Train Leaders in Asia for Peace and Sustainability

To Our Generous Donors, Supporters, and Followers,

The following is an update prepared for you on recent developments in the School of English for Engaged Social service (SENS) and related projects.

This report covers the period from early May to late August 2019.

Introduction

The SENS program has proven itself to be a reliable vehicle for transformative learning. We have seen each cohort of students leave with newfound self-confidence, the ability to listen more deeply, a greater understanding of the social and ecological crises we face, and a determination to plan a life that will both realize personal dreams and respond to the challenges of our time.

The purpose of this report is to keep you apprised of developments in this program. Our activities in the period covered by this third quarterly report fall into four main categories:

1)   Preparations for SENS 2020

2)   Raising visibility and appreciation for the work of the SENS program

3)   Supporting SENS alumni

4)   Expanding the work of SENS into new areas

We provide details on these activities below.

1 – Preparations for SENS 2020

Director Ted traveled to his family’s home in the U.S. during May and the early part of June. On each trip to the U.S., Ted purchases literature and materials to be given to students during the course, as well as new books and materials to enrich the INEB Institute and SENS library. Such materials are of course important as they expand on the kinds of reading material that students can make use of at their leisure in the comfortable library at our Wongsanit Ashram campus during the three-month course.

In preparation for each year’s SENS course, we need to update the Student Application Form and create a new brochure. We completed these activities during this period thanks primarily to the work of Topsi, our Logistics Coordinator, but also with the help of many others, including a graphic designer and a very flexible and accommodating printing house.

Of great importance during this period is building the work team, which includes finding a suitable Assistant Director and building a strong team of tutors. We are pleased to announce that we have hired a new Assistant Director for 2020, Melissa. Melissa is a citizen of the U.S. and a resident of Phuket, Thailand. She has an MA in Rhetoric and Composition, and a passion for language, writing, and cultivating analytical and critical thinking skills on behalf of peace and social justice. Inspired by transformational educator Paulo Freire, she has extensive experience in, and explored the boundaries of, teaching composition in a variety of venues. Among the courses she taught in the Northwest of the U.S. are: “Analytical Writing: War and Peace,” and “Research Writing: The Path to Genocide.” She received the “Inspirational Teacher of the Year Award” in 2011 from the University of Washington (CSE). We welcome Melissa to the work team. Her energetic approach to work has already given us confidence that she will contribute to making the SENS project sustainable in the medium- to long-term.

2 – Raising Visibility and Appreciation for the Work of the SENS Program

We know that the more people are aware of the quality of the work we do in SENS, and of our commitment to our students, the more we will attract students of high caliber from an even broader range of countries. Likewise, our visibility will tend to encourage support of many kinds, including financial support that can be used to offer scholarships to students with few resources. One way to heighten this visibility is to share the results of what is in fact a form of ongoing pedagogical research. This research asks how we can combine the teaching of English, leadership, and critical thinking skills in such a way that students’ self-concept, joy in learning, and capacities for transformative work in the world are truly strengthened by the course.

To this end, Director Ted has given much of his time to various writing projects. The first is a book chapter entitled, “In These Troubled Times, Could Every Classroom Become a Site of Transformation? The Story of the SENS Program,” to be published in a volume of papers on innovative civic engagement and transformative learning programs in Asia, edited by Dr. Mochamad Indrawan, a research scientist at the Research Center for Climate Change of the University of Indonesia. One SENS alumnus, Sabin, and one tutor, Mahesh, also wrote short essays on their experiences in SENS for this volume, which is expected to be published in early 2020. Ted is also developing a paper for publication that he presented at the International Symposium on Religious Life (ISRL) in Yogyakarta in the fall of 2018. Entitled “Grounds for Appreciation: Building Interfaith Solidarity by Engaging in Shared Projects and Facing Common Challenges,” the paper describes the interfaith work of the SENS program and is expected to be published early next year by Analisa, the journal of the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Ted also participated in the organizing of a conference on civic engagement and transformative learning that took place in Solo, Indonesia in late August of this year. He represented the INEB Institute at a conference that brought together academics and activists from around Southeast Asia and beyond, large numbers of young adults from Indonesia, and the mayors of a number of Indonesian cities (and one from southern Thailand), who are actively working for sustainability and for participatory governance in their cities. The conference was entitled: Civic Engagement 4.0 – The Solo Forum. It was co-organized by Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok), the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS, Yogyakarta), and Kota Kita (A City for All, based in Solo), an NGO working for citizen participation in the design and development of cities. 

3 – Supporting SENS Alumni

One of the long-term aims of the SENS program is to create a community of alumni who continue to grow beyond the three-month program and who constitute a mutually supportive community. Towards this aim, we are always on the lookout for scholarships, internships, and innovative university programs that our alumni may want to apply for.

We mentioned above that two of our alumni were able to engage in a writing project for publication. This is one kind of support we have been able to provide. A second form of support is when we are able to invite our alumni to conferences and workshops where they can carry on their learning and collaboration. This was the case with the Civic Engagement 4.0 program in Solo, Indonesia. Keen to create an interactive conference to the extent possible, the organizers of the conference planned for a full afternoon of workshops. They also generously provided funds to bring assistants who could offer support to the leaders of the workshops. Two of our alumni, Dewi of Indonesia and Khudoh of Myanmar, were supported to attend the conference and to assist Ted in presenting a workshop entitled, “Listening Partnerships: Living Fully and Leading with Integrity in a Time of Crisis.” We continue to look for ways that we can support our alumni. The Civic Engagement conference was one very positive example of what we can do with the help of like-minded partners.

Following this conference, Ted gave a presentation entitled “How to Assess and Respond to Contemporary Global (and Local) Crises,” at the kind invitation of Yayah Khisbiyah, Director of the Centre for the Study of Culture and Social Change of the Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta. At this event, Dewi shared her experiences of SENS 2019, speaking to the 30 or so students and professors in Bahasa, Indonesia; in doing so, she greatly contributed to the warmth of the reception given to the talk. We are very grateful to Yayah and her team for their invitation and support. 

4 – Expanding the Work of SENS into New Areas

A final area that we have been working on in the past few months is expanding the offerings of SENS. The annual SENS course that takes place in Thailand from January to April every year is intended for Intermediate to Advanced learners of English. We have long wanted to experiment with offering a SENS course for Beginners, and in August we had the chance to plan for such a course with various partners of INEB in Myanmar. There was great interest from four organizations, and plans were completed in August to offer a four-week course in Yangon with the first three weeks in an “Office Format,” which would require students to study from 8:00-12:00 every weekday and continue with their office work in the afternoon. The fourth and final week would be in “Retreat Format,” meaning students would be able to dedicate  themselves fully for that week to the course content focused on English and leadership.

Please stay tuned for our next report, due by the end of the year, for further developments in the SENS program.

Thank you very much for reading, and for your ongoing support.

Warm regards,

Ted Mayer, Director of the SENS Program

Links:

• INEB Institute SENS 2020 Website
• The INEB Institute's Facebook Page
• School of English for Engaged Social Service 2020 Brochure

To Our Generous Donors, Supporters, and Followers,

We would like to update you on developments with the School of English for Engaged Social Service (SENS) and related projects.

Introduction

This report covers the period from early March until early May 2019.

The most important news we have to share is that we completed SENS 2019, our fourth annual School of English for Engaged Social Service program, successfully on April 3^rd, 2019. The growth we saw in students again this year, and their enthusiastic response to the initiatives we take in the program, have renewed our confidence that the SENS program is both meaningful and worth all of the effort required. We are now beginning work on the SENS 2020 program. Your support, whether it be in the form of verbal encouragement, donations, letting others know about the program, nominations of students, suggestions, willingness to volunteer as a tutor, or in other ways will be deeply appreciated as always.

Important Activities in the Last Month of the SENS 2019 Course

Completion of the SENS 2019 program involved 1) a Power Analysis Workshop with Ouyporn Khuankaew in Chiang Mai; 2) Various classroom projects; 3) A field visit to two Muslim communities near Bangkok; and 4) our Graduation Ceremony.

The Power Analysis Workshop with Ouyporn Khuankaew is always a highpoint of the course because students have the chance to work with a facilitator who built a successful training center in her natal village, and because her approach is a skillful combination of posing deep questions, eliciting thinking from students, and questioning gender and other power hierarchies. One challenge we faced was that this year the air in Chiang Mai was especially polluted in March due to the burning of fields in the entire north of Thailand. Nonetheless, students made do with masks and good humor, and we have scheduled next year’s visit for February so as to avoid this difficulty. Such occurrences also reflect the state of things in the world and in Southeast Asia, and thus motivate discussion and reflection on the part of participants.

This year for the first time we took students to two Muslim communities in the area of Nong Jok near Bangkok. We were very kindly assisted in this by Professor Padtheera Narkurairattana of Mahidol University in Bangkok. Professor Padtheera has worked for many years on the status of minority religious groups, including Christians and Muslims, in Thailand. Our visit this year was a first step in incorporating visits to non-Buddhist communities in Thailand as part of our interfaith theme, and it allowed our two Muslim students (from Indonesia and Pakistan) to encounter brothers and sisters in the faith from culturally very different communities.

All students were received very warmly at an important historical canal in the area, and at the Kamalun Islam Mosque by local (and national) Muslim leaders.

In the classroom during the last part of the program, students give a number of presentations as a part of their English practice, and as preparation for their final talk at the Graduation Ceremony. The presentations include one that describes an image chosen by the student in carefully corrected English, and a second in which students must do research on any leader they find inspiring, compose and edit a presentation on that leader with help from tutors, then present it to the whole class. These presentations were profoundly engaging, and showed huge progress on the part of all students. A number of students chose leaders from their own country who were clearly outstanding examples of social service and/or visionary thinking. Yet it was strange how many of us had not heard of them or of what they had accomplished. This was for many of us a genuine learning experience, crossing cultural, historical, and ethnic boundaries.

Students then went on to read a very difficult pamphlet on the importance of long-range goals, and wrote their own talks for Graduation Ceremony outlining both what they had gained from the program and what they planned to do for themselves, their families, and the wider world in the short- and long-term. Again, we saw remarkable improvements in fluency from many of the students, and their expressions of what they saw as important personal and social goals were often very moving. The Graduation Ceremony was very kindly sponsored by Dr. Pichai Tangsin at his Nakhon Chaisi Resort near Bangkok. Dr. Pichai along with his Mother Malee Tangsin also supported one of the monks who joined our program as a student with a tuition scholarship. This year Dr. Pichai also very generously invited us to come a day early and stay overnight at the resort so as to prepare us well for the Graduation Ceremony itself. April 4^th-6^th saw heartfelt good-byes as students and tutors returned to their home countries.

Evaluation and Assessment

Assistant Director Soeui Fah joined Logistics Coordinator Topsi Rongrongmuang and Director Ted Mayer for a two-day evaluation soon after the close of the program. We studied the program’s successes and failures to see how we could improve the program for the next year. One such success involved students’ scores on the TOEIC exam (Test of English for International Communication), which we offer in a realistic practice form four times during the program. One student from Myanmar scored 150 on the first exam (very Low Beginner), 275 on the second (Beginner), 340 on the third (Low Intermediate), and 425 on the final exam (Strong Intermediate). It would be hard to wish for a better example of progress. Many students showed progress in these exams—from moderate to dramatic—even though we do not teach specific techniques on how to take the TOEIC.

We take the TOEIC scores and compare them to our observational assessment of students’ progress in English, then record our assessments of each student’s contribution to the learning community, as well as their growth in leadership and in other areas. These assessments we send along with encouragements and suggestions to each of the students in the form of a Personal Student Report. The Personal Student Report along with reports and thank-yous to donors have been a big part of our post-program work in April and early May.

Our evaluation also highlighted the fact that SENS 2019 had been full of unexpected challenges beyond anyone’s control. For example, one student had extraordinary difficulties obtaining a visa, making her weeks late for the program. Several members of the work team had to work overtime repeatedly to resolve the situation. A key member of the work team who was to share responsibilities with Assistant Director Soeui Fah had to return two days before the program due to a family emergency and was unable to return; and one of our regular workshop leaders was unable to come for a similar reason. We realized that with a strong enough curriculum on the one hand—one that has a clear logic, flexibility, and a humane rhythm (classroom work, workshops, field trips, films, and rest), that can connect with students and their self-understanding—and with a strong enough work team on the other hand—one that was willing to offer insights and new ideas as well as to work long hours—we could still run a strong program in spite of severe challenges. These observations have encouraged us tremendously to go on to plan and prepare for next year’s program.

Looking to the Future – SENS 2020 and Beyond

The SENS 2020 program will take place from January 12^th to April 8^th, 2020. We welcome applications from students throughout the world who have at least a Beginning Level of English, and who can show some record of commitment to working for the welfare of others. In anticipation of next year’s course, we will work to clarify and simplify our curriculum, while also incorporating insights and new ideas from our gifted work team. We will also welcome donations and sponsorships from individuals or organizations who would like to support the students we select, or who would like to nominate and support their own staff or colleagues to participate.

Beyond the SENS 2020 program, we are also now in discussion with partners of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) to consider opening Beginning Level SENS courses in neighboring countries in Southeast Asia and even further afield.

Finally, we want to express our heartfelt wishes for the convalescence of our Fundraising Officer, Arjun Kumar, who was hospitalized with a serious illness, but is now on the mend.

Thank you so much for your support and interest in our work. We welcome your suggestions and feedback as well.

With gratitude and on behalf of our entire team,

Ted Mayer

Director of SENS and Academic Director for the INEB Institute

Links:

• Meaning of the SENS Name
• SENS 2019 Brochure
• Basic Information for SENS 2020

• An Article Reflecting on SENS 2019 (PDF)