Two months ago I knew nothing about ELI Africa. In six weeks, I will be in Mauritius teaching in a school through the organization. The mission of ELI Africa is something I think most of us can relate to. Everyone has felt disengaged in school at some point. Elementary school is one of the most important times in a person’s life and public schools have the opportunity to instill a love of learning in kids at a young age. This simply cannot be done through rote memorization and note taking. I think ELI Africa’s mission to teach children interesting material through experiential learning is great and I hope that it will become a model for other non-profit organizations in the United States and abroad.
This summer, I plan on teaching a creative writing class. I thought it would be interesting to develop a project that promotes the importance of interpersonal relationships and personal emotional health through creative writing. Ideally, the skills that the students acquire during the eight-week program will allow them to further understand their thoughts, emotions, and opinions through self-introspection and develop their current reading and writing abilities. I hope our constant discussions, peer editing, and fun activities help us become a tight-knit class. Besides writing about personal experiences, beliefs, and social issues, I want them to meet and interview new people, write poetry, and create short videos. I have no doubt that I’ll learn as much from them as they’ll learn from me. I can’t wait to meet the kids that I’ll be teaching this summer!