I love to bake clever cookies in my class.
Trip to Samoa- woolf fisher fellowship
Nepal- Secondary Teacher Training
During the April holidays I travelled to Nepal to work as a volunteer teacher to support the Secondary Science Teacher Training funded by Himalayan Trust New Zealand. I was based in Salleri 2500 meters above sea level, in Solukumbu District with Mount Everest is in the northern part of this district, within Sagarmatha National Park. The STTP provided training opportunities for teachers of 42 Secondary Schools throughout the Solukhumbu District, many of who had walked days to attend the training! The training programme was very practical and allowed the very enthusiastic science teachers to “learn-by-doing”. My main role was to provide ideas and model teaching strategies that would improve science knowledge, the use of local contexts and resources to support teaching practices and promote greater student centered learning practices alongside Toya, the Nepalise teacher trainer.
The first Teacher Training program was inspired by the work of Sir Edmund Hillary’s Himalayan Trust that has benefited the Everest (Khumbu) district of Nepal since 1961. Nepal faces large disparities in literacy rates between urban and rural areas, with urban areas recording literacy rates of approximately 73%, but only reaching 43% on average in rural areas. In addition, teachers in rural Nepal receive little or no training and regularly resort to basic rote-learning methods. As a result, attendance rates by teachers and students alike can be poor, and schools are very inadequately resourced.
I was humbled to be part of this entire experience. Flying into Salleri from Kathmandu in a Twin Otta (which resembled my Morris Minor with wings) is a flight I will never forget. I now have a greater awareness and respect for the dedication and hard work of teachers and trainers in Nepal and the conditions they work in. I have a number of ‘teaching gems’ that I have brought back with me that somewhere along the line I had forgotten about. I am grateful for this.
Thanks husband for looking after the fort and my precious little animals. Thanks NCG for supporting me to make this contribution and thanks to 10BN, 9KE and 13BIO for being such independent learners that I can leave you to carrying on with your studies and know that you are committed. x
We are so lucky!!
The first Teacher Training program was inspired by the work of Sir Edmund Hillary’s Himalayan Trust that has benefited the Everest (Khumbu) district of Nepal since 1961. Nepal faces large disparities in literacy rates between urban and rural areas, with urban areas recording literacy rates of approximately 73%, but only reaching 43% on average in rural areas. In addition, teachers in rural Nepal receive little or no training and regularly resort to basic rote-learning methods. As a result, attendance rates by teachers and students alike can be poor, and schools are very inadequately resourced.
I was humbled to be part of this entire experience. Flying into Salleri from Kathmandu in a Twin Otta (which resembled my Morris Minor with wings) is a flight I will never forget. I now have a greater awareness and respect for the dedication and hard work of teachers and trainers in Nepal and the conditions they work in. I have a number of ‘teaching gems’ that I have brought back with me that somewhere along the line I had forgotten about. I am grateful for this.
Thanks husband for looking after the fort and my precious little animals. Thanks NCG for supporting me to make this contribution and thanks to 10BN, 9KE and 13BIO for being such independent learners that I can leave you to carrying on with your studies and know that you are committed. x
We are so lucky!!