Thesis work

27 August 2005 Interview of Ms Wan Teacher in Huay Kaem Village. Interview recorded in Huay Kaem Village 7 july 2006 Interviewer (I): Sengamphone Interviewee: Miss Wan, teacher in Huay Kaem Village Miss Seewan is 21 years old and … The interview is recorded at the house of the family house of Ms Sulisai in Huay Kaem Village. Mini Discusson Basic information Ms Seewan will this year turn 22 years old and the religion she believes in now is worshiping of the spirits. She lives in Siang Njeun village near the town of Muangsing and work as a teacher in Huay Kaem village one semester. The religion in this village is worshiping of spirits. Her mother tongue is Lao Lom Leu. She hasn‘t met any problems in the village. She claims to be able to speak the Akha language and that help her out. Last year she for a while lived in the school building. The school has two grades and Ms Seewan is teacher for both grades at the same time. She doesn‘t like stay on her self in the school building so she asks a pupil to stay with her. School and teaching, selection and education Her salary is ok. Usually a teacher earns about 200.000 Kip/month, says Ms Seewan, but because she‘s teaching two grades at the same time her salary rises to around 320.000 Kip/month. On top of that the villagers are kind enough to pay her food. She was selected to the 8+3 program until three year ago when she graduated from TTS and begun teach in Pijeu village, to where the PES had selected her. She stayed in Pijeu for two years until DEB told her to teach in Huay Kaem village. The village built the school by them selves and got no supply from any place. Ms Seewan doesn‘t know how many people live in Huay Kaem. The Chairman told her but she has forgotten. The health condition in the village is similar to other minority villages. There are a few malaria cases, but nothing alarming and quite a lot of stomach problem like diarrhea. Ms Seewan uses the Lao language when she teaches the pupils, but explains in Akha to the small children in grade 1, because they usually cannot speak any Lao yet. She herself knows the Akha language because she‘s been working in Pijeu village for two years. The pupils in Pijeu she considers more advanced than in them in Huay Kaem because they have better supply from supporters like GTZ. Only one text book is given from the DEB and that is to the teacher. But, Ms Seewan says, this book is designed for majority children and doesn‘t suit children in Huay Kaem very well. These children have no teaching aids at all and this, Ms Seewan say, is a big problem for the children in Huay Kaem. In the syllabus the books are mentioned to be used, but how can she make use of any if there aren‘t any? Ms Seewan makes her own picture cards and uses a study group system in her teaching. She‘s asked for help in the DEB two times this year, but 101

she hasn‘t yet received any supply. All together there are 29 children in two grades in the school. It is very tiring to teach the children in Huay Kaem village because of this situation. There are no differences between men and women in that school because there is only one teacher and that is Ms Seewann herself. On the question of the strongest in the Huay Kaem village, men or women, Ms Sewwan answers the women has the strongest positions, because Ms Sulisais sister, Mrs Seewoan, have a high position, which in turn gives that the villagers have high belief in female abilities in possessing high position. Ms Seewan will soon get married with an Akha man who next year will finish Secondary School. Though it is not at all a common sense in the Lao Lom or in the Akha cultures they live together in her future husbands house together with his family near Muangsing. They live six people together in that house inculing Ms Seewan and her future husband. This agreement is made between their families. Ms Seewan claims herself having a higher position than her future husband. In comparison with Pijeu village, Ms Seewan adds, the higher positions are possessed by men in Pijeu village. Women cannot do everything there. They cannot control money f ex. The women are hold back in Pijeu village, is her impression. Ms Seewan meets with the Chairman in Huay Kaem village several times per week. Then they talk about the school, teaching and pupils. Several times Ms Seewan has talked with the Chairman about the needs for teaching aids and he agrees to look closer upon this issue every time, but seems to forget it once the issue is mentioned, she says. Otherwise she has good relationships with the parents of her pupils. Before she stayed together with her future husband she often used to ask the parents to let their children stay in her house during night so she would not be alone. Religion The Buddhist religion is easier to worship, Ms Seewan think. For example, she says, when a person have mare dreams he or she can go to the temple or visit older people to be blessed by binding a string around the wrist. It is believed in this custom that this clear away obstacles the person otherwise might face. In comparison the Akha tradition is quite different, says Ms Seewan. The Akha people have many celebrations for many things. They must have contact with the sprits for many reasons, f or ex when planting rice and when harvesting rice and many other occasions. A pig must be sacrificed during the ceremonies while having contact with the spirits. It‘s quite complex in comparison with Buddhism. Marriage Her parents had some objections about her future marriage, but not too much says M Seewan. It‘s an Akha tradition to share all work between man and woman and her parents said that if Ms Seewan really manage to do all these things it‘s ok for them if they marry. Her future parents in law, says she, had no objection. They thought it would be a good thing to marry their son with a Lao Lom Leu girl. She will have a higher position than her husband. Expectation for the future 102

In the future her husband must finish his education and continue to study, she says. Yet they don‘t know whether it will be in Vientiane or Luang Prabang or Luang Namtha. She herself will also continue to study but don‘t yet know when and where. Perhaps, when and if, TTS changes to TTC in Luang Namtha, it will be possible for her to study the 11+3 program. Interview of Ms Kingkeo Teacher student from Tinthat Village. (intev rec in Tinthat Village) Date 6 July 2006 Interviewer (I): Sengamphone Interviewee: Ms Kingkeo from Tinthat village 2 km from Muangsing in the district with same name. Transcript by Mrs Sengamphone and Mr Staffan In brief Ms Kinkeo is 19 years old and lives in Tinthat Village. The village contain …. people and families and … houses. The village is situated around 2 km from Muangsing town in the district with the same name. She belong to the Lao Loum Leu group. Mini Discussion 6 July 2006 Name and basic info Ms Kingkeo is 19 years old and belongs to the Lao Loum Leu ethnic group and is therefore Buddhist. She lives in Tinthat village ca 2 km out of the town of Muangsing. School and teaching The school in Lao Khao village is a new one and has three grades. The people in village belong to there are Akha ethnical group. Ms K doesn‘t know how many people that live in Lao Khao village. She did her practice in Phonsaisawa Primary school in the village with the same name, Don Koon primary school, Don Koon village, and Ban Khon Primary school in Ban Khon village. Ms K doesn‘t know any health problems in any of these villages. Selection and education Now she study at the 8+3 program at the TTS in Luang Namtha and will finish her education next year 2007. She is selected for Lao Khao village about one hour with motorbike or car from Muangsing town. Lao Khao village belong to the Akha people (Lao Soong) who worship the belief of spirits. Ms Kingkeo believe it will be difficult to work as a teacher in Lao Khao because of the villagers lack of knowing the majority language, Pasa Lao, which is the mother tongue of Ms Kingkeo herself. 103

There are two teachers in Lao Khao village including Ms Kingkeo. The village has a house for teachers to stay in but it is to far from village , so Ms K will stay in the house of the chairman. Both her parents work at the farm. Five people live together in the house. Two daughters, including Ms K, and one son in law, married with her sister. Ms K‘s mother come from Bokeo province and has two children in a previous marriage, one son and one daughter. The daughter is married with an employee in DEB, Muangsing. The son is married and live in Bokeo province working at his farm. Ms K‘s previous husband passed away and she remarried with Ms K‘s father, who comes from Muangsing. The best subject of Ms K is the Lao language and she like to read novels. These books she gets from one national project in Laos founded in an aim to improve the Lao peoples reading skills, supported by a Japanese giving organization (?). The books are delivered to the library at TTS. The last title Ms K red was ―Bai mai bai soththai‖, which can be translated as ―Only one leaf is left on the tree‖ from 1989. The book contains of 19 short stories by Mr Bonseum Sengmany when he was a student in the Sovietunion, Japan and New Zeeland. She is interested in the Lao language because of the need for this knowledge for here coming profession as a teacher. Her task will be to teach Akha children the Lao language. Through the teaching at the TTS she have learned how to make lesson plans, teaching skills and also how to use different teaching aids like materials as picture cards to help explain to pupils who doesn‘t understand Lao language very well. Ms K thinks there are no differences in the position between men and women when both have the same job, but she also think the men posses the higher positions in the school in Lao Khao village. Ms K has one more year to go before exam as a teacher. Then she will dress differently from being a student. She‘ll dress in one traditional Lao female suite, ie a dress which has a sarong like skirt called sin and a shirt with collar. This is a tradition from the Lao Loum, the majority group. Education is very important because if children cannot read and writ there will be problems f ex when transporting them selves, they will have problems reading signs. The teachers at the TTS don‘t make a difference between students coming from different ethnic backgrounds. The village teacher –relationships She hasn‘t met any chairman yet in her education, only met with the director of her school practice. She had some experience of talking with the directors of the schools in issues about weak students and the directors gave her examples of how to manage this as a teacher. She believes the PES (Provincial Educational Service) will pay her salary but she has no idea if this salary will be enough for living. If they‘re not enough, though she‘ll try to sell food to the pupils to enlarge her income. She also believes she will have contact with parents when it comes to issues of naughty pupils. Language She believe she manage enough Lao language to teach in Lao Khao village. If the pupils don‘t understand her Lao she will use Akha language to explain. Some of this language she has learned with friends at the TTS. 104

Religion AS a Lao Loum Leu girl she is a Buddhist, but in Lao Khao village the people belong to the Akha, so, she says, she will make an effort in trying to learn how to believe in the same way as the Akha people do. When she comes back to her village she‘ll believe as a Buddhist does again. Ms K thinks it is important to adapt to the Akha peoples beliefs when it comes to f ex work on the rice farm. Then the Akha people use different ceremonies in trying to please the spirits so they contribute with good fortune for the crop. Marriage Ms K doesn‘t have a boy friend. She‘ll get married after two or three years if she has a boy friend by then. She doesn‘t want an Akha boy proposing to her, because ―it is impossible because we belong to different religions‖. She will not get married with an Akha boy in any case, even if her parents will marry her with an Akha man. A man from Lao Loum Leu is the best but a man from Lao Loum is also suitable. When she gets married her husband will have a higher position in the family than her. It means in the Lao Loum tradition, says Mrs Sengamphone, that the man possess higher authority than a woman and that she have to ask him when they want to do things. Expectations for the future Ms K says that if there are possibilities for programs to select her for higher education she will attend that. Otherwise her family doesn‘t have enough money. In that case she would like to study in Luang Prabang and to continue to educate her self within the profession of teaching. Ms K answer on a question if there was something else she wants to add that she have had problems with waiting for our appearance to be interviewed while she rather should help her mother on the rice farm. Only the women in her Lao Loum Leu family plant the rice while the men drives the Tek Tek. Interview guide of village teachers in Muang Sing Ask many questions in order to explore both a topic and a sub-topic area. Keywords: Symbolic capital (traditional, family-oriented, social, educational, cultural, etc.) economic capital, habitus, gender. July 06. 1. Introduction Who I am and why I do this interview! 2. Present living conditions Name? Age? Religion? Mother tongue? Where do you live now? Where will you teach? Religion in the village? What are your expectations? Nervous? How will you live in the village when you start work as a teacher? Opinion? Family situations - father, mother, brothers, sisters, uncles etc – what do they do? 3. School and teaching The school in the village of selection – is it old/new, how many grades, etc? 105

Is this school different from a majority school? How? How far from Muang Sing? How many people live in this village? What is the health situation in the village? 4 Selection and education Which was your study programme? Are you content? Why were you selected to be a teacher? Could you have said no? What was your best subject at the TTS? Can you describe? How will you have use for your education in your work as a teacher? (teaching skills, etc) Is it different for a man from a woman to be a teacher? Who do villagers respect the most as a teacher, a man or a woman? Who has the highest position in the village, a man or a woman? Teaching - will anything be different now from when you were a student? (Clothes, speech) Do you read books? Novels? What was the last title? Why is it important for the children to read and write? (give situations) What use do the villagers have for education? What do the teachers, students at the TTS think about the minority cultures? 5. The village teacher –relationships (Chairman, village adviser, villagers, parents) How often do you meet the chairman? What do you talk about? (teaching, pupils, parents, the school, etc) Do the villagers sometimes give help with anything? What? Are you expected to do other things than teaching? (intermediary with the modern world, etc) Are you regarded as an educated person? In what way? Are you treated differently from other villagers? Does the position as a teacher change your appearance? (clothing, speach etc.) Who pay your salary? (government or the village)? Is this enough for living? What do you do if the money is not enough? 6. Language. How important is the language? Does she know Lao language well? In what language does she teach? Does she sometimes speak other languages? When? When is it not appropriate to speak other languages? 7. Religion in the village Are these beliefs accepted in the ―modern society‖? Are they accepted at the TTS? What does it mean to respect ethnic backgrounds? 8. Marriage Do you have a boyfriend? When will you marry? Is it possible for an Akha girl to marry a Lao Loum boy? What do the parents think? 106

What do the parents in law say? What position will you take in your marriage? (who make decisions, take care of children, etc) 9. Expectations for the future What does he/she expect for the future? Where does he/she want to teach? Further education? Is it possible? What happens if he/she wants to be transferred or to be further educated? What happens to the family? 10. End Do you have anything to add? Have I forgotten anything? Thank you for answering my questions 107