Only if you are a Khmer who can read English or a foreigner who has stayed in Cambodia for a long time that you can recognize these words as names: Vannsing, Vannavuth, and Sengmean. Yes, I have three students only this season in grade two, but so much desire is in me to give them a better classroom experience throughout their grade two life.
Banking on this desire, I chose to enroll in UPOU’s Professional Teaching Certificate course. I know that my current knowledge is very insufficient to understand how these little brains process the lessons we have in each subject, especially that they are not native English speakers. I also know that there is so much more to explore about how to become a better and a more informed teacher, how to manage my classroom, how to walk these little hearts through the different emotional changes they experience every day (whether at home or in school), and how to make a holistic curriculum for the whole elementary department. I know that I am limited, and there is so much more to learn so I can reach more young hearts and pour out more love into their cup. These are the reasons that I myself want to learn more. Yeah, I sound redundant with this word: “more.”
Further, “Time flies when you’re having fun!” as the hackneyed saying goes. But, for an UPOU student–who goes with the school bus to pick up students at 7:00AM, joins a daily meeting at 7:30AM, has classes from 8:00 to 11:10AM and 6:30 to 7:30PM, handles fifteen school staff, manages the school accounting department, and the entire school curriculum–time is as fleeting as the sunset.
How do I manage my time? As much as I want to write here about behavioral conditionings, the learning theories, learning orientations, learned and unlearned phenomena, learning versus maturation, instincts and reflexes, the best thing that I have learned, or say, still in the process of learning is how I manage my time everyday. If I could manage my time very well, my stress level would not shoot up. Hence, my mind would be more peaceful and my countenance more pleasant for the children. If I learned to work on this inner struggle, then I would be better outside. Then, I would be a better teacher to Vannsing, Vannavuth, and Sengmean.
Better Teachers 