Teacher Trainings

Each time I go to Rwanda I bring teacher supplies, classroom materials and many, many books. It has been important to weave these together to form a curriculum and themes for teaching. You can't simply give teachers what we "think" they might need without sharing the possibilities and relevance of these teaching tools.

In August 2012 we held 3 days of trainings and this past April another 3 half days. The teachers came in on their own time during the school break. A great starting point in April was for each teacher to teach the other teachers about their "classroom to classroom" partnerships they have with schools in State College, PA. they shared what materials went together and why, how they taught their class using these materials and what they and their students learned. Role playing is so important and was alot of fun!!

Next we worked on leveled reading books, that were donated by two publishers, as well as BIG books. Teachers learned one way of introducing a new book and the steps to use when reading it - prereading, reading, responding, exploring and analyzing. Again we used role playing to teach the basics of beginner reading.

I want to thank the many teachers that work with me before I go to Rwanda to teach me how to work with the teachers. These are retired teachers that work on curriculum as well as the teachers with the schools that have partnered with our school. They have been an integral part of education in Rwanda.