Update: Day 19

Today, we spent a lot of time in ambient cafe, an Internet cafe, working on catching up on blog work. We ate lunch at The Zone and went back to the cafe after lunch to finish our work. We had a basketball rematch against a local team at the youth center. After honing our basketball skills in Tashidingkha, we hoped we would be able to win the game this time. Unfortunately, we lost again and ended up paying the court fee.

Update: Day 18

Today we visited the private Druk School after having arrived from Tashidingkha Middle Secondary School only one day earlier. We were told that it may not be as exciting or as great of an experience as the one we had in Phunaka due to the fact that the kids were younger than us. The visit, however, was quite incredible.

Beginning from the moment we were let in through the school gate by security, we noticed that this day would be nothing like any of the days we had spent in Tashidingka. Students were running around outside, able to do as they pleased with the time they had before any of their actual classes. The school building itself was inviting as well, painted in bright colors with large and open doors. Behind the main building was an artificial-grass soccer field where students were students were playing various sports. The campus was charming and, to an extent, reminded us of what school was like when we were children, opposed to the strictness of Tashidingkha. 

We met with the principal who led us into the school for a quick tour. Some students were already in their respective classes, joking around with one another before the teacher came to class. What struck me was that some students were not wearing their traditional garb, which was required at Tashidingkha, but were instead wearing school sweatsuits which were allowed only on days when students had physical education. Passing through the hallways, we stopped by at the various science labs the school had to offer. Not to our surprise, as the rest of the school was advanced, the lab rooms were very nice. We felt as if we were shot two-hundred years into the future from Tashidingkha. Everything with Druk School was on par with our school had to offer apart from the blackboards. 

The tour concluded with visits to classrooms. We split into two groups of three: one group went to grade 9, the other to grade 10. Here we sat in on the classes, observing and then afterwards talking to the students. The most obvious difference between the two schools we visited, is that students in Druk were far more confident and had much more developed English speaking skills. The entirety of the class would pay attention to the teacher speaking and ask or answer questions. It was easy to tell that these kids were slightly more knowledgable than Tashidingkha students. What was most important was that the students were happy in their classes. They were engaged and not afraid to speak up due to the fact that teacher in Druk were much less strict and often said a joke to keep kids focused rather than drone on and lose the attention of the students. It is obvious that because of the environment they are provided with, all the resources that they have, teachers and students at Druk School are able to work much more efficiently and in the end acquire more knowledge. All of this makes school enjoyable for the kids and in the end they learn more than students in schools like Tashidingka where methods of educating are very old fashioned. Students in those rural schools are more or less aware of the world modernizing, moving forward with education, yet they are stuck in what is considered the old, longing for the new. Our day at Druk school was successful as we were able to compare and contrast two different systems of education available in Bhutan and the way that kids think. We will be presenting what we learned to members of the REC later in the week.

Article: Druk School vs. Tashidinghka

Believing that all schools in Bhutan were like Tashidingkha, visiting Druk School was a pleasant surprise for me. I didn't expect such a stark contrast between the rural Tashidingkha and the urban Druk School. Everything from the students, to policies differed between the two schools. The students at Tashidingkha showed us immense hospitality and gave us their absolute attention. The students insisted on tending to our every need. I often caught students watching me from classrooms, paying more attention to me than the teacher. In rural Bhutan, the students have no concept of what America is like. The students don't have access to the Internet or TV. Many students had no idea what New York City was like. It doesn't surprise me that these students were fascinated by the Americans visiting their school. The students at Tashidingkha were very shy, especially the girls. Many girls would simply laugh at me when I greeted them. I don't remember a single girl's name from that school because they mumbled when they spoke. Even when sitting in on classes most of the students would mumble their answers. When I taught my politics class, not a single girl spoke and only half of the boys spoke. In other classes, even less of the students would speak. Druk School was the complete opposite of Tashidingkha. Druk School students are younger than Tashidingkha. Despite the age of the Druk School students, many of the students introduced themselves to me in audible and confident voices. A kid that could have been no older than 7 years old high-fived me in the hallway saying, "Hey bro, what's up?" In class, the Druk School students would shout out answers and actively take notes in class. The students were far more engaged at Druk School than they were at Tashidingkha. Although I appreciate how adamant the Tashidingkha students were about keeping us comfortable, all of the attention they gave me made me feel really uncomfortable at times. The students at Druk School had access to the Internet. Most of the students knew quite a lot about American culture. I had students ask me about whether or not I liked the band One Direction. Clearly these students had already been exposed to Western culture. They weren't mesmerized by the sight of Americans nor did they have a thousand questions about what America is like. We didn't get any special attention at Druk School but the students were absolutely friendly nonetheless. Even the teachers at Druk School were amicable like the students. The 10th grade chemistry teacher I observed would tell jokes in class and laugh along with students. The teachers at Tashidingkha were very strict. Even the some of the teachers at Tashidingkha seemed uninterested in their work. I walked in on a class at Tashidingkha and the teacher left the room so I could teach. I had nothing to teach and had no idea what to do in that situation. As I mentioned previously, the students at Druk School are far more outgoing and engaged than the students at Tashidingkha. I believe this is a direct result of strict policy. The policies at Tashidingkha are very strict. Students wake up at 5 am to do maintenance of the campus. This includes digging, sweeping, cleaning, scrubbing, planting, etc. The students are only given 15 minutes to put on their matching ghos and kiras, their school uniform. Every day the students must attend a morning assembly and an afternoon prayer. Students are not allowed to go near the dorms of the opposite sex. Relationships are forbidden. The staff openly criticized students for misbehaving. Students can be beaten for misbehaving. The students told me that the principal once slapped a student during assembly. My host family told me that only a decade back, corporal punishment was worse. Teachers abused this power and that resulted in students not showing up for class fearing punishment. I believe the strict policies at Tashidingkha causes the students to be so quiet. The students don't speak after years of being conditioned into believing that their actions will be met with punishment. I asked the students at Tashidingkha if they like the strict policies of Tashidingkha. I was surprised to hear that most of the students thought they deserved to be beaten and punished for their misbehavior. The students seemed to blindly accept the judgment of their teachers. The students liked their uniforms saying that they made everyone equal; the rich and poor had to dress equally. The students liked doing labor around the campus because they thought it taught them physical discipline. Druk School did not have such harsh punishments. The students ran around the hallways freely. Despite what some might call a lack of discipline or order, the students at Druk School struck me as well behaved. The students had as much respect for their teachers and peers as the students from Tashidingkha. I think a change in policy might be beneficial for the teachers and the students of Tashidingkha.

Article: Tashidinghka VS. Druk School

There were several differences I noticed between the two schools we’ve visited so far. There were the obvious differences like the difference in social classes and the quality of life, however when we interviewed both schools, the students of Tashidinghka decided that they liked having a school uniform where the students of Druk decided that they wanted to be able to wear whatever they wanted. The aspect of preserving culture can be observed by this result. In Tashidinghka, during morning ceremonies, there would be a morning prayer. Three times throughout the day, there would be a whistle blown that signified everyone to silently reflect or pray for about a minute. There was an hour prayer session that took place every day after school. Prayer was said before every meal. Druk, on the other hand, was a less strict place. The only prayer session that I viewed was when we were leaving. There was a 10 minute prayer session that took place, and that was all. Even when we were having lunch, the hallways were busy and no one seemed to be bowing their heads in prayer. Tashidinghka was also more removed from any major cities, as the drive from Thimpu was about an hour on an unpaved road. In Tashidinghka, a student would have to report about news once or twice every day. That made me realize any westernized ideas being spread to a rural place such as Tashidinghka would have to arrive via word of mouth from a kid that was already born into believing in the preservation of culture. There’s no doubt saying that Tashidinghka was a harsh school. Not only would a teacher berate a student if they did something wrong, but they could also hit them with a metal rod if they were acting out of line. Because the kids are brought up in such a strict environment, they aren’t given the freedom to make their own opinion on whether or not westernization is a good idea or not. Since they start school they’re taught to conduct themselves in an orderly fashion in accordance with their spiritual beliefs. Kids that go to Druk are brought up in a more loose-fitting environment where spiritual beliefs aren’t as heavily enforced. Students are presented with the pros and cons of westernization with an unbiased view and can choose for themselves if they agree with the idea or not. In my opinion, the pros of westernization heavily outweigh the cons due to the technological advancements and the ability to openly express yourself.

Photos: Days 6- 18

Julian about to deliver a speech

Chefs cooking the food in Tashidingkha

Julian teaching philosophy in Tashidingkha 

James's Art class  

Jun's Technology Class 

Creative projects at Druk School

Model rocket in Druk School 

The remains of a creative project at Druk School 

Creative projects at Druk School 

Our team outside Phunaka Tzong 

Phunaka Tzong entrance 

One of the longest bridges in Bhutan 

Hiking in Phunaka

At Kei and Kuba's Phunaka host family house.

Farewell dinner in Phunaka

Tashidingkha Soccer field

Tashidingkha campus 

Mountains Beyond Mountains 

View on the road to Phunaka 

Dart match at Tashidingkha 

Tea time with Tashidingkha staff 

Druk School classroom 

Druk School Logo 

Tashidingkha from the distance 

Phunaka Tzong 

View of small village in Phunaka 

The road to Tashidingkha 

Supporters of capitalism in the politics class 

Supporters of socialism in the politics class

Getting ready to donate books 

10th grade students at Tashidingkha 

Tashidingkha central building and location of morning prayer

Tashidingkha cafeteria/ stage

Tashidingkha basketball court 

Tashidingkha basketball court

Tashidingkha male dorm room 

Tashidingkha viewpoint (where we did most of our writing) 

Principles house