A Day in the Life

Some people have asked me what a typical day is like for me, so I thought I would write about it here!

My official job title is a Peace Corps TESS Volunteer. TESS stands for "Teacher Empowerment for Student Success." Basically, I am working with two counterparts (Teacher Oh and Teacher Tor, who I have for sure mentioned on this blog before and are AWESOME!) in their respective classrooms. Together, we co-lesson plan, co-teach, and co-debrief about how classes went. In my first year, the teaching split was pretty evenly, me teaching 50% and my other counterpart teaching the other 50%. When the second school year starts in May 2020, however, I will start to give more of the lead back to my counterparts. By the end of my service, my counterparts will be teaching pretty much on their own, with me only observing. The point of this is to ensure the skills we have collaborated on are sustainable after I leave Thailand. I want to emphasize it is totally a collaboration, and without these two and their dope ideas I'd probably be running like a chicken with my head cut off.

With Kru Oh (Kru is the Thai word for teacher), I teach Grades 1,4,5, and 6 (we call these levels "prathom," they are basically the same ages as 1st grade-6th grade in the States). With Kru Tor, I teach grade 2,3, and then Mattayom 1,2, and 3 (Mattayom 1,2,3 is equivalent to 7th grade, 8th grade, and 9th grade in the states). I also teach Anuban (preschool) by myself for half an hour in the morning. In total, about 21 hours of teaching a week.

Left: Me and Kru Oh!
Right: Me with Kru Tor and other teachers celebrating Loi Krathong! (She is on the far right in the blue dress).

ANYWAYS blahblahblah...THIS is a typical daily routine:

6:30, or who am I kidding, 7:00-- WAKE UP!! I throw on my uniform (which varies based on the day), wash my face, put makeup on if I'm really feelin it, and walk across the street to school. I am usually always greeted by my students with a thousand hellos.

8:00- School assembly starts! Students stand in lines on the main field, based on grade and gender, and sing the national anthem, as well as the anthem for the king. They listen to any announcements that need to be made, and then they're off to homeroom. Meanwhile, I'm off too....

8:30 ANUBAN!! Little stinkers. We don't do very much, I typically sing songs with them, read them stories, and play fun games. They are just barely familiar with the English alphabet, so we try to strengthen those skills a lot!

9:00-12:00 CLASSES START!! I usually teach more in the afternoons than in the mornings. With first grade, we are working on the alphabet as well as basic English sentences. With P2  to P5, we are focusing on reading and writing as well as more complex conversational language. With P6, we do what's called project based learning. PBL is focusing on a topic (cooking, the environment, music, etc) and teaching them the vocabulary and phrases that go along with these topics. They create a final project at the end of the unit (for example, we had a cooking challenge at the end of our cooking unit!) With Mattayom, we are doing fun games that assist them with preparing for their exams.

Moddum (who melts my heart) in P1!

12:00-1:00 LUNCH TIME!! The teachers help serve the food to the students, which can be anything from palo (hard boiled eggs in broth with tofu) to larb gai (large noodles with chicken and vegetables). Unlike American schools, the teachers and the students eat together. You can also find a stray school dog under the tables, hoping a kid will drop some chicken or something (are school dogs are the sweetest, no worries).

1:00-3:00 CLASSES PT 2!! We teach in the afternoons.

3:00-4:00 EXTRA CURRICULARS HOUR! This might not be an apt title for this hour, but I'm not entirely sure what to call it. Each day, from 3-4 we do something different. For example, the Mattayom 3 students teach a lesson to the younger students. On Wednesdays, we have scouts, where the students sing scout songs and do various team building activities. On Fridays, the monk from the neighboring temple comes and speaks to them.

OH and before I forget, while students are with the monk on Fridays, I teach the teachers English! It's pretty laid back, we play English games, just gives them a chance to relax while also learning new things about English and American culture.

Chilling with staff!

4:00-6:00 FINAL ASSEMBLY AND GO HOME!! Students line up on the field just as they do in the morning, take the flag down, and file out of school in single file. Often, parents are waiting for their kids on motorbikes parked just outside of the snack stands. Once the students leave, I will have a co-planning meeting with my counterparts, we might make some materials, and then go home between 5 or 6.

So that's my day in a nutshell! I would like to note, however, that in Thailand, classes are cancelled a lot. It can be for varying reasons, like a national holiday, or a school event, a sport's competition, a camp, etc. While it can sometimes be frustrating, it can also be super fun to join in the events!!


An example of one of our many events! This was the drug free parade!


That's all I got!! Thanks!!