Renovate Three Elementary Schools in Laos

This week at school was stressful, and the key word I had to keep telling myself was “patience.” Although many of the kids enjoy the class and learning, there is obviously a wide range of interest, ability, and drive to learn. I went from having around fifty children attend class last week to about thirty, but only fifteen to twenty come each day, varying on the day and time. I have seen the dwindling numbers for mainly two reasons; a drastic drop in tangible and edible incentives to do well and try hard, and a rise in the learning-to-playing ratio. Every once in a while, a new game or song will catch their attention for a good 5 to 15 minutes, but there is a constant struggle to find the balance between work and play. I kind of like having fewer children, because I can give each one more attention, and have started to learn almost everyone’s name (although I probably will never pronounce them correctly, and am laughed at when I try a new name). I have about 5 children on the brink of having the ability to read. The English alphabet is so weird. Why does the letter “H” (aych) sound so different from the sound it makes in a word? And why does “C” exist? There is already a letter for both of the sounds it makes, “K” and “S”. This, along with other random instances, has made it harder to teach English than I thought. It can be frustrating, because the English language comes so easily to me, to see others struggle to read a seemingly simple word. I have explanations for some things, but alas, what I have been led to say (in Lao) to students when I do not know the answer is “No ask. Remember.” I have a newfound respect for the entity of school; not because of the drive of the Lao children to learn, but because I now know the work that teachers must put into planning and executing every hour of every day. I see how rewarding, but also how exhausting it can be. I have gotten a taste of everything, posing as a kindergarten teacher one minute, a foreign-language teacher the next, a middle-school teacher telling students that the next note I see, I will make them stay longer to help clean the room. Lao children are essentially the same as American children. Although in general the Ban Phao people look very young for their age, there is a point when they go from middle-aged to old, and I have not seen a middle ground. I think because of their lack of health, once they reach a certain point, hair and teeth start to fall out and skin wrinkles deeply. It is sad to see this, but they are accustomed to that type of aging, and have come to expect it, though I see a change in the younger generation, who more ardently wish to brush their teeth and wash their hands.