Interview with Wayne Summers, February 3, 2022

Interview Summary

Inspired by a well-traveled uncle and a Peace Corps poster, Wayne Summers applied for the Peace Corps and was assigned to Malaysia. He tells about his months preceding staging and flight to Kuala Lumpur. Preparing to teach secondary school math and science in the state of Sabah on the island of Borneo, he chose to teach in Malay rather than English. Language instruction was immersive, requiring interaction with townspeople, observing class, practice teaching, and critiquing each other. He describes how he planned lessons with an English text and Malay dictionary. He preferred a Socratic method to the expected rote pedagogy. He tells numerous anecdotes about the fruits he learned to love, the fellow non-Malaysian teachers, ascents of Mt. Kinabalu, a health scare, snake and orangutan encounters, the British education system, and reverse culture shock. Having married the school’s lab manager during his 4th year, he has returned numerous times including teaching five years at the Malaysian-U.S. program Pusan Pengajian Persediaan-Institute Teknoloji Malaysia (PPP-ITM). He has kept close and serendipitous contact with former students, and has noted many changes in Malaysia since 1977

Interview Keyword

Peace Corps (U.S.) Malaysia (Country of service) 1977-1973 (Years of service) Education (Peace Corps Volunteer Program) Sabah, Malaysia, Borneo Borneo (Island) Sarawak, Malaysia, Borneo Kuala Lumpur (Capital of Malaysia) Brunei (Country on Borneo) Kota Belud (Peace Corps post) Kinabalu (Capital of Sabha) Malay (language) Anamist (Religious belief) Bajau (Indigenous people) Chinese shopkeepers Rote (learning style) Kalimantan (Indonesian geographic area on Borneo) Orangutan (Malay word for Man of the Jungle) Amok (Malay word adopted into English) Immersion (Language pedagogy) Nyriu (Winnowing tray for rice) Practice Teaching Illanum (Muslim indigenous people) Illanum (Pirate) Primary (British system, classes 1-6) Secondary (British system, forms 1-4) Communists (Sarawak) 1975 (Political change) Socratic (Interactive pedagogy) Canadian and Austalian (Volunteer teachers) Billings (Oven like microwave) Cinnamon bananas Durian (large, sweet, smelly fruit) Tarap (Large fruit tree) Malayan Cookery Recipes By Lillian Lane “Cowboy town” (Kotabalu) Teacher training colleges Waivers Lack of preparation for exams Friction (parents vs teachers) Faux pas (English) Cultural inappropriateness (British exams) Marriage Mt. Kinabalu Sandakan (rehab clinic for Orangutans) Cirrhosis (Father’s illness) Reverse culture shock Venal thrombosis Field trips Indigenous sports teams Christian/Muslim relationships Semiconductors (Largest exporter) University of Southern Illinois Southeast Missouri State University Computer Science (Coordinator) St. Louis University Indiana University two-year Malaysian-U.S. Pusan Pengajian Persediaan Institut Teknoloji Malaysia (PPP-ITM) Midwest Universities Consortium for International Activities (MUCIA) Advisor to Malaysian IT Security Association Program Chair Malaysian Computer Science Education Conference Co-authored book Computer Viruses External Examiner for Computer Science and IT at University Teknoloji MARA and University Malaysia Sabah New Mexico Highlands University

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