Another quick report, given the hour….
We offered the first part of Carolyn Kroh’s
teacher-education seminar today. This is
part of the work that had impressed the Haitian bishop and canon for education,
and it seemed to go over well with the teachers and headmasters, who came from
all the Episcopal schools in the southern district. The training seeks to enhance the first- and
second-grade classes by making the learning more student-centered. So we demonstrated ideas for making math,
science, and language arts more interactive through games and manipulatives,
experiments, and creative ways of reading to kids. Actually, just reading aloud to kids is an
innovation in the very traditional, rote-response model of education Haiti
inherited from the French. Anyway, the
teachers seemed to be having fun playing the games and doing the experiments,
so that might imply good things for the students’ experience, too.
Part of our group also visited the local electric company
today to investigate what it would take to bring electricity to the
school. There is quite a process
involved – not surprising, given the endemic institutional bureaucracy in Haiti
– and the official wouldn’t hazard even a ballpark estimate of the potential
cost. In addition to that, we need to
step back, process all that we’re learning on this trip, get more input from
our Haitian partners, and make come careful decisions about priorities. New construction, electricity, sound systems
and instruments…. We need to work
carefully on a long-term plan.
After the seminar, we drove out to the beach at Port Salud
to see the sunset and feast at a little restaurant Stan Shaffer knew. We enjoyed outstanding French cuisine with a
Haitian flare – lobster, crab, and fish dishes in wonderful sauces; and bananas
flambé for dessert. Yes, there are some
real advantages to mission trips in beautiful locations….
And now, the not-so-advantageous part: A cold shower, followed by a coating of 100% DEET
insect repellent before climbing into bed.
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