Well, the previous departure date came and went, sadly I was not on the plane. Life throws us dilemmas and I had to postpone my trip!!
I have not given up on my dream and tomorrow night I fly out to Siem Reap on the 11.20pm flight via Kuala Lumpur.
I have spent the time since July continuing to prepare for my trip and will be volunteering at Savong School in Siem Reap and visiting the Jesuit Centre, with which my school has a close affinity.
Given I fly out to Cambodia at the end of next week I thought it timely that I reflect on why I am going to Cambodia…
I arrive in Siem Reap, Cambodia on the first day of my winter school holidays and fly home the day before school goes back in Brisbane on 10th July.
Whilst in Siem Reap I will be facilitating workshops for Cambodian English teachers and teaching English to children,aged 6 -15. The school where I will be based only opened early this year and the children all come from disadvantaged backgrounds.I will be working as a volunteer.
WHY??
There are a multitude of reasons I have spent the past 6 months planning this adventure. Perhaps I need to start with the reason which underpins my motives:approximately 4 to 5 years ago my life fell into a deep hole as a result of the huge personal loss of 4 people who I would give my life for. Who they are and the circumstances will remain in my heart and does not need to be shared here. I tried many pathways to sustain my self-worth ( counselling, self-help workshops, reading self-development books, talking to friends, time off work to mentally rebuild myself, medication,reaching out and within myself). I sort wholeness but it escaped me as I withered in pain.
I stumbled upon a book called “The Art of Happiness-A Handbook for Living” by The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler. As a High school teacher of History/Religion and English in a private Catholic school, I have always been intrigued by world belief systems, spirituality, human rights and pathways to both global and inner peace. So I happened upon Buddhist teachings at an intellectual level as well as personal search for inner understandings of what it means to be at peace with self.
In my next post I will write about a few truths I learnt along the way and how ” personal happiness can manifest as a simple willingness to reach out to others, to create a feeling of affinity and goodwill, even in the briefest of encounters” ( Cutter:2009,p15).
My goals in participating in the Cambodian immersion program are also professionally and philosophically driven. For the past 30 years I have taught English, History, Social Sciences and Religion in both single sex, co-educational, urban and rural secondary schools in NSW, Victoria, ACT and Queensland Australia. I have held various roles as Head of Social Science, assistant to the Head of Social Science, teacher of under-graduates and post-graduate Education students at the University of Canberra.
A passionate interest in social justice and social advocacy has been a common thread throughout my teaching career. I currently teach English, Religion and History at a Catholic secondary school in Brisbane. My pedagogical practices are grounded in a desire to raise student awareness of the need for an active social conscience in order to be effective global citizens. This is also a core belief embedded in my school’s ethos.
As a teacher of the “Social Justice” Yr 10 unit for the past 7 years I began to search for ways I could promote accurate perceptions of cultural groups other than my own as well as deepen my understanding of the global issues which underpin systemic poverty and injustice.
Recently. I incorporated into my teaching my learnings from informal chats with homeless men and women who come to the early morning “Eddies Van” breakfasts. Last year I decided to explore the concept of homelessness in Brisbane with my Yr 10 Social Justice class after realising they knew very little about the reasons for homelessness and held highly stereotypical views on who a “homeless” person was. This brief action research led me to continue to reflect on past experiences and review how I could integrate new insights to increase my effectiveness as a teacher. I began to look at ways to promote cross-cultural awareness in my students. During their lives my students will encounter a critical need to help themselves and others to work through their differences, bridge diverse perspectives and resolve conflicts efficiently. They will in fact become global citizens as countries and cultures of the world become increasingly interconnected.
So I chose to spend my school holidays teaching in Cambodia- a nation of great resilience and optimism. A place where I hope to learn and understand a little bit more about humanity.
Was just surfing the web for Cambodian newspaper portals and found an interesting article on education and change in Cambodia…will try to attach the article to this post-will be a miracle if it works!! After opening “The Guardian” UK link below search for “Transforming the Education System” in Cambodia. Food for thought!! I hope I am up to this!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/vso-volunteer-for-change/cambodia-education-for-all
New passport has arrived!!!
Vaccinations-done!
Airline ticket purchased.
BLOG- created but very much in rudimentary format given that 4 weeks ago I did not even know what a blog was!!! Have been learning a new language that encompasses widgets, dashboards, avatars……..
Professional reading-feel like I am drowning in it though it has been really exciting to read other people’s reflections and experience of inter-cultural immersion projects. Though I doubt anything I will read will adequately prepare me for the culture shock that awaits me upon my arrival in Cambodia-living the experience myself will be the greatest teacher.
Some of the resources I have really enjoyed reading are the following:
1. “The Mindful Teacher” by MacDonald, E and Shirley, D (Teacher’s College Press, NY,2009).
The authors “propose a multifaceted concept of “mindful teaching” that is informed by contemplative practises and collaborative teacher inquiry”. They identify practical strategies that teachers can use to integrate more reflection and awareness into their busy, everyday classroom lives.
This resonated with me as the concept of mindfulness had already provided a conceptua; undergirding of my Cambodian immersion planning. For Langer (1997), mindfulness entail “the continuous creation of new categories; openness to new information; and an implicit awareness of more than one perspective” ( MacDonald and Shirley, 2009,p24).
2. “Resourcing for Curriculum Innovation” by Wall,J and Ryan, S (ACER PRESS,2010,Vic).
This book considers the core areas of education to consider for 21st learning: the digital world, virtual worlds, curriculum integration, rsourcing and the physical environment.
I was particularly interested in the section on transformational learning which Mezirow defines as learning that changes the students or learners perspectives, values or outlook ( Wall and Ryan, p3). As I want my students to be deep learners who develop new knowledge by relating it to existing knowledge constructs and previous experiences, hopefully my experience in Cambodia will produce a variety of resources ( physical, intellectual or virtual) which will enhance my student’s learning.
3. “Connect, Communicate, Collaborate” by J. O’Connell and Groom, D ( ACRE Press,2010,Vic).
This was a fascinating read and took me on a journey where I learnt about “digital natives”,nings, information ecology and Blogs as literacies for learning! I think they would classify me as a “digital immigrant”!
4. “Alek” by Alek Wek ( Virago Press, London,2007).
This was a beautiful story I read in term 3 when I was teaching the “Lifewriting” unit to my Year 9 English class. Alek has crafted a poignant and powerful memoir that provides a compelling insight into her journey from Dinka clan roots in war-torn Sudan to new beginnings in Brooklyn. Alek’s spirit of resilience captivated me.
5. “Temples and Tuk Tuks” by Lydia Laube ( Wakefield Press, SA, 2003).
This was a fun and light-hearted book which introduced me to the wonders and mysteries of Cambodia. I particularly enjoyed reading the humourous take on Lydia’s many mishaps which she endured on her adventure-hope I can sustain the same sense of humour when it is my turn!!
6. “First they killed my Father” by Loung Ung ( Flamingo Press, Australia, 2001).
This book was written “in memory of the two million people who perished under the Khmer Rouge regime” ( p1). Almost a quarter of Cambodia’s population were killed from 1975 to 1979 through execution, starvation, disease and forced labour. Loung’s story is ultimately a story of survival, resilience and love. It is a harrowing read and Loung”s rawness of emotions kept me awake at night. She made a very powerful point at the beginning of the book that her story is indeed the story of millions of Cambodians. To a large extent, it is the resilience and hopefulness of Cambodians which drove me to seek out a teaching experience in a country which has been ravaged by violence and pain.
7. “The Essential Guide to Cambodian Customs and Culture” by Graham Saunders ( Kuperard, London,2008).
An essential read!!! Contains heaps of practical tips for “managing the unexpected” and provides a quirky introduction to Cambodian customs and culture.
Learning Khmer????= a tough task. Sadly I have zero capacity for learning other languages-might have to do a cram on the plane or it might be a case of sleeping with my language guide book and learning via osmosis.
Teaching and learning resources to take to Cambodia? Have been wandering through book shops on weekends trying to find light weight resources to take with me. No such thing as netbooks, interactive whiteboards, G Drive, scanning, Moodle,Web 2.0 learning tools, Clickview or YouTube in Cambodian local schools! I plan to take minimum clothes and buy some on arrival to enable me to fill my suitcase with resources. My students have been a huge help and suggested I take skipping ropes, handballs, frisbies-customs will think I am auditioning for the circus!! The girls in my Yr 10 classes have offered to make packs of resources for me to take to the children. They are eager for me to blog during the trip and have promised to reply to me and track my adventure. The enthusiasm of youth is a huge motivator!!
I published my 10 top travel tips to Cambodia ( rather brash I suppose since I have not arrived there yet!!)on the school blog as a group is travelling to Cambodia latter in the year. One tip I discovered in my research was the need to learn local customs eg use chopsticks! Another challenge for me! So I am cooking heaps of stir-frys at home and am having a nightly struggle with 2 pieces of wood which repeatedly stab me whilst next to no food slides into my mouth. Maybe I should launch the use of chopsticks as a weight watchers tip!
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