candles, lanterns
greet the sky
hello full moon

Happy Thadingyut Full Moon Festival! 

Photos by our students taken before covid.
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In any family, in any culture, exists the feeling of pressure. Whether this is from a helicopter parent who means well but is misguided to the children of dependent users who try against the odds not to follow the same path or children of immigrants who walk the line between new and old, always pleasing some, never pleasing all. Even for picture-perfect families, there are hidden pressures which people conveniently crop out of the still image. Money, health and the deceptively simple act of getting along are universal pressures so it seems to me.

In many Asian cultures, there are stereotypes of strict parents and a loyalty to family which has been perhaps pushed by the wayside for individualist, capitalist societies. I would argue though that even in capitalist democracies, there is still an unspoken, purposefully ignored feeling to do what is right for the family and there is nothing all that unusual about children attending the same university as Dad or joining the family business whether they are investment bankers or plumbers. When I quizzed students in his village, they all said they wanted to marry their cousin and have children without fail. The idea of getting to 25, let alone 30 without marrying or having committed your life to the monastery is unfathomable in Myanmar.

It is normal to change jobs on a whim, to quit because of pressure or because the family disapprove of the company or because someone in your family doesn’t like someone from the family who works there. It is more normal in Myanmar to stay at home with your family than it is to live elsewhere. The family, in general, does not like when members deflect. For any reason. We know students who have gone to Yangon to work, only to return to Rakhine either because their family advised it or because, not having any family in Yangon, they were unable to forge a full life there. The family acts as the ultimate bungee rope; safe yet stifling; a constant pull as a reminder of the service they perform.

Moving from the family, living in a new village always has challenges. But in a country where this is not usual, there is little precedent over how often to call home, how often to visit and how long to stay away. A job is not family, a job won’t cushion you when you jump. We have had students move villages to escape from poverty or worse, in which case the family tries to support the venture. The underlying elasticity is strong though and pulls at each individual. We fear that if the wind is in the wrong direction, it’s going to be a sudden spring back to the family for our interns and trainees, leaving us with precious little chance to recover the progress as elastic will only bend back into shape so many times.

There is always pressure from family, born from love however misplaced or convoluted the show of love appears. It is an emotive subjective as we must include the family in our planning not only our trainees. In many ways it feels more like a marriage than a job. We are involved with the whole family, we are emotionally invested, flexible and both sides have an even footing for feedback and suggestions.

Chloe Smith
NEH Director of Studies and Teacher Trainer

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Students in Myanmar are not typically taught how to self-study. The concept is as foreign to them as the idea that school is a fun place. School is a duty which the government have enforced on students while equipping teachers with the means to ensure upstanding behaviour through any means necessary. We have mentioned about the assemblies with the canes, the teachers with the canes and the children who are caned before. This is a regular part of Myanmar school life, although I wish it weren’t.

Parents in Myanmar want their children to do well and to be clever. These seem like words plucked from a dictionary or Hollywood film script as they have no substance or measurable method of judgment. The concepts do not translate into tangible products, meaning that a student is set up to disappoint; passing matriculation might be seen to be doing well, but should you get enough points to be a doctor, engineer or merely study history at university? What is well and who decides that benchmark? How many points certifies clever over having studied hard or bought answers at the highest price? Parents consider beating a small price for a clever child, often feeling that the reason behind failure was a lack of beatings not that the pain inflicted by beatings may have dulled the child’s spirit to the pain of failure.

Chloe Smith
NEH Director of Studies and Teacher Trainer

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Van and I sat aghast in the back of the classroom as students looked at one another, spoke at one another and read from each other’s scripts. Van took photographs of this as evidence. Evidence of what exactly I wasn’t certain because it seemed as though everyone in the entire class was plagiarising and cheating.

The only student who didn’t seem to be participating in the moral bankruptcy was the highest student whose English level is far and away better than her peers. Therefore, I began to consider if it was even cheating; no one seemed to care or notice. Our trainee moved one girl from the front to the back of the classroom on account of cheating but this seemed like a drop in the ocean.

As Van became outraged and I became disheartened the test was over. The three of us headed home to grade these tests. Van and I chatted animatedly about how we can fix this issue of cheating. I once gave all of my students 100% despite the cheating. I insisted to them that they all got 100%. I put the score on the student portal and I threatened to send a congratulatory e-mail around the whole department. At that point one of two of my students said that they had cheated. They admitted fault. I persisted that they had all achieved 100% and that was an amazing feat. I brought them cake. Guilt-cake. They didn’t cheat again unsurprisingly. I had impressed upon them that I was serious about my displeasure in their actions and I was going to see that through no matter what. I actually ended up taking that test off of their final score because they demonstrated that they knew the severity of the situation.

Ask him. I need a nap, but ask some discreet questions. Van headed downstairs to ask about cultural perceptions of cheating. I had high suspicions that no one in Myanmar thinks of these actions as cheating. Now, in my sleepy state I could hear a fraction of the conversation floating up through the floorboards. Van, they were just looking at each other. Do you think that answering the question alone is good or bad? We used to do that when we didn’t know the answer. Is the test valid in your opinion? Van, I moved the one girl who was looking at the other book.  Do you know what I mean by valid? They were sitting close together; it’s natural. Can we change the dynamic of the classroom?

The conclusion of this discussion was that they would wait until teacher Chloe awakened and ask her opinion. Van told my guilt-cake story, she asked questions; both leading and fair. Our student expressed his own past history of test taking, he considered the questions poised but he just couldn’t really see the problem because culturally it is so usual to cheat, or look at one another, that as a concept it just doesn’t engage the person being asked. Van made the suggestion of splitting the class in two to take the next test. Van declared that grading the papers was a cumulative waste of everyone’s time; the feedback to the students is useless because it doesn’t show them their own weaknesses. The feedback to us would be useless because we just can’t show that our teaching methods are working if all students have the same answers.

Cheating is something that individuals know about; our highest level student wrapped a protective arm around her exam. She must have known that other students would take her answers and use them as their own. Further, she must have considered that this action would be a problem.

Of course, the main note from this whole incident is this: the only way to break cheating is to make the test matter. If there is no punishment, no accountability then students don’t care.

There is also a very important note, which is that the class tests in our school prepare the students for their government exams. We don’t really mind what score they get. What we want the students to use the tests for is to assess their knowledge gaps and strengths so that they can effectively revise for their standardised tests. They don’t need to cheat from the highest level student to look good on paper. We will not beat the student if they get the wrong answer, or even if they fail. What is important is that each individual student shows improvement in their own way. Our teaching focuses on the individual, because we have the luxury that there isn’t an end test which is sat by every child in the country, regardless of their social standing or educational background. As I said, our syllabus does teach the government curriculum. I am prepared to bet that our class will score higher on the standard test than any other grade 9 in the history of the school.

Chloe Smith
NEH Director of Studies and Teacher Trainer

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Am I Getting Through to These Students?

Singular or plural I hear you ask. Why isn’t it mouses you may say. At 10 pm the electric has gone out and ten minutes after we descend into a natural moonlit darkness there is a squeak followed by the patter of small claws as two mice run angrily across the supporting rafter of the house. It is as if to say “we’re here! notice us!” Well, the little so and sos have certainly achieved that aim as they run past me at 4 am, barely a foot from my bed!

We are staying in a rural village. Van is from a big city. She had never before seen cows in the dark. We fixed that. However, to my great peril a rat crossed our path as we approached the cow. Having only one torch between the three of us, I was left alone in the dark to fixate on my impending doom at the hands of the countless rats which were no doubt congregating nearby upon smelling my abject fear of them and their evil red eyes.

After Van had marveled at the cow, we returned home. I was still on high alert after the rat sighting, and my student says that he hates being scared of things and that I should calm down. I in turn tried to explain ‘irrational phobia’ but think I failed.

Fast forward to bedtime and I was alarmed by the sound of small feet on the wooden boards. It was a cockroach. Ugh. I dislike cockroaches who are less than 6 inches from my face. In a whispered shock I exclaimed “Oh my God!” and in rushed out host who clearly saw my sleep induced fear. Returning with a stick he proceeded to chase the cockroach around the wall trying to stab it to death while I obsessed over the Buddhist philosophy of not murdering things, the fact that the family of the roach would most certainly come to look for their lost member, and my still impending doom at the hands of the rats. Van awoke to some commotion. It was not my finest hour. Mind you, I had been quite content with my own plan of watching the roach’s every move until I became so physically exhausted that I collapsed under my own body weight into a fitful sleep. So, the fact that my trainee had decided on a much more violent course of action was somewhat unnerving to me.

A couple of nights on and there was a scurrying. The three of us; Van, our trainee and myself had enjoyed a relaxing cup of tea and a chat before retiring to bed for the night. The scurrying was distinctly close to the empty tea cups in which was resting a used tea bag. A sweet smell evidently emitting from the used glasses. Van leapt from her bed onto mine which was marginally further from the critter noise when in came our student. Bleary eyed we explained how something was moving over there. This time he exited the room and returned carrying a long javelin with a very pointed blade at the end. He proceeded to stab at the bamboo rafters. Pointing out the tiny dormouse that was responsible for the ruckus. Once again, my pacifist reaction was let’s not kill it, while Van advocated for the violent end of any and all living beings who had the cheek to take residence in our sleeping quarters. Of course, when being chased with a sharp javelin the mouse was afraid. In times of panic it is quite normal for any creature to empty its bladder. Over the bamboo ceiling. It turns out that fresh mouse urine is strong and unpleasant, especially at 1 am. The hunt seemed to be proving unfruitful, and was potentially doing more harm than good; now we had to contend with a furry visitor and the odor of our night time guest. Seizing the chance, I assured our host that we would be fine and tucked Van into our mosquito net, carefully ensuring not to rip the fine mesh as I tucked it under her blankets. I must admit, while I didn’t like seeing my colleague worried, I was pleased that it had not again been me making a fuss about the local wildlife.

After Van's departure, it seemed that our host still hadn't realized that while I screeched at the roach and became quite prostate over the visions of rats, it was Van who was nervous of geckos and mice inside the house. Not that I relish the thought of mice running over my bed and licking my face in the dark I will readily admit, but as long as there aren’t any rats, I will shut up and put up generally speaking. As we were sitting in the cool square inner sanctum I saw the spider who had been mere inches from my face the previous night. As the time I had felt a slight apprehension, but had tucked my limbs into my blanket, turned my body away and closed my mouth to ensure I didn’t swallow the hand-sized being in the dead of night. Now I held my torch close to the arachnid as I lower my face parallel to inspect the body and legs. It’s body looked like a kiwi fruit; brown and hairy. Its limbs were much more distinct than any spiders we have in England. We also had the pleasure of a large green and yellow striped gecko join us. I could see the confusion in the eyes of my student as I cooed over the being. “You’re not afraid of them?” he asked incredulously.

The mice are not my favorite thing. However, I am hoping that soon the pregnant cat will have lots of small hunters who are just primed to kill the critters. My student said that the mice will be very quiet after the birth of the kittens as the mother cat will be on the lookout for food and if there’s one thing that Tom and Jerry taught us it’s that a cat’s favorite meal is a nice plump mouse. The interaction with the animals is the price you pay I suppose for living in a rural village in a house made of wood and bamboo without doors or windows; how can you keep the outside out when you are but half a step from the outside?

Chloe Smith
NEH Director of Studies and Teacher Trainer

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As I am exposed to a greater variety of workplaces, some of which are not from the charity sector, the majority of people seem to lack intrinsic motivation. There seems to be a general feeling that work is to be endured not enjoyed.

People tell me it is because of a lack of monetary compensation for work. Even in better paid jobs though, most people seem to lack drive. They ‘live for the weekend’ or they do the bare minimum, bored with scrolling through their e-mail avoiding the temptation to invest in schemes or activities which may benefit them and their company.

I am aware that while people are motivated by money, I don’t think that is the main driver. It seems to me as though very few people really enjoy what they do; people in previous roles have gained energy from their students and enjoyed the human contact in addition to being rewarding from the very tangible results of people applying the language they are taught to their real lives outside of class. In many working roles though, it is simply accepted that you get through your day and then you breath relief as you walk away, whether that is each evening or into your retirement. People change jobs more readily now; the grass is always greener and yet it seems to me as though people are confused about the exact colour that defines green.

As I get older, I find separating work from pleasure easier. I suspect it is more that I have learnt that in order to give 100% at work, I need to recharge outside. In Myanmar, this distinction is rare. Our trainees live with their students. Van and I live with the trainees who live with the students. Students come to class and come to the tea shop. Private space is unknown. I think perhaps that is why there is a lack of self-study and motivation. It links into the robotic pressure and lack of self-study as people are never alone and are always under the watchful eye of others. Motivation and self-study are concepts which have arrived on the grape vine. Like doing well and being clever, self-study has no tangible meaning to it.


Chloe Smith
NEH Director of Studies and Teacher Trainer

A fundamental pervasive concern of teachers is am I getting through to these students? Depending on the type of students you teach, the more delayed the gratification can be. To the point where I must reassure myself that gratification will happen in another 10 years’ time. I have worked with students who reject or are rejected from mainstream school and are often, although not always, from disadvantaged backgrounds. The most tangible compliment I received was “You ain’t actually a bad teacher Miss.” This can be hard on the psyche.

I think that our teacher trainees in Myanmar struggle with this question as the students still attend government school and the matriculation exam is still their focus. Our classes will not change the students from matriculation focused to international aid workers in a month. It is not realistic and moreover, I don’t feel that teachers should expect to have tangible gratitude and gratification from their students. It is a wonderful bonus and perk of the job. It is something that most teachers will cite as the reason they teach, but fundamentally, teachers need to believe in their own presence and sense of self as a vessel for engagement over and above the physical signs of learning that the students show. The most wayward difficult students may not pass their end of term test, they may still throw things at others, but they may also remember you as their teacher for the rest of their life and use you as a guide to make a decision which changes the course of their life without you ever knowing the first thing about it. Of course, I am not advocating for not teaching. Far from it, I believe that students in challenging situations need and deserve creative solutions. Of course, there are ample ways to tell that by and large students are focused and absorbing information.

I have often felt frustrated by my student’s inability to spell simple words or by their insistence in using the local speech dialect to write! However, by focusing on the can’t does and the won’t does of my class, am I overlooking the facts that students are coming to class, they greet me in the street when they see me and they, albeit reluctantly, write their name and the date on each piece of work that they now tuck into their folder without setting fire to the corners or each other? I think that as a teacher, we must consider the viewpoint of others and the impact that seemingly small acts can have on the future of another. Something as small as choosing to come to a class can mean that the student has broken down barriers facing them and their feelings towards education which they may have held since they stopped attending school at primary level. The fact that they feel comfortable enough to write their name on their work and not have others in the class laugh at their desire to do well might mean that they will now be able to apply for and get a promotion at work which they otherwise would have missed due to needing to act cool. The fact that students have had a teacher who is from a different state, speaks with a different dialect and teaches in a new way might mean that instead of fearing the other, those students are curious and want to engage with people unlike themselves in ways which benefit society at large. The far-reaching impact of kind, considerate and engaging teaching cannot be underestimated in my opinion. It is not the material which people remember when recalling their best or worst teacher, but rather the feeling that the teacher fostered in class and the expectations and equality of the classroom dynamic.

Chloe Smith
Director of Studies and Teacher Trainer

In order to achieve a goal, you must believe that the time and effort input is worth the outcome. From our experience in Myanmar, ambition is generally not valued as it threatens the social bond and group dynamic.

People go abroad to work but they often perform low paying labour which involves long hours and cramped conditions; they are not able to experience the country and the value of working and living abroad in any meaningful way. Going abroad is by the by, it is the earning of money which is the outcome. Self-study is not necessary because everyone chants together, and your destiny is pre-determined and fixed in the social order. Having been abroad to work doesn’t seem to add any value to your career prospects in the domestic economy and from what I can tell, people with more money have nicer things but they still don’t buy into the work / homelife distinction. It’s very blurry with the weather dictating when crops are planted, the village elder’s advice is sought at any hour of the day and a ritual performed at the temple might need to happen at 3 am in accordance with the Buddhist astrology traditions despite the supposed inconvenience that an outsider would see.

It seems to me as though the family pressure and the lack of long-term career goals and defined job roles contributes to the lack of motivation and the lack of motivation brings about the family pressure and ill-defined job roles where people leave their companies on a whim and neglect to undertake tasks while they are at work. We do have this in the western world of course. Families will have many generations of people who dislike school, are supported by benefits and don’t find any ways to improve their lot. However, it seems in Myanmar that this is the norm whereas in some other places it is a minority. Many people work their way to promotion in companies, take tests and achieve certification which is tangible proof of attainment. There is usually a specified path and while not all people achieve success in the same cookie cutter fashion, there are certain hoops through which everyone must jump. We have specified job roles within our companies and for most people, work is work and home life is a separate entity.

The lack of definition in home and work means a slackened attitude to cancelling class or to authority as the teacher is a friend and your cousin in many cases. I think that the drive to succeed at work is something which is lacking in Myanmar. People want wealth and they want objects which indicate wealth, but there is a gap in associating doing well at a job consistently and being rewarded with wealth. Wealth seems to be viewed as a reward for being an intrinsically successful person rather than working hard and doing well in a career. There is a lack of seriousness around professions, with most people having tried their hand at teaching, at fundraising for an NGO, at office work, working in a bank etc. People rarely tell us that they are a doctor; instead they studied medicine and then completed the above list of work.

Chloe Smith
NEH Director of Studies and Teacher Trainer

Our trainee has expressly been told by parents to beat knowledge into students and monks have told me that without a cane, our ideas are unlikely to work. Of course, our ideas are unusual enough with a cane, but without one; well, forget it! On this subject, I have an irreversibly bias viewpoint. I am fully aware that my bias colours my ability to empathise and to walk in their shoes. There is never a situation where I feel beating is appropriate; at school or at home. I have walked in shoes wet with sores and blood before, I don’t wish to cover another mile.

The dual nature of the reverence of the family, the pressure to succeed in whichever form that may be according to your family and the fear of beatings doesn’t combine for a sponge-like memory dedicated to learning. As students are not able to self-study, it is hard for them to do anything bar memorise the material. Which leads to more beatings and increased family pressure to do well. We have previously lamented that ‘bad’ students shouldn’t be ignored as it increases tensions and pressure as well as affirming that school is a bad place to be. Add beatings to the list and you end up with a frail culture of children who don’t know whether they will be left alone to fail or whipped to succeed; it’s not hard to imagine why these children are suspicious of school and view book learning as that which is only suitable for others and not themselves.

Ignoring children teaches them that they are not worthy of being taught. They have no sense of value in the first major social institution they encounter. If they can’t keep up in a class of 60 there is no provision made in case they are hard of hearing or lacking in eye-sight. Ignoring children pushes them to the edge of society where they learn to stay, hampered by a lack of social mobility and self-belief brought on by years of looking in from the periphery. It heightens anxiety and loneliness.

Beating children however brings aggression and violence to the forefront. It encourages children to prey on the weak and solve problems with violence. It teaches them to be fearful of affection as they associate the calm before the storm with the next beating. It is confusing for children who need a stable pattern and structure to their days. There is no link between doing poorly in an exam and being beaten or ignored; the child does not learn to be better to avoid a beating. If they are lucky, they learn to be one of the ignored. They do not acquire self-study skills to avoid being beaten, and they do not learn to accept the pressure of disappointing their family; they learn only to fear and ignore the pressures of learning as they associate school and test taking with failure, disappointments and beatings.

Chloe Smith
NEH Director of Studies and Teacher Trainer