Things are different,

    At Noble Academy, the charter school where I volunteer in Minnesota, computers are every where.  Even the white board at the front of the room is computerized.  Students do much of their study using computer programs.
   In Ayutthaya there are no computers in the classroom.  There is a computer lab now and there have been some updates in it.  It is the only room in school that is air conditioned.  Shared by the whole school students don't get much time in it. The primary teaching aid in the classroom is a white board with dry erase markers.
  When groups of students are to be transported to another school no one reserves a school bus.  The custodian piles them into his pickup and if they don't all fit he makes two trips.  Safety is not a major concern...things happen, karma, it's just the way it is. On one field trip we did take a "saang tauw", literally "two bench" which is a truck with two benches in the back.
   When I complete a lesson in a class I leave even if there is no teacher in the room.  Students are often left during school time with no adult in the room.  When I enter a room to begin a lesson the students stand and say in unison "Good morning teacher, how are you?"  They remain standing until I've greeted them and told them they may sit. When I've completed my lesson the stand and say "Thank you teacher.  Goodbye."
   If I ask a student a question he/she cannot answer the class will inevitably give the answer.  It is almost impossible to get them to refrain from doing this.  If there is a teacher in the room she will often give the answer.  Discovering what an individual students knows or understands is very difficult. Rote learning, repetition and memorization as a group and favored learning techniques.
   The teachers tell me that they like my methodology but I don't see any evidence that they are willing to copy it.

Ready for a ride.

All aboard.

Third grade in the computer lab.

Always ready to pose.