The Cambodia Rural School Project
The Akiko Okayama School
Mr. Pheng Sary is the deputy director of The Akiko Okayama School.
He has been a deputy for a year and a teacher since 1972.
In Their Own Words. . .
| On the new building: | “I like the new school building because it is very large and very clean with a good location. The old building was built with clay mixed with hay and had a thatched roof with many holes. There were no walls between classes, and so it was very noisy and distracting. In this building it is very easy to teach because it has enough tables for all the students and it is not noisy.”
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| On his family: | “I have two children, a daughter and a son, and both were in this school until last year. Now they study at the local secondary school. Besides being a teacher, my family and I also work in the rice fields.”
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| On school subjects: | “I like teaching Khmer and mathematics because I think that if students are good at these two subjects first, then they will be able to learn the other subjects as well. I like teaching the other subjects as well, but I don’t think that they are as important. The students like mathematics because they think that learning how to calculate is valuable. They don’t like learning social science because this subject includes history and they often forget the lessons.”
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| On teaching: | “I have been a teacher since 1972. I became a teacher because I was a good student and so people pushed me to become a teacher. I like being a teacher very much. During the Pol Pot time, I was a teacher, but they forced me to do other work more than teaching. For example, my students and I had to search the fields for water buffalo [excrement] to use as fertilizer in the fields. I became the deputy school director when the previous director passed away last year, and his deputy became the new director. The new director appointed me to replace him. I also took a training course in July of this year.” |
