October 20, 2004
Dear Friends
Chiang Mai International School in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is having
its first break of this school year. Students and teachers need
this time to take a deep breath and relax a bit before the next
stretch. No two years are ever the same here since there are so
many variables.
Our Thai director, Acharn Supaporn, is for the first time fully
in charge this year. She had two years overlap with our retired
director and continues to be challenged with all that the job
entails.
This year began with a new vice principal, Terry Gamble, a Canadian,
who came to us from Cairo International School, Egypt, where he
had been working for the past four years both as a teacher and
a principal. He and his wife Niki have now settled in but find
things here very different than in Egypt. This position is filled
by someone new every two years.
The teaching staff started with a full slate of 35 foreign and
5 Thai teachers. Only four teachers are new this year, but after
a month two teachers pulled out, leaving a gap in the high school
science department and one in first grade. These two each left
for different reasons, nothing to do with the school, but when
teachers are hired from overseas, finding new people quickly is
impossible. Thankfully, both positions have now been filled, and
we carry on.
The Thai government requires a work permit for foreigners and
has put a tighter interpretation on the laws that allow teachers
to come and work here. This for us means that we cannot hire substitutes.
Hopefully, this will be changed soon, but for now if a teacher
is not able to teach, other teachers must fill in for them. No
one wants to make another teacher do more work, so teachers are
coming in sick.
My kindergarten class of 16, with 9 boys and 7 girls, includes
6 children of mission families. Five languages are represented.
Only four of my students speak English as their first language,
and two have no English at all. Every day I try to teach a little
English and also to understand what someone is trying to communicate.
It can be a challenging task.
For the second year I have Jasmin, a girl with Down’s syndrome.
She loves to come to school. She also loves to run away, to climb
anything she can find, and to make loud noises. Three times this
year I’ve been called out to the playground at recess to
try to persuade her to climb down from an off-limits tower she
has climbed up. Her speech is better but not really understandable
yet. It is a wonderful experience for all of us to have her in
the class. I find, after a month or so, without my having explained
anything, most of the other children genuinely care about her
and encourage her to say her letter sounds or numbers or just
play with her. My helper, Supatra, is a wonderful help and keeps
her in sight most of the time. I believe the others have a better
understanding of some of life’s possible challenges and
better appreciate the gifts they have.
My daughter, Julie, is back teaching this year and has a third
grade class. She is a dedicated teacher and will spend hours each
day preparing for the next. It was not easy for her to leave a
one-year-old at home but it’s going well. It’s wonderful
to see her at school and to have family close by. Her oldest,
Siree, now five, just had her first overnight with me on a school-break
trip to Bangkok. It was really special.
Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as the school year
moves on, that I may show God’s love to those I have contact
with.
My best,
Michal Dobson
The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
207
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