The 'Aha' Moment

I was sitting in my school’s office during a break between classes this week, like you do when it rains and the teacher tables are wet. As usual, the chatting between the teachers was in language well beyond my comprehension, so I was zoning. As I looked around the office, I noticed a board on which a chart had been meticulously drawn (using a ruler, it must have been, as is a favorite pastime in Cambodia). I started reading the only part of the chart I could understand – the numbers. I could also make out the words ‘students’ and ‘girls’ at the top of the columns. The rows had the grades numbered 7-12. I been told earlier that we have 1400 students at our school. As it turns out, the upper grades have many more students; probably the students from further villages attend another school until grade 9 or 10. Now, I’ve started teaching in all of the classes for grades 10-12. Only one hour a week in each, but I teach them all. That’s 18 classes – 6 grade 10, 7 grade 11, and 5 grade 12. I hadn’t really thought about the sum total, having 40-50 kids in a class. As it turns out, I have about 900 Cambodian students.