July 24, 2014
Today we had a school assembly to start the day. It was the inauguration of the Literacy Club. The students worked to form this club and are extremely proud of what they have been able to accomplish. I was the end speaker for the assembly and briefly spoke about the importance of reading and literacy in general.
We followed this up with a Q&A session with the campus's Junior Red Cross group. We talked about the importance of service learning and service in communities in general. it was a solid session. It was fun trying to keep them on target with the topics versus asking us about America/Texas.
Enthusiasm on campus for education and learning appear to be pretty high. There exists high levels of interaction and engagement regardless of the class. It is a true privilege to see.
The librarian, Teresa, has brought us lunch the last two days. She is a solid cook. It is humbling to be offered food here from a lady I've only known since Monday. She does it because she cares for us and believes we can do some good for her campus. Librarians are a rare breed bu the good ones are even more rare. This one is priceless!!! She has a small library to work with. It is small in comparison to what is available in the states, but it is used more than what I've seen back home. English is the medium to move up in status and they have books here that help teach just that. The librarian encourages students to read and speak in English in an immersion style of learning like it is an extra section of English class. She is very good at what she does and is a credit to her profession.
There is something to be said for working with less. There is less than what is available on my campus in almost every regard. The utilization of resources is near maximum capacity. The faculty here know how how to stack lessons to maximize time, effort, and physical resources.
Tradition vs New update: I have now witnessed what Babu is up against. The teachers we have met are incredibly nice but are resistant to new teaching techniques or ideas. The newer ideas brought today did not go over as smoothly as hoped. The teachers seem eager to understand and learn but cling to outdated ideas and approaches that inhibit their growth as professionals. Babu in this case represents the new thought balanced with tradition and is a great vehicle to help move, implement, and assuage any complaints that the teachers here bring up. He can really be a force for good here in helping the teachers embrace more tools to help their students succeed and compete in a rapidly shrinking and interconnected world.
Today we had a school assembly to start the day. It was the inauguration of the Literacy Club. The students worked to form this club and are extremely proud of what they have been able to accomplish. I was the end speaker for the assembly and briefly spoke about the importance of reading and literacy in general.
We followed this up with a Q&A session with the campus's Junior Red Cross group. We talked about the importance of service learning and service in communities in general. it was a solid session. It was fun trying to keep them on target with the topics versus asking us about America/Texas.
Enthusiasm on campus for education and learning appear to be pretty high. There exists high levels of interaction and engagement regardless of the class. It is a true privilege to see.
The librarian, Teresa, has brought us lunch the last two days. She is a solid cook. It is humbling to be offered food here from a lady I've only known since Monday. She does it because she cares for us and believes we can do some good for her campus. Librarians are a rare breed bu the good ones are even more rare. This one is priceless!!! She has a small library to work with. It is small in comparison to what is available in the states, but it is used more than what I've seen back home. English is the medium to move up in status and they have books here that help teach just that. The librarian encourages students to read and speak in English in an immersion style of learning like it is an extra section of English class. She is very good at what she does and is a credit to her profession.
There is something to be said for working with less. There is less than what is available on my campus in almost every regard. The utilization of resources is near maximum capacity. The faculty here know how how to stack lessons to maximize time, effort, and physical resources.
Tradition vs New update: I have now witnessed what Babu is up against. The teachers we have met are incredibly nice but are resistant to new teaching techniques or ideas. The newer ideas brought today did not go over as smoothly as hoped. The teachers seem eager to understand and learn but cling to outdated ideas and approaches that inhibit their growth as professionals. Babu in this case represents the new thought balanced with tradition and is a great vehicle to help move, implement, and assuage any complaints that the teachers here bring up. He can really be a force for good here in helping the teachers embrace more tools to help their students succeed and compete in a rapidly shrinking and interconnected world.
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