What is International Education?
From traditional Buddhist meditation camps, to the intricacies of Thai/ farang relationships, on which a large industry has been based, to the nuances of a tonal language, or the mere fact that I am living in Bangkok’s oldest and largest slum, there is no denying that I am getting a very in depth international education.
Yesterday I found myself in one of my “calming” centers – a bookstore. Any bookstore or coffee shop will do and as a self-described “life-long learner” I find these places of great value to my education. The caffeine boost, combined with the hiss of the espresso machine and the splash of the milk make a coffee shop the ideal spot for me to write – my mind is stimulated and the backdrop is familiar and tranquil. Bookstores feed my craving to know more and it’s hard for me to leave empty handed. I’m that person that goes home after a long conversation and googles everything.
But yesterday my journey to the bookstore had a purpose, as opposed to most of my visits; I was looking for TOEIC text books. As an “international educator”, a certified TEFL teacher and the experience to prove it, I have to admit, I had never heard of TOEIC before. I had only been introduced to the term the day before by one of my older students. ((To clarify, I tend to talk about my high school students that I work with daily, but I also work daily with Mercy staff members to improve their English.)) These staff members are determined learners, knowing the importance of English in their careers and lives.
This particular staff member started only two months ago; as a quick background: she graduated from a four-year university in Thailand this past spring. She was sponsored through Mercy and had been studying travel management, but her dream, from a young age has been to be a flight attendant. She gets that sparkle in her eye when she talks about the flight crews she used to see at the airport, “beautiful in their smart uniforms.” She idolizes these people and this job that allows them to see the world.
And I digress…
The TOEIC stands for the Test of English International Communication, which is the test you must take (at least in Thailand) and do well on, to be a flight attendant. While my student’s English skills are nearing the advanced level, her confidence is lacking, not to mention the vocabulary level for this test was challenging even for me as an English major and Master’s candidate. She took the test this spring and her score was not quite high enough to be a flight attendant, so she was offered a position as ground crew. It was there she was able to practice her English every day with “people from all over the world, just passing through” she says. She’d recall the ‘stunning’ female flight attendants breezing past with an air of confidence. But after two months of work, she was called back to Mercy, to “pay it forward” as they say. There is a rule here that if you are sponsored to go to school, you must come back upon graduation and give two years. It is considered by some a “win/win” as the graduates are guaranteed a job and have Mercy to put on their resumes, while Mercy has educated staff trained in English and Thai working for them. There is talk that they are going to start allowing the option between that or sending a percentage of your income to Mercy for the first two years. That, however, is for another blog post.
So now, here she is, with a dream in sight, sitting behind a desk at Mercy. My hope is that I can keep her English afloat while I’m here and that another native speaker will come to Mercy soon and pick up where I’ve left off.
The other day I went to her desk to start our lesson, and there was a notebook lying out. The opened page read: “TOEIC” along the top, followed by a breakdown of the elements and sections of the test and what she needed to work on, but it was the last line that got me. “My goal is to be a flight attendant. A dream worth fighting for.”
She has been my most dedicated student by all terms and goes above and beyond what I ask of her – filling entire books with vocabulary terms I’ve given her and terms she has come across in her work. She spends her nights in her room studying and doing extra practice sheets I have left with her. She inspires me because she is so driven and she knows what she wants.
She has a dream that she is fighting for.
And so yesterday I went and bought two TOEIC textbooks, with practice tests and vocabulary worksheets, along with tips on how to ace the exam. It reminded me of the untouched LSAT books gathering dust in my room and how I need to donate those to after school homework centers when I get home. This student has a gift some of us can only dream of: she knows exactly what she wants, and for that, I am going to help her achieve that dream as much as I possibly can.
Just another lesson in international education, whatever that means.
This post is dedicated to this student who is going to be the best flight attendant Thailand has seen. She is something to aspire to.
Education will not (take the place of persistence); the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
((Calvin Coolidge))
ABA
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