Dear Colleagues and Friends who are Teachers/Educators—our unsung Heroes:
This is your book! We created it with you in mind, as the shapers of minds. We know of some of the challenges you face in present-day Cambodia and we empathize. More power to you.
We believe greatly in the importance of this curriculum because we believe deeply in this virtue—COURAGE. We believe it is a virtue that can be practiced more and more by everyone, especially the young people.
Courage is defined as “mental or moral strength to persevere and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty,” something that all of us (as Khmer—in the NGOs, in the government, in the opposition, in business, in Mondolkiri, Kampot or wherever, holding different religions or beliefs, rich or poor—as well as foreigners—French, African, Chinese, no matter the background) can and do believe in.
As with any other disposition, courage is only fixed in us through practice. As Aristotle notes in the Nicomachean Ethics almost 2,400 years ago, we become brave only by doing brave acts: "By being habituated to despise things that are terrible and to stand our ground against them we become brave, and it is when we have become so that we shall be most able to stand our ground against them." Moreover, when we encounter obstacles, let us be reminded that they are only invitations to courage. Fear destroys a person's spirit whereas courage builds a person and in turn society.
Everyone everywhere in the world, anytime throughout history believes in the significance and practice of this virtue, COURAGE.
Thus, our deep admiration for you, who are in the frontline in instilling this virtue via this curriculum in our children.
Of course, we would like very much for this curriculum to be included as part of the official educational curriculum. We are engaged and will continue to engage the relevant government officials to make this happen. Before this happens, however, it is necessary that we all are familiar with the content. Naturally, this takes time.
But we are making a good beginning. For example, we are pleased to have H.E. Om Yentieng’s recognition of the importance of the Speak Truth To Power project (as expressed to Kerry Kennedy over a dinner he hosted in February 2011). We continue to count on his Cambodian Human Rights Committee as a vehicle for the dissemination of this material. We believe in the universality of this virtue; we believe in the government’s courage to take this on and we will do everything to work with ALL partners, who believe in EDUCATION.
I would like to give you a bit of background as to how we went about producing this Courage curriculum:
First, the drafting of the Khmer curriculum in the English language is based on extensive discussions between CIVICUS Cambodia in Phnom Penh and RFK Center in Washington, D.C., with comments and ideas from Kerry Kennedy after her visit to Cambodia in February 2011.
Among all the 51 defenders featured in Kerry Kennedy’s book Speak Truth To Power, we decided to focus on eight individuals whose works and issues resonated with the current situation in Cambodia: Elie Wiesel (Genocide), Marina Pisklakova (Domestic Violence), Juliana Dogbadzi (Slavery/Trafficking), Vaclav Havel (Free Expression), Muhammad Yunus (Right to Credit), Desmond Tutu (Reconciliation), Ka Hsaw Wa (Corporate Social Responsibility), Kailash Satyarthi (Child Labor).
Second, we had the English-drafted curriculum translated in Khmer which took several phases. We put a lot of energy into this process, as we know ultimately it is the Khmer version which must be understandable and readable. Those who have worked with translation from the English into the Khmer language can appreciate the process—the content quality of making sure the Khmer language makes sense; preserving the spirit and meaning of the original English content; the technical difficulties of typing Khmer, with associated problems transferred to the layout process, etc.
We employed some of the best translators in the country who did the initial translation for us. Toward the middle and the end of the translation process, I meticulously scrutinized the Khmer version line-by-line, with the English text for content integrity and comprehensibility, with my dedicated assistant Ms. Sivnin Eam typing in the changes as well as providing the sounding board for my explanations and my constant, recurring questions: Is it understandable to a 13-year-old? Is there a simpler, more common word in usage? Tell me what you think this word or phrase or sentence means.
As important as preserving the spirit of the content, we were very concerned that the Khmer translation flows smoothly and is understandable to the larger population. Simply put, we focused on clarity and common (vernacular) usage for UNDERSTANDING. We preferred the common vocabulary to the highly technical ones, if we could avoid them. It was not uncommon for Sivnin and I to be engaged for half an hour, for example, over one phrase or one sentence. We consulted the available dictionaries, with great reliance and value given to the works of Venerable Chuon Nath.
During this process, we also engaged some of you, the educators who will actually be teaching from this curriculum. We met in person at three consultation workshops with approximately 40 of you, senior educators, from four northwest provinces of Siem Reap, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey and Kampong Thom as well as you, senior educators, from Phnom Penh and Kandal Province. You assisted us tremendously with your comments and feedback, especially on the readability, usage and spelling of certain words. We included as much as we can of your feedback. (Thank you so much!)
Finally, we worked with a layout designer, a very able young woman Ms. Rany Song, to put everything together as suggestions and comments gleaned from the consultation process (workshops and private review of drafts) continue to stream in.
I ask for your good will, magnanimity and patience with any mistakes (e.g. spelling) you may find or preferences (e.g. usage of commas) you may disagree with. We accept full responsibility for the content in this curriculum but we ask for your help in providing us your feedback for future printing.
I pray you will find this Courage curriculum inspirational not only for your students, but for yourselves as well. Peace and courage be with you.
_____________
Theary C. SENG
Founding President
CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education
Phnom Penh, Sept. 2011
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