English Program Presents.....

Saturday, 6 November 2004

This morning, the kindergarten parents were invited to the school for a presentation and to meet with their teachers to talk about report cards. EP (English Program for short) was asked to do a little presentation as a little PR for our program and to get these Kindergarten parents interested in enrolling their children in a bilingual program. We put together a few conversational English scenarios for the students to ask and answer questions on stage, then they sang the song, "Down By The Bay". It was short and sweet, and then Christy and I sat through the entire 1 1/2 hour presentation of the administrators talking. I later joked with Christy that somewhere in between high school and adulthood, Thai people must learn how to sit quietly and patiently and listen to loooooong drawn out speeches. All assemblies and formal presentations are VERY formal, true to Thai culture. And, Thai children are so rowdy and not paying attention during such things, that it's amazing they still talk on and on.

Of course, as the English teachers, we got our usual "royal" treatment, sitting on a couch next to the administration in the front of the auditorium, as Ajarn Ong-Ard (our principal) told everyone all about the story of my life again (how I grew up in Hawai'i, but went to school in Seattle and taught in Seattle, etc.). Then, he asked the two of us to do a little impromptu "advertising" of our English Program to entice any interested parents for next year. We were caught off guard, but did a little shpeel, and it was fine. Hopefully, we'll have more than 8 more students in May, when the next school year starts. And, if there are any certificated, experienced teachers out there that are interested in teaching English (just like the states) Kindergarten, 1st, or 2nd grade here, we are recruiting!