Teacher on Duty
On Saturday it was my
turn to be the ToD (Teacher on Duty). The ToD basically takes charge
of the school for the day... here's what happens...
The day begins at 5
30am. After a quick check of the hostel for layabouts, I go down to
the classrooms. The kids are already there doing their morning study.
Some are sleepy, but most of them are doing something useful with
their time, even if it's only reading (in through the eyes out
through the back of the head most of the time). I go to each
classroom and sign the morning study register, which will have been
taken by the class captain. I note down any absentees, sick or
otherwise and solve the occasional physics problem. Having recently
put out the call for contributions to the school magazine, I also get
to read through a few poems and essays as I wander, adjusting grammar
and making suggestions for improvements.
When study time ends
the kids disperse and the boys go for breakfast before the girls.
This is my opportunity to check that all is well in the school, so I
walk through the empty classrooms, do a tour of the rubbish dumps
(holes in the ground – it's only a matter of time before they get
filled and then what? Dig another hole?). Touring the toilets is fun.
The school aims for the lofty ideal of the 'welcoming toilet' – a
place you'd like to go and do your business, but it's not easy to
manage with the water difficulties we so often face. They're a bit
smelly today, but that's to be expected. Finding a poo unflushed is a
bit disappointing so I make a note of it for the assembly.
In the last 15 minutes
before we gather, the SUPW takes place – Social Uniformly (?)
Productive Work. I have to monitor this too. The students each have
an allotted area of the school that they must maintain and keep
clean. If they're lucky its a garden. If they're not it, it's some
bins or a drain or something. It's a good thing because it works; the
school remains clean and tidy and the kids have the responsibility to
keep it that way. As with any cohort, some kids do it without a
second thought and throw themselves wholeheartedly into the sweep or
weeding, other's find corners to skulk in. My job is really to patrol
the skulky corners and draw kids back to the light. On this day I
encounter 3 children standing around a little clump of grass that
needs plucking from the concrete, arguing about who should be doing
the plucking. We spend 5 minutes debating roles and responsibilities
before somebody beds down and plucks it in 2 seconds. I make another
note for the assembly.
Then, it's assembly
time. The children all take up their places according to their houses
in lines of two. The assembly begins with morning prayer, but these
prayers are nothing like the mumbling monodrones of Christian worship
– they're tuneful and joyful and when the whole school sings them
it's a remarkable experience, commented on by pretty much every
teacher who comes here. I tried to learn them, but the vocal melodies
in this part of the world are something altogether more intricate
than anything we're used to, with sudden dips and dives in tone and
gymnastic trills that take practice. After the prayer, the national
anthem is sung. I have the lyrics for this written down, but once
again, following the melody is something altogether more demanding.
The breath-control alone is a challenge. Next comes the student
speakers. On the day in question, the topics were 'The Crown and
Glory of Life is Character', and 'Economic Development Causes
Environmental Damage'. The students choose their own titles and
prepare their own speeches, and every student will do one during a
year, practising their public speaking skills. Once again, I made
notes.
Then comes my turn. The
Teacher on Duty has to take the assembly, which involves speaking for
up to 20 mins, depending on what needs to be said. My first ones
weren't that great because I was a bit self-conscious and uncertain
as to how many people were understanding my silly accent, but I've
grown in confidence. It's good that the children have to do this from
an early age. Public speaking is valued highly here and it's
something I think should taken on board back in the UK.
First I comment on the
speeches, complimenting the students on what they did well and
offering some constructive criticism. Then I extend their content and
discuss the link between thinking globally and acting locally and how
this ties in with the development of good character – both being
dependent on small choices one makes day-to-day (a perfect
opportunity to bring in the debacle of the lowly tuft of grass). Then
I talk about toilets, avoiding the word poo, which is difficult for
me. Then I make announcements that teachers have given me, scold the
boys at the back for not paying attention to the student speakers,
and finally I pass on to the Principal, who tends to speak at all
assemblies, even if just for a short time. He reiterates my scolding
and makes a change – from now on the big boys will be at the front
and the small ones at the back until the big ones learn to respect
the speakers. Brilliant move.
Assembly ends and I
head to the staffroom to organise cover work. If a member of staff is
absent and they teach Year 10 (the exam class) it's easy, because
everybody wants extra classes, but if it isn't year 10, it's a far
more difficult proposition. Luckily on this occasion (it being
Saturday) there were only two lessons to cover and they were both
year 10, so job done easily. The rest of the day proceeds well. If it
wasn't a Saturday, I'd be supervising the lunch and dinners as well
as the evening study which runs from 6 to 7pm, but I don't have to do
this. So I have a nap. And then play basketball in the searing heat
for about 3 hours (Much to my disappointment I've earned a place in
the category of those who foul by accident through underdevelopment
of technique, a category that doesn't exactly command respect). Then
I nap again.
On the Sunday, the
school sponsored a day of prayers at a local Lakhang, the whole staff
attending to prepare breakfast, dinner and lunch for the villagers
and the monks that would be intoning the prayers, as well as cleaning
the grounds, making waste bins, and painting signs. It would meant
another 5am start, but I managed to renegotiate the terms of my
attendance and took the 8:30 transport. Woo Hoo.
