Today was teacher appreciation day at Hang Chat Wittaya. There was a big ceremony where students presented the teacher and principal with beautiful pan (bouquets) decorated with hand-folded banana leaves and fresh flowers.
The students would ask for blessings in front of the Buddha and crawl on their knees to present them to the principal and assistant principal.
After this presentation from every grade and a song and prayer, winners of the most beautiful pan were announced. The students really went wild over this (they really love contests and games). When the ceremony was over, the students had free time to give little flower gifts to their teachers. As I was walking to my office, about 8 different groups of students stopped me to give me these, more than I could carry! I pinned one on my shirt and wore it for the rest of the day.
Also, they would bring their pan to the teachers’ offices, kneel in respect, and the teacher would give them advice and wish them well in their lives. After some students did this with Pii Pan, she told them to go over to me. Oh, um ok, well, I did my best but the only person who understood me was Pii Pan. I hope they got the gist.
My favorite part of this tradition was actually the day before. For the last few hours of the day, the students were sprawled out around the school, hand-making their pan. They were crazy excited when I showed up with my camera! And the crafter in me really wanted to join in and make one!
I’m sure every teacher thinks their students are the best, but these guys take the cake!
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