Currently, the program is run by Libia, a former public school teacher (with 15 years teaching experience), Cerys, a British university student who took time off school to work to start the foundation last year, and Brigette, a San Diego native that came to Colombia last year in search of an opportunity to volunteer in a grass roots education program. The rest of the staff are volunteers from (mainly) the US and England who are dedicated to working in the foundation for at least two months...and they often stay longer.
One issue that Libia and I were able to discuss was the fact that many of the volunteers have no formal teaching experience and could benefit from teacher development meetings. We have fleshed out my role a bit more in the program in that I will be conducting daily meetings with the other teachers that will address any concerns around teaching strategies, program structure, and foundation policies/guide for future teachers.
We spent 3 hours in meetings around teacher roles and development today and I walked out feeling like meetings can actually accomplish things...surprise, surprise...
After the meetings, there was a 'sports day' with a local sports development program that works with low economic areas of Santa Marta. The program leaders visit the barrio every Friday for a little bit of chaos and a lot of fun. This week the kids played a game of 'Tunnel Tag' and a few of them might have actually played the game correctly...the rest were running in circles with the sole intent of watching the dust fly around their bare feet. While the running around and water breaks were fun, the kids mostly gathered to share less structured time with their teachers. Each teacher had at least one child nestled beside them and there was plenty of laughing and chatting going on while the games were in session.
One thing that Libia and I have talked about being a very important aspect of the teaching is that teachers develop authentic relationships with the students. After watching the warm interactions between kids and adults, I don't think this is something we are going to need to worry about developing. Loving the kids, giving hugs, and showing genuine concern for them and what is going on in their lives, is definitely a top priority of this foundation.
We spent 3 hours in meetings around teacher roles and development today and I walked out feeling like meetings can actually accomplish things...surprise, surprise...
After the meetings, there was a 'sports day' with a local sports development program that works with low economic areas of Santa Marta. The program leaders visit the barrio every Friday for a little bit of chaos and a lot of fun. This week the kids played a game of 'Tunnel Tag' and a few of them might have actually played the game correctly...the rest were running in circles with the sole intent of watching the dust fly around their bare feet. While the running around and water breaks were fun, the kids mostly gathered to share less structured time with their teachers. Each teacher had at least one child nestled beside them and there was plenty of laughing and chatting going on while the games were in session.
One thing that Libia and I have talked about being a very important aspect of the teaching is that teachers develop authentic relationships with the students. After watching the warm interactions between kids and adults, I don't think this is something we are going to need to worry about developing. Loving the kids, giving hugs, and showing genuine concern for them and what is going on in their lives, is definitely a top priority of this foundation.
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