Thanks to the generosity of sponsors, the Goducate Children’s Home has a new schoolhouse, where the children have been having their lessons since the start of this school year a month ago. The one-room schoolhouse was built largely by the older children and the staff, with the help of some friends.
The children follow the US-based School of Tomorrow home-study program. During class the older ones sit in their own booths, while the younger ones have little desks or share a long table. Each child has a flag, which he or she raises—by putting it on a high ledge in the booth, or holding it up—whenever help is needed from one of the teachers. The booths and the desks, too, were home made by the older students.
The children are also taught the Khmer language so that when they leave the home they can fit in with and help their own community. The Khmer is taught in the conventional way—ie, by a teacher rather than through home study—and the classes are held in the dining hall.
Their help with the construction of the schoolhouse and the school furniture is part of their livelihood training.