Imagine if these were the guidelines for your job:
Plan for the unexpected.
Be prepared to throw out what you bring to teach.
Be prepared for students who speak no English.
Do not be surprised if your participants are reluctant to talk.
Be prepared for skepticism.
These are just a few of the suggestions for the cadre of teachers that will be conducting 38 workshops for Cambodian teachers starting in June. For the fifth year, these will be held throughout Cambodia in the cities of Battambang, Phnom Penh, Kompong Thom, and Siem Reap.
Teachers Across Borders (TAB)is expecting 1000 teachers, teacher trainees, and school leaders to attend the 4 programs. These workshops will cover the core subjects plus special workshops for librarians, school leaders, and teachers interested in literacy, English as a Second Language, and teaching children with special needs. TAB volunteers work closely with translators to ensure that the materials for each session are easy for their Cambodian counterparts to understand and apply in their classrooms.
TAB also conducts book drives to provide materials for secondary school libraries in Cambodia. These libraries serve teachers, student teachers, and students. They are establishing four library models in secondary schools offering English language classes and expanding collections at teacher training centers and universities. At one school visited, there were 3 dictionaries for 2,000 student teachers.
The purpose of TAB is to provide support, supplies, and instruction to the Cambodian teachers; many of Cambodia's high school teachers have only a ninth grade education. Primary teachers receive wages in the amount of $30-$40 per month. Additionally, the United Nations recently reported that only 81 percent of eligible school children start school, and of those, only 29 percent complete grade nine. Cambodia's Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MOEYS) is collaborating with TAB to bring sound pedagogical ideas and practice into the classrooms through TAB's professional development workshops.
Founded in 2002 as a nonprofit organization, TAB volunteers continue to share their expertise with Cambodian and Myanmar teachers as well as past ventures of donating money for a lunch program the Dominican Republic and helping New Orleans teachers obtain textbooks after hurricane Katrina. Its founding members are retired Colorado history teachers Marilynn Hitchens and Heidi Roupp. They are joined by an outstanding team of educators from across the U.S., Europe, and Australia.
TAB welcomes donations and provides a variety of ways to help the Cambodian educators and/or the TAB volunteers. Four dollars will buy a teacher attending the workshops their own book; five dollars will buy 60 pencils; twenty dollars will sponsor a Cambodian teacher and allow them to travel to and attend the workshop; twenty-five dollars will purchase a village or primary classroom kit or a gift for a school or university library. Additionally, donations can be made to benefit the workshop leaders. All members of TAB are retired teachers and volunteers. They pay their own way to Cambodia and all their expenses while in the country.
Teachers are the heart of good education, and TAB continues supporting teachers in fragile, emerging educational environments. Education is the key to reducing poverty and to building family and community success.
For more information about Teachers Across Border or to give a donation, please visit the web site [www.teachersacrossborders.org].