Tassel club begins teaching

By Sandy Grossman

Staff Writer

For impoverished students in the Southeast Asian country of Cambodia, learning English can mean an escape from the cycle of destitution into which they were unfortunately born.  English allows Cambodians to work as teachers, opens up employment opportunities in other nations, and provides social mobility. This is what makes the TASSEL Club so important. The club, led by president junior Tei Park, recruits and trains students so they can teach English to Cambodian children.

After two weeks of deliberation by the club administrators, all 24 student applicants were accepted and deemed ready to begin teaching. These young instructors will be responsible for creating lesson plans as well as meeting with a student once a week, over video chat, for a one-on-one forty minute session.

The first class, which will consist of students from Cambodia with some background in the English language, is set to begin instruction on December 7.  The other, directed towards those who are new to the subject, will begin on December 14.

Last year, the club brought their English language course to Ratanak, a village in eastern Cambodia. This year, they will begin schooling a new group of kids in the villages of Banan, Kampong Puoy, and Samrang.  

The TASSEL Charity, which oversees the TASSEL clubs at schools across California, was founded in 2012 and its South Pasadena chapter was established in 2014. Since the charity’s inception, the dedicated group of professionals have partnered with students to bring new opportunities to the people of Cambodia through educational programs.