School Evaluation

Today the school was being evaluated for recognition at the provincial level. The teachers had spent all weekend preparing. There were displays for the various elements that they were being evaluated on and tables spread with binders of written material to back up their claims.

The school was decorated with swags of colourful fabric along the front concrete wall lining the street and along the eves of some of the buildings. There were pictures of the students harvesting rice, doing gardening work, participatng in gym class, swimming, and much more.

The committe members were treated to coffee and cake in the morning, and as the evalutation meeting ended around lunch time, they were given an amazing luncheon. The school presented the evaluators with gifts. They sang. Apparently part of Thai culture is to sing kareoke style. Even the head of the evaluators sang!

The school was very proud and from what I understood the evaluation seemed to have gone quite well. They were only the first school to be evaluated so we will not know the results for a while. I wish them success.

As for Nadim and I and the girls, we smiled and did the wai (hands pressed together like in prayer and bow to the person you are greeting). The language of course was an issue, but the school is proud of the international volunteers it brings in, so we were able to be part of the proof of that.

After our busy morning and early afternoon at the school we headed back to the Volunteer House to do some home schooling. Tonights agenda includes going to the Big C. It's a new department store that just opened a month ago. We're hoping to get some of the things we might find back home so that we can make a Persian stew for some of our new friends who will join us on Wednesday evening.

CM