Aidan Curley, originally from Ireland, has traveled and lived in many countries all over the world. While visiting Thailand he came to Ubon a year and a half ago and met the English Crazy Club. Impressed with their energy and cheerfulness, he wound up staying there. Aidan’s a brilliant guy and a people person to boot. He loves the children and manages to make English fun for them. He speaks decent Thai in addition to several European languages.
Although he has been modestly compensated for much of his work, he has foregone more lucrative opportunities elsewhere and donated much time gratis out of his fondness for the Ubon community. He was recently asked to head up an English program, and the organizer wanted to include his photo on the program literature. He has been offered leadership roles on more projects than he has time to do. Aidan is an example of someone who has done well by doing good.
Ban Khumuang School is a public school outside of Ubon. To be precise, it’s in Khumuang township, Warinchomrab district, Ubonratchatani province, which in Thai is โรงเรียนบ้านคูเมือง ตำบลคูเมือง อำเภอวารินชำราบ จังหวัดอุบลราชธานี, unless you don’t have Thai fonts installed.
The school spans grades kindergarten through nine. The local community consists mainly of poor rice farmers, but they nevertheless contribute additional funds to the school for the sake of their children. The school is beautiful and clean, with many Isaan (northeast Thailand) objects on exhibit that give the school a museum feel as well.
I volunteered at Ban Khumuang School for a week. I’ve taught English informally before, but this was the first time I did so with children. The kids were very cheerful and respectful. Thai students, and probably Asian students in general, are quite different from their western counterparts. They defer to the authority of the teachers and administrative staff, and show great respect for their elders. I met a British man in Khorat who teaches English to high school students in Shenzhen, China, and was in Thailand with his Thai wife on vacation for the Chinese New Year. He is in his sixties and told me he could never teach in the West — he could not handle the stress, because “western students make sport of harassing their teachers”.
I was privileged to share lunch every day with Aidan and some Thai teachers. It was pot luck, and everybody brought something. Since I can’t cook, I brought pastries and fresh fruits I bought at the Tesco supermarket. It was my favorite time of the day. The students take responsibility for keeping the school clean and helping the teachers. During lunch they served us water and washed the dishes. I like that. In the West one might criticize this and other unscholarly activities as being unrelated to the school’s mission of bestowing on the children an academic education, but here the school’s mission is understood to be more than academic; it’s a general preparation for adult life as well.
Aidan told me of the time he asked the students to say (in English) the profession of their fathers. The first one said “he is a rice farmer”. As he went around the room, every single student said the same thing. He thought they didn’t understand the question, or were just copying the first student, but it turned out that every single student was from a rice farming family. These children are expected to help out on the farm. They have substantial chores to do in addition to their schoolwork. They learn from the beginning that giving and receiving are inseparable, and don’t complain when asked to help out.
During the morning crafts period, the children learn lots of practical skills they can use to make things that they would otherwise have to buy. You can see them sitting on the ground in groups involved in such tasks as knitting and making sunhats from recycled milk cartons.
On my last day at Ban Khumuang School, I decided to make a modest donation to the school, since it is in large part community supported, and they provided for me such a gratifying experience for me the whole week. They made a big deal about it, and had me present the envelope to the school assistant director in a ceremonious manner at the school assembly. They took photos and presented me with a Thai good luck amulet, a charm, and a sunhat made by the students from milk cartons. There is so much more to life than working in an office…
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