Michael attended the Young People's Fellowship at Rayners Lane Baptist Church and subsequently became a church member. Following his marriage and move away from the Harrow area he and his wife, Elizabeth, went to Cambodia with World Horizons (WH). They are involved in evangelism and employment creation projects and Elizabeth teaches at the University of Phnom Penh. In 2003 Elizabeth was here with us at RLBC while she studied for an MA at the Institute of Education.

The following is taken from their November 2005 newsletter:

For the five weeks immediately after our return to Cambodia in August I ran teacher training sessions and gave class room support to teachers teaching a
summer school programme for pupils who had either failed their grade examinations or who needed extra tuition before the beginning of the school year. Many children passed tests at the end of the programme
and as a result were able to re-join mainstream schooling. Schools began on October 1st and since then I have been back at SanSom Kosal primary school, where I had been teacher training last academic year. The school has grown to nearly 3,000 pupils this year. My role remains very much the same: giving training to teachers and developing learning materials.

This term I am working closely with grade 2 and grade 6 teachers, as well as those who teach in the Accelerated Learning Project. I’ve been really encouraged as I observe those teachers I had been working with putting into practice, on their own accord, a number of the teaching strategies that I had highlighted in my training sessions last year. For example, teachers produce their own pictures and activity cards to use in class and involve pupils in structured group work.

Towards the end of the last school year I provided staff training at a literacy project, based in a relocated squatter community 15 km out of Phnom Penh. Over several weeks it became clear that many older children in the area had either never been to school or had dropped out early on and still could not read or write. So with the agreement of the primary school head teacher, at the start of October we set up an accelerated learning class for older pupils. I visit this community every Friday and spend most of my time working closely with the accelerated learning class teacher. I continue to give some input including demonstration lessons to the literacy project.

Since mid-September I have been teaching a course in “Academic Writing” to third year students at the state University where I had taught previously. I’m committed to doing this for a term due to a shortage of lecturers. I’m enjoying teaching students again, although not the marking load!

Then a week ago I was asked if I would consider taking the post of Training Advisor (3 month duration) for the Cambodian Basic Education (grades 1-9) Project’s next phase which focuses on teacher training. The main roles would be to give training input to the projects national teacher trainer and to develop a training programme and manual to be used to train teachers in 288 pilot schools due to start in February next year. The training will focus on a) student centred learning methodologies, and b) using the new national curriculum. Although approved by the project’s director and the NGO I work with (they’ve agreed to release me from school responsibilities two mornings per week) it still needs to be confirmed by head office. If they agree, this will be a very exciting (and daunting) challenge. It would be an excellent opportunity to use what I have learned at the grass roots level to input into a wider arena

Michael & Elizabeth King, November 2005