A Small School that Keeps Kids in School

Khao Yi San Temple School, Amphawa District, Samut Songkhram Province

A small school that does not let children fall out of the education system.

More than 60,000 children are expected to drop out of school by the end of the 2021 academic year!

In addition to financial constraints that prevent many families from sending their children to graduate according to educational standards, many small schools are experiencing difficulties with teaching and learning. Because, while children can attend school normally, many schools do not meet the same standards as large city schools. Finally, children do not have the right to receive a quality education, which is equivalent to being dropped from the educational system.

But not every small school has to be plagued by the problem of unequal education, because Wat Khao Yi San School in Samut Songkhram Province, one of the schools that once struggled with educational standards, has developed techniques to help the school reopen at full capacity. The former director, Teacher Decha Bunchu, one of the initiators of the small school development project, can confidently state that this school is nearly as good in quality as the city’s larger schools.

How do the teachers do it? Let’s follow the director and see!

Wat Khao Yi San School is a small school with only 80 students.

Wat Khao Yi San School is a kindergarten through primary school in Amphawa District, Samut Songkhram Province. Despite being in a familiar district, this school is located in a remote wetland area. Traveling to study outside the area is difficult, and the community remains small. With a total population of just over a hundred households, very few children attend school, so the entire school has just over 80 students.

Big Problem for Small Schools

• Director Decha stated that the main problems at Khao Yi San Temple School were initially minor and can be divided into five major problems, which are listed below.
• Teachers are not enough. Ideally, one paid teacher would be responsible for 20 children. This may not appear to be a problem in a large school, where one classroom may contain all or more than 20 students. However, because the school is so small, with only 80 students in total, it is supported by only four hired teachers. When there aren’t enough teachers in the class and the subject matter isn't covered, each teacher is forced to teach something he or she isn't particularly good at. The children themselves do not receive the level of care that they deserve.
• There is no budget for building development. The majority of school development budgets are based on the amount per student in the school. This portion of the funds will be used for appropriate expenses. When there are a few students, the budget is limited. There is almost no money left to build buildings. This time, the school lacked a well-equipped library, laboratory, and computer room.
• Located far away, public utilities are not good. Because the area is remote, the electrical system is unstable, and the tap water flows slowly. Thus, the school must rely on an electricity-intensive water pump system. Therefore, a significant amount of money is wasted on developing these basic utility systems, which inevitably become one of the school's largest expenses.
  There is no quality teaching media. The school lacks adequate equipment, particularly IT equipment, making it impossible to provide teaching beyond textbooks.
• Children lack the social dimension. Because the school is small, each class only has a few students. Consequently, the children lack friends and are unable to learn how to interact with peers and teachers.

“Our concern is with students attending small, subpar schools. It does not promote student development and may become a barrier to future education for children. It is unlikely that they will take exams at a prestigious school or have a promising future. Finally, he had to attend a school close to his house, which was also small.

“When children attend a small secondary school, they do not graduate because they often have problems that stem from the school's lack of care in the first place. Finally, loopholes like this cannot be closed unless all issues are resolved.” The director explained and added that in many cases, children choose to drop out of school entirely because working to earn money may be more worthwhile than attending school.

To Prevent Child Disappearance, We Must Improve Schools!

“Meeting the foundation was the starting point that gave the school renewed hope that it could be the community’s primary educational institution. We hope that the children will be able to attend a high-quality school close to home, and I believe that since the school’s inception, we have achieved some success.”
Believing that small schools should have the same standards as large schools, Director Decha began to participate in school development projects with various agencies and began planning to develop the new school’s teaching and learning system through the 'Small School Quality Development Project,' with the Suthirat Yoovidhya Foundation assisting in funding the budget to improve the quality of this small school.

Develop Teachers to Enjoy Teaching

Creating a quality education system begins with preparing teachers to enjoy teaching. Srinakharinwirot University has partnered with the school to train teachers and recommend the use of applications that will make learning more enjoyable for children.

The Suthirat Foundation has also provided funding for the hiring of additional mathematics and physical education teachers. Now that the school has a full class of teachers, it is viewed as a good way to relieve the burden on other teachers. All teachers will receive full benefits, including food and living expenses. They can stay in school housing to avoid unnecessary expenses.

“We also assist in the development of teachers by sending them to provincial training so that they have good teaching techniques and are willing to contribute to the advancement of their profession if they wish to take the teacher exam. It’s an incentive for him to stay with us longer. Teachers can work freely and comfortably. He will also assist with school maintenance, such as gardening and tree care. Sometimes teachers come and advise the children on how to grow vegetables and encourage them to participate in various after-school activities.”

Promote Complete Learning Equipment

When teachers are ready to teach, their equipment must be complete. The Suthirat Yoovidhya Foundation has come to help support laptops for all teachers so that they can fully prepare for teaching during the COVID period, when children must return to studying at home. Teachers also receive support for high-speed internet SIM cards for use in online classes, so no one has to worry about costs.

Any children whose equipment was not ready were unable to attend school, but they completed their homework as directed by the teacher and submitted it later. The school has launched a project to collect smartphone donations from nearby community members and distribute them to students to borrow and use. The Pracharat project also provides tablets to help with learning. All children can now attend all classes without worry!

Bring Happy Kids to School

Director Decha stated that there is another small school nearby with only one student in some rooms. To ensure the highest quality teaching in all of the community’s small schools, the director proposed that children and teachers study together at Wat Khao Yi San School. Children will make more friends and gain experience interacting with those around them. Another teacher arrived at the school to assist with instruction.

“For any child with exceptional academic ability, the family wishes to push him to the top of his class, but financial constraints exist. We will select children for the Foundation to consider for scholarships ranging from high school to bachelor’s degrees.”

Learn From Real Things, Not Just in Textbooks.

Even though it's small, this school is great because it teaches Active Learning, which is learning through actual practice rather than relying solely on textbooks.

Children will be taught at the school how to grow organic vegetables for eating and selling, and they will learn from their experiences. It is thought to be the integration of various subjects into a single vegetable plot. Children will study soil and fertilizer in Science, compare plant lengths in Mathematics, learn about market prices, and manage their income and expenses in Economics. It is very comprehensive.

“Then we expanded the results to include households. Teachers distribute seeds from school to students to plant at home, and this is promoted as a family activity in which parents assist the children. During this time, we will also teach local wisdom, such as how to make biofertilizers and microbial fertilizers. When the children return to learning at home, they must take notes, observe, and record what they did as a project, which we will then use to process the children’s learning in a different way.”

Furthermore, in the future, the teachers will create a curriculum for the children to fully learn in the community, such as how to make tie-dye fabric, process seafood, make desserts, conserve mangrove forests, and practice English so that they can later become little tour guides in the community. It is thought to create a career in itself. Furthermore, these subjects are not taught in any school because they are genuinely beneficial to the community.

A Happy Small School

When a small school is of high quality, everyone is pleased, whether the children are learning for fun, waking up early to get to school comfortably, or parents are relieved that their children will be educated in a good school. Teachers are pleased because they now have all of the necessary teaching equipment to maximize their teaching abilities. When children gain full knowledge, they will have more options for future studies.