Going to visit the rural schools

So my dear friend Phunstso asked me if I wanted to come along on some of my Fridays (when I luckily have no classes to teach) as she went about her rounds of supervising the 2nd year students who are spending their six months in the field practicing their new teaching skills. I of course was ecstatic to go and see the reality that my students are going to go out and face, once they complete their time at this college.

The very cute gas pump at the edge of Paro. Currently the road between Paro and Thimpu is under major construction due to the fact that next year is full of celebrations - the beginning of democracy, the crowning of the 5th king, and the 100th year celebration of the monarchy in Bhutan. Ironically, it´s actually the 101st year, but this year is an inauspicious year for Bhutan, so say the astrologers anyway, so no one is supposed to do anything major..
This is our traffic jam on the way to Thimpu. We actually rounded the corner and the whole road was covered by fallen rock, so we got to sit there for an hour while it was cleared away..

The first school we visited.
It was great seeing the rural reality, put it into blazing perspective for me. Yes I do have 50 students in my largest class, but so do many classes that my students are going to go out and teach. And the rooms are a whole lot smaller than the one I teach in...First class, left sideAnd the right side.

The next class I went into was even smaller..

It was a bit discouraging I must say, to see the standard of teaching. I can understand why so many of my students have difficulty speaking English after 12 years of schooling done in English! All that most teachers required of their students was to parrot as one large chorus, 'yes sir' or 'no sir' or 'no doubt'...
It was interesting getting to give feedback to the student teachers - put me back a few years, wondering and worrying as things went wrong how your supervisor would react. What really scared me though, was that most of the classes I witnessed, the student teacher had no idea that students should be asked to participate in more engaged ways! o la la...
Phuntso talking on her cell phone, on the way to a village. It amazes me how one never seems to get out of cell phone range! And this is a mountainous country!


Village temple


The wall of the temple... Every building in Bhutan has to be painted in traditional style, by law apparently!
And more wall decoration!

School girls..



Fields in a traditional village