Read letters from Khanita and Scott Satterfield
April 28, 2009
December 2, 2008
November 24, 2008
October 9, 2007
September 17, 2007
September 5, 2007
Scott and Khanita Satterfield
Scott and Khanita ended mission service with the PC(USA) in 2010.
Scott Satterfield has been a Presbyterian mission worker in Chiang Mai, Thailand, since 1990. His current position is coordinator for English Language Teaching Programs for the Office of the Education Mission of the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT). Although Khanita has been working closely with Scott for many years, she was not appointed to mission service until January 2004. Their work with the CCT includes writing textbooks, developing curricula in English as a foreign language, organizing professional training seminars for English teachers, and visiting the 24 mission schools of the CCT, where they evaluate teaching and curricula and conduct training for English teachers.
Thailand is undergoing a sea change in its education system as schools shift from traditional Asian methods of rote learning and memorization to a student-centered approach. This requires that people make a cultural shift. Larger, well-endowed schools find it easier to make the necessary changes, but smaller schools are faced with financial and staffing dilemmas as they strive to keep up. “This is where I come in,” Scott writes. “I am able to help schools identify where they can make change in order to meet the new requirements so that they can concentrate their efforts on this. I can help schools improve the quality of their English teaching through training programs and seminars. My goal is to help the teachers meet the new ‘teacher quality standards’ of the Thai education system.”
Prior to assuming his current position in 1999, the Satterfields were involved in other ministries with the CCT. Scott was English instruction for the CCT and also developed curricula, wrote text books, and trained teachers on how to use the text books. Scott also served as coordinator for the Christian Volunteers in Thailand program, in which he oversaw the placement, preparation and work of international volunteers from the PC(USA) who came to teach English in CCT schools. This work is now being done by mission co-worker Glen Hallead.
A native of Searcy, Arkansas, Scott earned his Bachelor of Science in education in history and English from the University of North Texas in Denton. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from Memphis State University in Tennessee. He taught school in Richardson, Texas, and worked at the Kathryn Swisher Law Office in Memphis, Tennessee, before moving to Thailand.
Khanita earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Chiang Mai University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. She has a master’s degree in library science from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. She earned a certificate from the Intensive English Language Institute of the University of North Texas.
She taught in Chiang Mai University’s Department of Library Sciences for four years and, more recently, has been a part-time instructor in the English Department.
The Satterfields are members of the First Church of Christ in Chiang Mai. They have one child, Christopher, who attends Chiang Mai International School.
Birthdays:
Scott - December 7
Khanita - April 6
Christopher - April 15
