{"id":1377,"date":"2019-12-16T01:52:15","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T06:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/?p=1377"},"modified":"2019-12-16T04:35:26","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T09:35:26","slug":"rural-primary-school-teacher-coaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.charlesconklin.com\/4cambodia\/2019\/rural-primary-school-teacher-coaching\/","title":{"rendered":"Rural Primary School Teacher Coaching"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Early in December we went on field visits to three schools in rural Prey Veng province. I shared a bit about the breakfast program<\/a>, now let’s get into teacher coaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is difficult to be a teacher in the countryside. The pay is low, supports are few, and absenteeism is common. Some teachers routinely skip school themselves to conduct other business (such as rice farming or private tutoring) to increase their income. Some teachers strike or yell at students. Other teachers try hard but don’t know how to be effective – especially as some rural schools have no curriculum, just vague guidelines. The best teachers may start by working in their local community but the majority of them soon move to the city (or to a private school) where they have better pay and more resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one school we visited 40% of the teachers were absent for various reasons. This didn’t just mean that their students went without class, it also meant that their students were running around and disrupting the other classes. At another school one of the teachers is rumored to be possessed (I think untreated mental illness is more likely) so many of her students routinely skip her class. They either end up sitting in on other classes (not participating, just messing with their siblings who are in class) or playing disruptively just outside the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Would you be distracted if this was going on outside your classroom window?
There was another kid flicking rubber bands but I couldn’t get a photo of him.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There’s a strong emphasis on rote memorization in the Cambodian education system. Unfortunately, this is often accompanied by teachers being either disengaged or strict (or sometimes both). It’s sadly common for teachers to ignore a struggling student and\/or to punish them for an incorrect repetition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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