It’s been a while since I’ve written a post and I must admit that the guilt feeling has been eating at me for the whole time! Sometimes life gets the best of you and sweeps you right off your feet but I finally found a minute to sit down a write this post once and for all! As you’ve probably noticed we’ve not only fully developed the new center in Pamplemousse but ELI Africa has a new website! I must say that this one is really portrays what really happens behind closed doors and in the various classrooms!
For the those who aren’t familiar with me or my previous blog posts…I teach the science program on Fridays over in Roche Bois and we just started the English program in Pamplemousse where I teach on Wednesdays so juggling the two is quite the mission but its possible when you have the realization that what you are doing is making a change even if its the tinniest one you can think of.
This right here is at the Pamplemousse Center. I believe that each child learns in a different and unique way and that it’s almost impossible for one to have them all sit down and copy word for word from what’s on the board! Just like what George Evans once said… “Every student can learn, just not on the same day, or the same way.” So I try and adapt my classes the most possible to house each of my students and one of the ways in which I do this is through self teaching. This is a little game/method that I came up with when a student from my class doesn’t understand the work that I just finished explaining. How It Works: I ask the class who understood the concept. Once I’ve counted, I tell those who understood that they each have five minutes, the board, a marker and whatever prop is available to try and explain what was just done to the one who doesn’t understand. Those who succeed in doing this get points on their golden star chart.
Here is another picture of some my students at the Pamplemousse Center (Front to Back – Owen, Anish and Selvin) : 
Moving on over to Roche Bois…Well that in itself should get its own blog post but because of time contraints I’ll just stick to putting the information into this one! Dont you just love it when its crunch time ?!? (That was meant to be sarcastic for all you out there who weren’t able to see that 😀 ) So..In Roche Bois, we’ve been attacking the Science Program with full force and it’s been going very well. The students have adapted well to the different topics and subject areas and have shown a lot of interest. When teaching Science (or any other subject for that matter but more particularly science) it can go two ways: Good OR Bad. It’s as simple as that. I, myself, always hated doing/learning the sciences therefore when planning the Science Program alongside a group of volunteers it was stressed to make it as fun as it possible and this certainly shows in every single one of our classes! Just a couple of weeks ago we were working on tooth decay and its impacts so we soaked one egg in water and the other Coca-Cola; the latter turned into a ‘yucky’ brownish color. We then used toothbrush and toothpaste to ‘brush’ the egg thus making it all clean like the one that had been soaked in water. The children were amazed and quickly grasped the concept because they had evidence. Seeing something with your own eyes makes all the different especially when you are a child who is still in the ‘discovering’ stages of life. Since then, needless to say, the children had some clean teeth!
– Our Roche Bois Center
Sadly, 3 weeks ago I said my goodbyes as I was prepared to enter a different but similar journey of my own for two months. It was one of the most emotional experiences I ever had..Saying goodbye to those kids was unlike anything I’d ever witnessed or felt emotionally. I kept reassuring them that I’d be back before they knew it but the atmosphere had completely changed and many days go by where I question my decision to leave Mauritius for a couple of months because I miss those kids so much! It’s absolutely amazing how a bunch of kids..yes kids..can affect and have such an impact on your life but whilst working with ELI I realized that it was a tool, there for me to use to fund* the next generation.
“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B. King
*(Fund – I’m taking about education and not money..in case you were wondering 😀 )