I am assigned to teach in the Nakhon Phanom province in the Isan area of Thailand, which is known to be the poorest, least developed area of the country. The standard of education is comparatively very low, and government funding for rural village schools is at bare minimum. It is the objective of WorldTeach to help the rural and city schools of this province to reach a higher standard in order to give the students of these schools a chance for a better future.
Specifically I'm located in Pla Pak which is the capital of Pla Pak District (Amphoe Pla Pak). This capital also serves as a hub for the surrounding area and provides a multitude of services, like a hospital, a police station, and a post office. The Pla Pak Sub-district (Tambon Pla Pak) has a population of about 11,000 and Pla Pak District has a population of about 50,000. The Pla Pak Wit teacher housing (Baan Pak Kru) is the high school campus where i'll be living and training for orientation. It has a very small population of teachers and their families and functions like a close-knit neighborhood. Pla Pak is 29 kilometers Southwest of Nakhon Phanom, which is 45 minutes by car or one hour by public transportation.
I am teaching at two schools in rural Thailand: Pla Pak Noi and Wang Yang Elementary Schools. There are around 60 students at Pla Pak Noi and just over 100 students at Wang Yang. I hold English classes with all of them except for the kindergartners so I definitely have my hands full. I alternate days at each school and am continuously surprised by how different the school cultures are, even though they are only a few kilometers apart. My classes usually consist of reviewing the days of the week, the weather, and basic phonetics before jumping into unit lessons.
Pla Pak Noi Elementary School—Tuesdays, Fridays, and every other Wednesday
9:00-10:00am—P. 6 (11 students)
11:00-12:00pm—P. 5 & 4 (12 students)
1:00-2:00—P. 3 & 4 (21 students)
2:00-2:30— anubaan (kindergarten) 5 students
2:30-3:00-- P.1 (5 students)
Wang Yang Elementary School—Mondays, Thursdays, and every other Wednesday
9:00-10:00am—P. 6 (11 students)
11:00-12:00pm—P. 5 (16 students)
1:00-2:00—P. 4 (15 students)
2:00-3:00—P. 3 (11 students)
The P stands for prathoms (elementary grade levels)
