Teacher-To-Be Prepares for 'Learning Experience'

Language Corps offers several different programs for adventurous people interested in living and working in a different culture. (Photo: AP)

Im Sothearith, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Monday, 06 September 2010

"I didn't want to take an easy route, I wanted a real experience and I wanted to go to a place that hasn’t always had such an easy past."

[Editor's note: Katherine Belida is a member of Language Corps and is traveling to Cambodia to teach English. Belida holds a Bachelor of Art in Sociology from the University of Maryland. When she was six years old, from 1993 through 2000, she lived with her family in Kenya and South Africa, where her father worked as a journalist. Belida spoke to VOA Khmer in Washington about her expectations and contributions to Cambodia.]

Why are you interested in going to Cambodia?

Well, for several reasons. I was really intrigued by Southeast Asia in general. And then as I was doing more research, I really found that the history of Cambodia, politically, was one of struggle and one of fighting that I was drawn to. I am also interested to go and see how it is changing and how it has changed in the past 20 years. And this new kind of culture is emerging. I think it is a really dynamic, interesting time to be there, and I want to be part of that.

What did you first have in mind about Cambodia?

I know it from the movie, “The Killing Fields,” which is a sad movie. But having grown up in Kenya of Africa, being there in 1993 as my father was covering Somalia, Rwanda, and being surrounded by war and genocide, I've kind of seen that. I didn't want to take an easy route, I wanted a real experience and I wanted to go to a place that hasn’t always had such an easy past. So that kind of immediately drew me to Cambodia, because it's kind of one of the underdogs.

Given your experiences in developing countries when you were young, how do you picture Cambodia?

I am picturing it as an Asian Nairobi, kind of an interesting city which is growing and is functional, but somewhat completely chaotic and kind of intricate, small and unorganized, but it all kinds of works. I am picturing kind of crazy little winding streets filled with motorbikes, but then for the countryside I am picturing typical Southeast Asian rice fields and houses on stills and green vegetation. I also kind of imagine this new, again, the new generation, I guess which is my age of kids coming up much like they do in this country. But I think it's got to be a bit more interesting in Cambodia, considering their traditional culture and their history. But these kids are kind of pushing the boundaries and there's this new kind of changing radical generation, and I am picturing that in the city too and this new changing kind of funky scene emerging.

What do you expect to take away from Cambodia?

I expect to learn a lot about myself. You know, I’ve been on my own before, but I’ve never really been out on my own and living on my own, not with a host family or anything. I expect that I will learn a lot about myself and about the culture and different cultural exchanges that happen. I think we take a lot of that for granted just being able to pick up on social cues. Asian culture is completely different, collective versus individual culture. I think that will be the biggest learning experience for me, learning the different ways that people interact and cueing each other socially on what to do.

What do you expect to contribute to such a post-conflict society?

Well, that’s another reason why I really chose Cambodia, because I think they need English teachers, and they need teachers who are inspired to not only teach the language but to foster free thought and give people the tools that they need linguistically to do what they want and to make what they want, not just out of their life, but out of their country, their government. For me, my real intention is to kind of inspire. Maybe it’s idealistic, but you know, really work to get at not just teaching English, but kind of getting a dialogue going, and thought and thinking, questioning and being critical.

Teaching in Cambodia is a learning experience

February 25, 2010
By Adam Wisnieski
The Riverdale Express (New York, USA)

A trip to the poverty-stricken nation of Cambodia has led to dramatic changes for one Riverdalian.

“I’ve never worked that hard in my life, and I can’t wait to do it again,” said Helene Tyler, a Manhattan College math professor who spent the month of December teaching a graduate course at the Royal University at Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

The last Riverdale heard from Ms. Tyler, she was boarding a plane on Thanksgiving Day to help rebuild the education system of Cambodia, devastated during the reign of dictator Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge. Almost 30 years later, the country still relies on the generosity of volunteers such as Ms. Tyler.

Her three-week course in differential equations was different from any class she’d ever taught. Each of her 11 students had a different educational background, some with gaping holes in certain areas. Ms. Tyler had to prepare entirely new lectures every morning and spent every afternoon in stifling classrooms in order to get the lessons across.

“You know, a lot of people have asked if it’s changed my life, and I feel like it sounds kind of trite to say it, but it did,” she said while enjoying french fries at the Riverdale Diner last week.

Now that she’s experienced life on the other side of the globe, some of her priorities have changed. She uses the Internet less and loses patience with friends who complain on Facebook about waiting in line at Target for too long. Observing life carrying on in Riverdale is far different from watching children fight to survive on Phnom Phen’s streets by selling souvenirs to tourists.

“It was difficult because every bit of extraordinary beauty was right next to something extraordinarily ugly. On the road that led to the hotel we stayed at, the beach was this little shanty village. I just couldn’t believe that people live that way.”

Some of her students were so poor they slept in nearby temples with the monks, unable to afford the fare to get home to their families.

“They have a whole different attitude about everything. A lot of the drive to succeed is tied to an obligation to help their families,” said Ms. Tyler, “What they sacrificed to be in that class is unbelievable.”

They don’t take the opportunity to learn for granted, she said.

“I mean no disrespect to my students here. I have never had a harder working, more earnest, eager, hungry group of students anywhere. I didn’t work that hard when I was a student,” she said.

After her teaching was done, Ms. Tyler and her husband Ron Zwerdling traveled around Cambodia. They attended a traditional family wedding of a language instructor Ms. Tyler had befriended and visited the magnificent temples of Angkor Wat. To reward her students for their hard work, she treated them all to dinner at a nice restaurant. When she was leaving, the entire class showed up at the airport to say goodbye, regardless of how significant the cost of traveling there was for some of them. She boarded the plane in tears.

When asked if she would return to Cambodia, she said she hopes she will. Her husband has already been pushing her to return next year.

Finding a place in southeast Asia

Northland teacher visits, teaches in Cambodia, Vietnam

Friday, September 21, 2007
By: Ray Weikal
Sun Gazette (Kansas City, Kansas, USA)

If not for the students at St. Pius X High School, Douglas Little might still be commuting through 1,000-year-old temples.

Little teaches history and government at the high school. He's also a world traveler who most recently spent two months this summer in southeast Asia. In Cambodia, Little's experience teaching English to orphans in a monastery was profound.

“If it weren't for the students at St. Pius, I might not have come back,” he said.

An interest in world cultures and a desire to improve his teaching skills and help others have prompted many of Little's quests around the globe. Since he graduated from Park University in 1999, Little has visited 59 countries. As Cambodian officials opened up their country to tourism, Little saw an opportunity to learn more about that nation.

“The reason I chose it was that it's really just opening up now,” he said.

Little ended up spending most of his time at the orphanage, which is in the midst of the Angkor Wat ruins about 30 kilometers from Siem Reap. The Buddhist Wat Damnak monastery cares for 31 orphans who range in age from 2 to 17. The monks provide room, board and education for children who might otherwise be forced in to menial labor or child prostitution, Little said. In order to protect the children from kidnappers, the orphanage is located far away from any large towns.

From noon to 4 p.m. on most days, Little filled in for the orphans' regular English teacher.

“I was teaching conversational English. With the younger kids, a lot of it was just us talking together,” Little said. “The monks want them to be employable in the tourist industry.”

Little also became an ad hoc soccer coach for the kids, who were passionate about that sport. Little coaches soccer at St. Pius X.

“After class, we'd play soccer for several hours,” he said. “They need people to be like a big brother.”

When Little felt the need, he would hitch a 45-minute ride to through the ancient ruins to Siem Reap, commonly on the back of a ubiquitous scooter. Siem Reap is becoming a tourist hub for the region, with Western-style hotels, restaurants and shops. On one of these trips, Little bought three soccer balls for about $20 to replace the one at the monastery that had been used so much that it no longer had a cover. The students were delighted.

“The orphans have hardly anything,” he said. “It's an unimaginable luxury to even have a picture of yourself.”

On his time off, Little traveled throughout Cambodia and Vietnam, getting a tangible sense of the region's history. He explored the old Buddhist temples, saw the infamous Cambodian Killing Fields, swam in the warm waters off the beaches of central Vietnam and crawled through claustrophobic tunnels used by communist guerillas against the Americans.

“I really wanted to improve my knowledge of Vietnam and also pay my respects to those who served in the war,” Little said. “Vietnam is absolutely stunning.”

When the time came to make his way back to Kansas City, Little said he had second thoughts. This feeling was amplified when he returned to work and overheard some girls trying to decide which mall they should go to so they could buy shoes.

“The orphans were just great kids,” he said. “When you're there, you definitely get the sense that they need you. I didn't want to leave, to tell you the truth.”

In the end, though, Little knew that he couldn't abandon his American students.

“I love Pius,” he said. “I have the greatest kids in the world.”

Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or rayweikal@npgco.com.

Teacher recalls Cambodian experience

ThisIsHampshire.net (UK)

A TEACHER from King's Somborne has returned from the trip of a lifetime teaching English to children in Cambodia.

Maggie Mackay, who has taught at Stanbridge Earls School in Romsey for 14 years, spent six weeks in Siem Reap after being inspired by her son's experiences in Cambodia.

The mum of three, a lifelong teacher, said she had many happy moments and that the children were "an absolute joy" to teach, although there were some difficulties.

advertisementShe said: "Like all teachers, learning the children's names was a priority. Unfortunately, the Khmer sound system has a considerable amount of sounds absent from our own English language.

"This meant I spent an inordinate amount of time asking each child to repeat his name in an attempt to transcribe the sounds into an English equivalent."

Mrs Mackay, who is married to Duncan, said classes were organised by ability, rather than age, so in one class there were 12, 15 and 19 year olds.

There were also some "guest appearances".

She added: "I had dogs wander into the classroom on at least three occasions. It was also accepted that pupils could bring younger siblings along to the lesson, most of whom would simply sit at the desk, sucking their thumbs or falling asleep."

Mrs Mackay was working for the Schools for Children in Cambodia charity, which supports six schools in Siem Reap.

One of the organisation's main aims is to supplement the teachers' $50 a month salary.

Summing up her trip, Mrs Mackay said: "Before I went, I was warned that Cambodia would 'get under your skin'.

"I know now exactly what is meant by this. A country of many contradictions, I am finding it very hard to stop thinking about both the country and the very wonderful people and children I had the privilege to meet."