PlayOnside Summer School 2018
Normally April is a holiday period for PlayOnside. The schools are closed and PlayOnside stop the training at the different migrant learning centers. But this year we decided it was time to do something different. So we pack our bags, filled the car with balls, cones books, pens and crayons, and set of to the heart of Karen State, for a one month Summer School.
April, with its high temperatures together with the celebration of the Buddhist New Year is the month where schools are closed both in Thailand and Myanmar. During these Summer Holidays many of the migrant children go back to Myanmar leaving Mae Sot looking like a ghost town, missing the trucks packed with children screaming and waving on the way to school, the color of the different students´ uniforms and the vibes of this special bordering town. On the other side of the border, hundreds of villages with lots of children with nothing to do during these months await for an opportunity to improve their education. Thus, we decided this year to close down the office in Mae Sot, load the truck, pack our staff and cross the river towards Thone Sae Thone Sue a small village near Kawkereik, in Karen State to organize our 1st Summer School.
I “Kawkereik Summer School “was an English immersion course that involved during five weeks, 120 students from three different villages. Under the values of integration, gender equality and respect, students had the opportunity to learn English through a wide variety of subjects.
The main topic of the Summer School was environment. This is a very big issue in these communities where especially the sudden use of plastic and the lack of knowledge and resources to process it after its use leaves rice fields, roads and rivers full of this material. Every day and through the different subjects, students got the chance to analyze the different problems about the environment, the reason why they must protect it and actions that they can take to improve this situation.
Apart from the regular subjects like Math or Science, Football, Meditation, Dance or Music took part of this program. At PlayOnside we believe in the need of developing the creativity of the students, encouraging teamwork, debate and discussion, and also promoting critical thinking. Lessons were prepared carefully in order to promote these principals. Participation, group activities and presentations were the core of the lessons. Most of the students showed a big lack of confidence on the first days, but over the days and weeks we can say that the improvements were fantastic.
Students experienced how to learn while having fun. In most of these villages the teaching methods are based on repetition and memorization. Students have no room to share their opinions, to debate and to find and show their potential and skills. Through the variety of subjects we had the chance not only to keep the attention but to give offer the students the opportunity to show their best skills. Some of them, for example, showed an amazing talent in Math when others were great at Music or any other subject. This way of learning, brings confidence to the students allowing all of them to find their best abilities.
Leadership was also an important part of the Summer School. Each group had three leaders in charge of different aspects of the school (cleaning, water…). Through these commitments, students understand that they are also an important part of the school as well as learning how to organize themselves.
It has been five amazing weeks, with lots of smiles and improvements of the students but also of the PlayOnside team. We all grow together.
