Now and
Then
An Aspiring Teacher and a Retired Teacher Compare
Notes
Stories Photos by Bothumroath Lebun
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| Sam Sokharith, who is aiming to finish his teachers’ training this month, teaches part-time at the private-run Newton Thilay Institute |
On Sept 2, Sam Sok-harith, 24, began the national professional teacher’s
examination along with some 330 other students in a crowded classroom
at a high school near the Indepen-dence Monument.
The exam lasted three days, and Sam Sokharith, a student of the National
Institute of Education (formerly the Faculty of Peda-gogy), was tested
on psychology, education, pedagogy and general knowledge of world events.
But even if he passes the examination and is given the opportunity to
become a certified teacher, Sam Sokharith said he is disappointed because
there are no teaching positions available in Phnom Penh.
If he accepts to work for the state, he will be sent to the provinces
where there is a greater demand for teachers. But Sam Sokharith said he
will not accept.
“I’ve made up my mind. I will not teach in the province,”
Sam Sokharith said, even though he admitted that he doesn’t particularly
like living in Phnom Penh either. “I am taking this exam for the
certificate to hang on my wall.”
One of the main reasons why Sam Sokharith refuses to travel to the province
is the lack of money. With a starting salary of $30 per month, he fears
he cannot earn enough to live. “The government doesn’t pay
new teachers until a year later,” he said.
Teachers recruited to work in remote villages must be willing to endure
rustic conditions, he added. “For electricity, you light a lantern.
You can grow fruits and vegetables around your house,” he said.
“When the rains come, you don’t need to travel far to fetch
water from the community’s well. When it is too hot, you tie the
curtains to let the breeze in.”
If you get lonely, the neighbors will help you find a pretty local wife,
Sam Sokharith laughed.
Phnom Penh teachers, however, can make extra money by selling candies,
photocopies of past exam papers and tutoring students.
At state-run schools, teachers often complain that there are too many
students in class, but others find the large class sizes can work to their
advantage. If a teacher has 10 classes, with an average of 60 students
in each class, he or she can earn more money in “extra fees,”
asking for a few hundred riel from each, Sam Sokharith said.
“If you multiply that number with 500 riel you will see that the
teachers make $62.50 monthly of extra income,” he calculated.
One moral reason why Sam Sokharith said he would not want to teach rural
village students is that he doesn’t have it in his heart to demand
“extra fees” from poor students whose parents work as farmers.
If he were to start charging students for photocopied exams, he said,
the students would run local community will resent the teacher for that.”
Perhaps a way out, Sam Sokharith said, is to continue to teach English
at the private-run Newton Thilay Institute, where he has been teaching
for three years. His last resort would be to become a tour guide. In the
meantime, he is searching for an entry-level job with NGOs.
Sam Sokharith said he enjoys teaching elementary children.
“I like sitting next to them and talking to them,” he said.
The most rewarding part, he said, is watching students laugh, which makes
him happy. “It’s a red gem feeling,” he said.
An interview with Sam Sokharith:
Q: Are you satisfied with your salary?
A: An increase in teachers’ salary should be a top priority that
the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport should address.
Teachers do not get the respect from their students because their basic
needs are not met. Their living conditions are low.... Students have no
respect for the teachers. When the teacher upsets the students, some students
even curse the teacher, including myself. Bad students stems from poor
family upbringing.
Q: Describe a typical class lecture.
A: A student’s job is to listen to teachers talk about the lesson
and when the lesson is over then they are allowed to ask questions. For
example, if the lesson is about industry in Cambodia, the teacher shows
up to class, distributes hand-outs and puts new vocabulary words on the
black board.
The lesson begins when the teacher starts talking and everyone is silent.
Some lazy professors read the text in class.... Teachers should encourage
students to participate in classroom discussions. There is a need for
students to express their opinions and ideas in class, not keep silent.
Q: How motivated are your students?
A: Students expect teachers to do all of the work, including homework
answers. The teachers provide hand-outs with a price.
Q: Do teachers often charge tutoring fees?
A: Teachers don’t like it when students do not hire them for extra
tutoring hours outside of class time. The tutoring fee is 800 riel (about
$0.22). Teachers sit down one-on-one to explain to students—with
a price attached—who need further tutoring.
Q: Have you witnessed cheating during exams?
A: When I was a high school student, I would pay the teachers $1 each
to let me cheat in class. Now I’ve been told that it costs $5 for
high school students. Cheating derives from the students’ lack of
motivation to compete. There is no real punishment for those who cheat.
A good example is the state’s national teacher’s examination.
The instructor understands the situation. We understand his situation
too. He wants money and we want the certificate.
Q: What is the quality of education among elementary and high school
students?
A: The education level 10 years from now will be the same—poor and
low standards. The quality of education among elementary and high school
students is zero.
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Now
retired, Soun Neang was a teacher in Kompong Thom province from
1960 to 1975. She is now a private Khmer teacher to foreigners |
By 7:20 am, she would park her bicycle at the parking lot of the Coconut Leaves Elementary school in Kompong Thom pro-vince, where she taught.
In the classroom, she would be greeted by some 50 students all dressed in white and blue uniforms standing up at their desks. “Good morning neak krou,” the students would shout.
Soun Neang was 18 years-old then.
Now a retired primary school teacher, Soun Neang, 63, a grandmother to three teenage girls, believes that the standard of education in Cambodia was more advanced four decades ago.
Born in 1942 to a middle class family in Kompong Thom pro-vince she developed a desire to become a school teacher.
“After high school, I wanted to teach,” Soun Neang said. “My father didn’t push me. It was in me.”
At the age of 17, after finishing high school, Soun Neang married a school teacher. After her wedding, she moved to Phnom Penh alone where she attended the School of Pedagogy. Three years later and after completing her studies, she gave birth to her only daughter.
Returning to Kompong Thom, Soun Neang said her first day teaching was a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
“There were over 50 students looking at me with their black eyes wide open, waiting for me to begin the class’ lesson,” Soun Neang said.
Three years later, she was able to purchase a wooden brick house with her teaching salary of 4,200 riel per month, when the value of the riel was much higher than it is today.
“I didn’t have to worry about not having enough money,” she said. “My salary alone was plenty and could support my family.”
She remembered that a bowl of beef noodle soup cost 10 riel and a cup of ice coffee was only 5 riel.
Cambodia was at peace. There was a sense of community—a real sense of friendship among neighbors.
But war was emerging in the country. In 1970, constant bombing over Kompong Thom, wreaked havoc on her school located near a Lon Nol military base.
“Kompong Thom was a fighting ground,” Soun Neang said.
“Every time we heard a helicopter landing there would be the sounds of bombs and gunfire by the Khmer Rouge.”
With bombs being dropped and gunfire everywhere, it was dangerous to leave the underground shelter, Soun Neang said. Even so, she said, teachers and students continued to attend school.
Teachers and students would look at one another wondering what to do next—run home or stay. “The room would fall silent.
An interview with Soun Neang:
Q: Were you satisfied with your salary?
A: With my salary of 4,200 riel..., my family lived a very good life.
There was money left over.
Q: How did students treat teachers?
A: Rich students who came from a good family upbringing showed more respect
to their teachers than to their parents.
My way of punishing the students was for them to hit their knuckles on
the table ten times if they were really bad.
However, male teachers were strict academically. Some would whack students’
hands with a ruler if they didn’t do their homework or didn’t
show respect. When students saw their male teachers on the streets from
far away, they would hide.
Q: Were students motivated?
A: Students’ motivation to study was high. Teachers’ motivation
to teach was high. There was a cooperation that I don’t see in Cam-bodia
now. Teachers took interest in their lessons and the students.
Rarely would students not do their homework. If they didn’t, there
must a be very good reason. If a student was absent, he would ask for
permission. If a student was sick, the parent would ask the teacher’s
permission. There was always communication between teachers, parents and
students.
Q: Did you ever witness cheating?
A: The word “cheating” didn’t exist then. Cheating was
a no-no. There was zero percent cheating during exams.
Q: What were education standards like?
A: Even with over 40 to 50 students in the classroom the quality of the
education was high. Some students failed so they’d have to repeat
the year. About half of the students in my class failed and this number
was considered to be good.
There was competition among the teachers. You would be looked down upon
if many of your students failed to advance the next grade, especially
to high school. Every two years, the headmaster would increase your salary
if your record indicated that your students passed the exams. But if many
of your student failed then no promotion. In the 60s, the education was
worth a lot.