Teachers have an important and demanding job. They spend many hours learning, planning activities, preparing teaching materials, and understanding students and their conditions to address their specific needs. They do this is to bring out the best in their students. They want them to succeed.
Ms. Phuvieng Sengouland is a Grade 1 teacher at Danxang School, one of the twenty-five schools participating in the trial of the revised Grade 1 and Grade 2 curriculum. She is very happy with the improved grades and learning outcomes of her students after using the pilot revised Grade 1 teaching and learning materials. “As a teacher, our greatest success in teaching is when students understand the lessons and improve their knowledge”.
More importantly, teachers are doing their job with passion. And passionate teachers nurture, inspire and motivate the children in our schools.
Mrs. Sompala Sertphat, Principal of Danxang Primary School, wanted to make a difference for the children of her village. “I was born and raised in this village. I became a teacher because I want the children in my community to be able to read and write; I want them to learn about morality, to become confident to show their skills and stand for themselves. I want them to get a good job in the future”.
Ms. Aeng, studying at Saravan Teacher Training College, thanks to the BEQUAL Ethnic Scholarship, shares the same dream and is a strong believer that education is the key to success. “When I was younger, not many children in my village attended school. We had only 1 teacher for 5 grades. I decided to study and become a teacher because I wanted to help children in my hometown. I want to come back to my village and teach them. Once they get education and knowledge, they will be able to get a job and not marry at an early age. They will be able to develop themselves. With education, women can play a role and have equal rights in society like men do”.
Her friend Cheng, also a BEQUAL ethnic Scholarship beneficiary, adds that “the challenge when I studied in primary school was that I had to travel long distances from the school to my village; and sometimes I couldn’t go to school because my family is too poor. So, I wanted to become a teacher to develop myself and help reduce the poverty in my family step by step.”
Ensuring that, as future adults, their students will be able to develop themselves is a recurrent theme for the teachers and their educators. Mme. Chanthamala, Director of Ban Keun Teacher Training College, explains that “Education and Sport Sector is a very important field and is the foundation for people’s development. Education is key to access to knowledge. Everyone in the society needs to get education. Without education, there is no development.”
Teachers have great responsibility as their profession has a critical impact on the growth, development and well-being of their students and ultimately the nation. So, in recognition of National Teacher’s Day, all the BEQUAL team want to remind our teachers how special they are!
Happy National Teacher’s Day in Lao PDR!