Introduction:
Boran Krouch, born October 20, 1982, currently teaches English and History at Hun Sen Skun High School in Kampong Cham. He is married with two children, a toddler girl and an infant boy. PCV Megan Coward first met Boran about 1 week after arriving in Cheung Prey district at Hun Sen Skun High School. He speaks English beautifully and is always wearing a smile and a positive attitude. In the beginning, he assisted her a lot with translating urgent messages and untangling stressful misinterpretations. She suggested Boran be spotlighted in the WID/GAD blog because he is an impeccable leader and an excellent role model for students at her school. He is an advocate for students who wish to further their education and a strong supporter of leadership opportunities for all students. This past school year, they co-taught English classes, and collaborated to plan learning activities for English projects such as the Spelling Bee and Writing Olympics. He also assisted with activities related to student leadership for Camps BUILD and GLOW, and art club activities for Create Cambodia and Art Olympics. For this upcoming school year, Boran will be leading Teacher Training and Student Leadership projects in Hun Sen Skun High School, while also allowing Megan to co-teach English with him and he will assist her with the implementation and planning of other school projects.
What activities related to Gender Development are you involved in?
I am the facilitator of the history club, in which I encourage both female and male students to work together both inside and outside of the class. It is important that they are confident in working together because they will need these skills in future jobs and society. I also assisted Megan with learning activities related to Camp GLOW, Camp BUILD, and International Women’s Day. I wasn’t actually able to attend Camp GLOW and Camp BUILD, though I was still excited to work with these programs because it is very important for both females and males to learn about leadership and how to be leaders together.
How did you get to where you are today?
I got where I am today by working hard. I come from a poor family, and my father died when I was young, but I still set many goals in my life. In high school, one of my many goals was to go to university and work for an organization or business, but at the time I didn’t have the money to study at a business university. I then decided I wanted to take the teaching exam to become a teacher in Cambodia. I have continued to set goals and work hard toward achieving them. I first became a primary school teacher and worked with students in this level for 4 years. While teaching in primary school, I worked to pass the exam for teaching secondary school and also attended university to learn English so that I could become a better teacher for the students of Cambodia. I currently teach History and English for Hun Sen Skun High School in Cheung Prey district. While teaching in Cambodia is not a high paid position, I still love to teach!
What do you think is the most important issue facing Cambodians today?
There are many issues that Cambodians are faced with today, though I think the most important issue is leadership. Leadership skills are an important asset to have when planning for their futures. Being a good leader is not only about helping your family, but also about leading your community and society. When planning for Camp GLOW and Camp BUILD, I was often asked by students “what is leadership?” because they had not yet learned about it. Learning about leadership is very important for goal setting and planning for the future.
What kind of advice to you want to give the youth of Cambodia?
I would like to tell them to be confident and have clear goals. Clear goals are important for making sure that they achieve a future that they want. I often ask students during class breaks or during instruction what they want to do after high school in an effort to prepare them to begin planning their future goals. It is also important for students to be confident, because in the future they will need to display confidence to set themselves apart from others applying for the same job. For example, if they have confidence and trust in themselves, they will not need to cheat on exams.
What is your favorite thing about your country?
I love that I am a Cambodian and have an opportunity to help my students to acquire new knowledge. Cambodia needs good citizens, which can be achieved through observing good role models and education.
In my free time, I enjoy reading books and playing with my children.
Spotlight interview provided by English Teacher PCV Megan Coward
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