book, you would be reading a story in broken English about something or other that ends with eveybody dying.
10:55am
The bell rings again and the kids line up and are dismissed to play until they’re picked up. You play with them and say “goodbye, see you tomorrow” as they head out the door.
11:30am
You, the teachers, and other staff (along with the few kids who still haven‘t been picked up) sit and talk about what went well/what didn’t, and how we can all learn from it and continue/fix it in the future.
12:30pm
LUNCH! Made by your host’s wife and a couple of your teammates. Rice with eaither chicken or fish, some kind of soup or vegetables, and the most amazing sauces and fruits. You all (including the teachers and staff) sit in a circle on the floor and eat.
1:30pm
The iced coffee in a bag is delivered to you and your teammates for $.75 a bag. Praise God!
1:50
Head back downstairs to do it all again. However, in the afternoons you’ve only got 6 students, so it’s much more productive, and you get much more time to get to know each child and really live in them. It’s your favorite time of the day! Repeat all sessions and recessed until…
4:55pm
The bell rings and you say goodbye to the students, then rush upstairs to change out of your school uniform polo into a tee shirt and head back down to wait for your Tuk Tuk driver from the church to come pick you and your teammate up.
5:5-5:20
Somewhere in this time you’re picked up by the church’s Tuk Tuk and head to the church, where you are greeted with hugs and handshakes by 20 to 30 excited children, most of whom live at the church, either because they’re in need of education or they’re an orphan. Your teammate teaches while you help students when they need it, but mostly just sit and hold hands with the kids closest to you.
6:30pm
You hug the kids goodbye, tell them “see you tomorrow”, and head back to the school.
7pm
Your host’s wife brings dinner over from her house, some different rendition of lunch. One thing’s for sure, it’s delicious! Also, the teacher from the school whose turn it is to stay over artives and you have conversation to help them with their English
7:30pm
Start showers and turn on the blessed AC in the classroom that your team pays $1 a day to use overnight so that it’s cold by the time you go to bed.
8:30-9pm
Head to bed, excited that you get to do it all again tomorrow.
In the rough moments, you remind yourself that this opportunity for education could be the thing that keeps these children from being sold or rented out on the street for labor or any number of things. You love on these kids as much as possible, because many of them come from Buddhist families, and the culture here views children as something(s) to be used, not someone(s) to be loved and valued. You surrender moment-by-moment to seeing them as God does and not giving in to your impatience and discouragement. Is it important that they learn numbers and letters and such? YES! But what’s more important is that they experience the love of God and the value He places on their lives.
Its been a blessing to be an English teacher so that I could love on kids with the love of Christ!
