Filling in details about school

So it has come to my attention that I never really explained exactly how the school is organized.  Which, as it turns out, is kind of interesting.  And kind of weird.  But I digress.  So I guess I will take some time now to explain the basics of daily life at Satrisrinan School (or just Srinan, as it tends to be called).

The school day begins anywhere from 6:30 until 8 a.m.  I really have no clue why any students get there so early, but believe me, they do.  On Friday I have gate duty, which involves sitting with some other teachers while the students file into school.  They have a specific line they stand on in front of us, and when they are all in line, the curtsy, wai, and say "Sawatee ka", and then "Good morning" to me.  If any of them are not wearing the appropriate uniform for that day, one of the Thai teacher takes down their name and they get some sort of punishment.  Note: this doesn't mean they aren't wearing a uniform, it just might mean they are wearing the basic navy skirt rather than the traditional Thai outfit, or something like that.  The same teacher (don't know her name, but she is rather intimidating) also will make the girls wait on the line for more students to arrive so there is a larger group greeting us at once...frankly it sometimes is absurd the amount of time she has them wait.  But oh well, that is the way it goes.  I only do this once a week, but every morning works the same way.  The boys enter through a separate gate, and anyone entering after 8 a.m. is considered late, since that is when the morning assembly begins.  Late students get written up, and if a teacher is in a bad mood, they might also get a swat upside the head.

Gates are closing--late students!

There are about 3,000 students in the school, but every day except Tuesday we all gather in the main field for assembly at 8 a.m.  The students are seated together by class, and their advisor checks for attendance.  There is a lot of speaking in Thai that I don't understand, so I just sorta hang out for most of it.  I usually stand with Pee Oil (biology colleague) and her friends since she doesn't advise a class, but sometimes I will talk with Pee Neat or meet other teachers.  It is amusing to watch the students--most of the field is in the sun, and although they have to stay in a line, they definitely stretch the rules as to the distance between students.  There might be 20 feet between one student and the next so that part of a class can sit in the shade.  Some of the more discipline minded teachers (mostly P.E.--seems like some things are the same worldwide) make them move when they notice these gaps in the line, but it is pretty funny to watch.  As a teacher I have the luxury of staying in the shade!

All lined up

Assembly begins

Assembly doesn't usually last too long--about 20 minutes.  After all of the announcements the flag is raised and everyone sings the Thai national anthem.  As anthems go, this one is challenging.  A lot of high notes and what not.  But it does sound pretty nice, and since I just have to listen I can't complain much.  After singing the anthem we then turn around to pray to Buddha.  There is a set prayer and we bow three times.  I don't know what is being said exactly, but by now I do recognize the words during which I am supposed to bow, so that makes it easier.  After this assembly is dismissed, and the students have a few minutes before 1st period (8:30).

There are 9 periods in the day, each 50 minutes long.  We end at 4:10, there is one 10 minute break at 10:10, but otherwise it is straight through.  This is very irritating since one period technically begins when the previous one ended.  One of my classes always arrives about 10 minutes late because their other teacher lets them out late, and then they are all antsy and don't want to work.  It is difficult since I have such little time with them and it keeps getting cut short.  There also isn't an official lunch break--the school is too big to have the entire school eat at once.  So the lower grades have lunch during one period and the upper grades during the following period.  Teachers grab lunch either before or after in order to avoid the lunch rush, but if we are really rushed we can usually just go the head of any line we want.

As for food, it is all served in the school canteen.  The canteen is a big open building, basically just a roof.  We trade our money for coupons which are used at the different vendors inside.  There are various types of food--chicken and rice, noodles, rice dishes, etc.  You can also get all kinds of snacks like fresh fruit, popcorn, little hot dogs, or milkshakes.  Nothing is over 20 baht (66 cents), so it is pretty cheap for me, although there has been a big price increase since last year and it has angered teachers and students alike.  Many of you have asked what the food is like, and to be honest I really enjoy it.  I am learning to like spicy food (in moderation), but I will say that there really isn't much of a distinction between meals.  So curry or noodles for breakfast is perfectly normal.  In fact, this was my breakfast on Friday.  And no, the Thais don't normally eat with chopsticks.  The normal utensils are forks and spoons (no knives) except when eating noodles/Chinese food--then chopsticks are used.

Noodles with pork...yum!

The food at school is pretty good, so I eat lunch there every day.  And breakfast sometimes too.  Most days I don't have distinct meals so much as a meal and various snacks.  Oh well, it works.  The school day is pretty relaxed most of the time.  My schedule varies a bit week to week because I co-teach some of my classes.  However, most days I have a lot of downtime.  This works out well when I have functioning internet--I can talk to people from home or get my lesson plans done.  Unfortunately my office seems to be a black hole for the internet, so it works only 1 or 2 days a week.  This leads to some very boring days and long evenings since I have to do my lesson planning after work.  But that is the way things work.

I also wanted to explain a bit more about how classes are organized.  As I mentioned before, I teach secondary (Mathayom) school.  So the grades are Mathayom 1-6, which corresponds to grades 7-12.  Now we are the biggest school in Nan province, so even with 40-50 students per class, there are a bunch of classes in each grade.  So each grade is divided into "point" and "slash" classes.  There are three "point" classes (ex. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3) and then about 9 "slash" classes (1/1,1/2,1/3,1/4...1/9).  Students are divided into these classes based on intelligence/test scores, so the smartest are in "point" 1 and the dumbest in "slash" 9.  Also, within each class students are numbered based on intelligence, so student 1 in 1.1 would be the smartest kid in his grade.  It is kind of odd to have such an overt ranking system in place.

The interesting twist to it is that the "slash" 1 students are very often brighter than the "point" 3 students are.  I discovered the reason this occurs is because all "point" classes have additional class sessions on Saturdays, while "slash" students only have weekday classes.  Therefore "point" students have to pay higher school fees than "slash" students do.  So if a smart kid doesn't have enough money, they request to be in "slash" 1 rather than the "point" classes, leading to "slash" 1 being better than "point" 3 most of the time.

As for the uniforms, I think I do finally have them figured out.  Monday is normal for the students, but the teachers wear a khaki colored uniform--somewhat military in style.  The basic student uniform is navy and white, or the green P.E. uniform (as seen in the pictures above).  Tuesday is also pretty normal, but no morning assembly to see everyone--students have homeroom instead.  Wednesday is important for Boy Scouts and Red Cross.  From what I understand, Boy Scouts is mandatory for M1-M3 and Red Cross is mandatory for M1 girls.  It is built into the curriculum and you can't graduate without it.  Thursday seems to have some pseudo military outfits for some M6 boys, but only a few.  Don't know about that one yet.  Friday is for traditional dress.

Monday teacher uniform

Red Cross uniform

Boy Scouts and their sticks!!!

I also promised some pictures of me in my Thai outfit.  Unfortunately these are not the greatest shots...I will try to get some better ones in the near future.  However these will have to do for now.

Anyway, time to go hang out my laundry to dry.  Supposedly I am moving to a new house tomorrow, but I went by today and there is still no furniture, AC, or locks on the doors, so we will see.  Oh, and there should be internet and washing machine (plus other appliances) at some point, but yeah, Thai time.  It was definitely not my idea to move--I fought long and hard against it--but I am trying to make the best of the situation.  But in the interest of having something to wear this week, I must go do my laundry.  See you later!