Success starts with a change in one person.
“Many people expect changes to be big; I only wanted to transform at least one student. Change takes a long time, so a change to one person is already a success.” This was Natchanon Rojwanlee’s (Tham) response when asked about his expectations upon joining the Fellowship Program at Teach For Thailand
When asked whether he thinks he achieved that goal, he stated,
“It exceeded my expectation. The school I went to teach, Kaoliao Wittaya, was a medium-sized ‘filtering’ school as students with sufficient financial support and who excel at academic subjects tend to go study in the city. It was very challenging when I first joined. But what ‘exceeded my expectation’ was the change we made: I only wanted to change 1-2 students, however, as time passed, I became aware that I could also inspire many more. The day I finished the Fellowship Program and left the school, a lot of my students came to tell me that they almost quitted school but stayed through my encouragement.
During his time as a Fellow, Tham managed to conclude his students’ academic performance with no Fs or Waiting (Ws). “To achieve this, we needed to align students’ attitude, work with teachers, and make sure our classroom is a safe place.”
“I worked with two other Fellows, Kru Mod and Kru Kwang, who shared the same working style and views. We designed our activities together in the form of a game: for example, we would set a mission for each class, both academic and behavioral ones. If our students achieved it, they would get a star.”
Per semester, 4-7 classrooms joined this activity, including those taught by Tham and his Fellow colleagues. “Apart from it resulting in zero Fs and Ws, other teachers also came asking about how we did it.”
For Tham, inspiring other teachers also counted as an achievement. “We all know there are several limitations in the educational system, causing teachers to burn out. If we could inspire them, they gain the strength to keep going.”
After his two-year Fellowship Program, Tham continued to work with Teach For Thailand as a Talent Acquisition officer. “After the Program, I still believed in Teach For Thailand, and we found that there are still so many people who want to create change. I had the opportunity to recruit and promote Teach For Thailand’s mission.”
For him, his proudest moments with Teach For Thailand were when he supported interns during their projects, such as EdChange Maker Challenge, SEA Thailand, More-Dee, and a tea brand ‘Karun.’ “For me, Teach For Thailand is a community of a variety of people. If you are looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, full of actions and striving towards change, this is a very interesting choice for self-improvement,” Tham concluded.
From one person, one student, and one classroom, our Fellows started from small steps, leading to transformation in education as a whole. This is made possible through our belief in possibilities, and that one day all children in Thailand will have equitable access to quality education.
