Not sure if it's on here somewhere but if anyone has a soft copy of the Kenyan curriculum for math, science, English and the primary one could they post it for all to view?
Hi Konrad,
Hope you got my comments about the 2009 work shop in Kenya. I not, here are my views.
1. Ours being a very highly exam oriented education system, I know many teachers would welcome innovative ways to handle student revision especially as the national exams approach. These should be group oriented where large volumes of the syllabus are shared and the students research and present to others.
2. The biggesst constraint to implementation of the work shop ideas is resources. So as you plan think of ways to source material such as the ersable manilas, graphic organoizers and any other resources that will help teachers in day to day classroom implementation.
By the way, i shared the literature circles material to teachers in a national school and they have reported wonderful progress with their students. Hope to hear from you soon. Thananga.
Have you considered using collaborative learning strategies to help students review course material? It is effective and fosters interdependence and communication skills. Of course the activities must be well structured and the students must be supported at first, but once in place they do get a lot out of it.
I just joined this group! I am looking forward to contributing my professional knowledge and sharing my experiences. I am a Science/Chemistry teacher in Brampton, Ontario, and I am very interested in global education initiatives.
Hi ... I just joined this project. I am a Special Ed teacher working in a specialized treatment program. I lived in Kenya and love the people and the country.
Hello everyone, Steve Fairbairn here. You'll (hopefully) see my photo soon. I am very busy at work - as we all are - and I promise to work hard to get myself up to sped sooner rather than later. I am looking forward to this adventure, both the 'work' part (really my favourite way to travel and experience life) and the other things.
I am, asking in advance for your patience as I ask questions that I should know the answers too, and as I put my foot in it (as it were) while I try to get on an even keel ..... I am a fully-released local union president who has a varied background in teaching - many subjects, many settings, (mostly junior secondary), a number of 'overseas' development/teaching teacher experiences (including 5 weeks in SA working with SADTU) ... I live to laugh. Oh yes, my world is the Southeast Kootenay region of British Columbia. Small town/rural outdoorsy stuff.
Hello everyone! I am Kari Hall and currently work as a special education teacher/consultant. I am very interested in joining and learning about future endevors with this group. My work involves teacher mentoring and I am interested in the global aspect that I can grow into.
Teachers Without Borders is fulfilling the goal of closing the educational divide by building capacity in African teachers. Being part of the 2009 team was humbling and inspiring.
On the 2009 experience, what can I say. First of all, let me try to define why I 'signed up'.
For the personal professional development opportunity. For the opportunity to share with fellow teachers from Kenya. To learn and to grow. To offer my skills to Kenyan teachers so that they may increase the number of tools and tricks in their personal repertoire of tricks and techniques. To make more friends.
How did I do? Well, it was an excellent personal professional development activity. I have learned so much from my colleagues: Canadian, American, and Kenyan. Yes, I shared with my Kenyan colleagues. I most certainly learned a lot - and I believe that I have grown personally and professionally from the experience.
We shared many new techniques and approaches with our Kenyan colleagues. I believe we have guided them in their search for answers (their own answers, not ours) to at least some of the issues they face in their schools and classrooms everyday.
Finally, I have made some new friends.
The experience was successful, it was worthwhile - I think we did a fine job. I think we have made a difference.
i am happy to be amember of the kenya project . i urge you to binclude more district in your next workshop personally i have gained alot and hope to share the some when school s reopen on monday.i thank the canadian team for their willingness to assist teacher in other parts of the world develop proffessionaly
school have now reopened . i hope my country men and women will do the best to make sure they share what they learned at our seminar in gilgil'i will encourage more teachers in kenya to join this site and share their experience with other teachers in the world.please do your best to help us gain more exposure to new ideas and methods of teaching
As Executive Director of African Kids In Need, a non profit organization that operates in Kenya and provides educational support and sponsorships for over eighty secondary students, I am pleased to join this group.
This weekend in Kenya we are opening the AKIN Learning Center. Ten students will be given one year of remedial education two full time teachers in a home school environment. We are very excited about this new project.
Dear collegue, as a Peer Educator and administrator working with YOUTH EMPOWERMENT STRATEGIC SCHEME,a community based organisation whose vision is to reduce HIV/AIDs infections among youths through establishment of Peer education programs that disseminate information on reproductive health and HIV/AIDs to among organized youth groups, i feel Privileged to have attended last years TWB-CANADA seminar. I am excited that it is happening again this year and i'ld like to encourage more Kenyan teachers and commmunity facilitators to take part in this forum, as it builds ones capacity to be a better facilitator either in a classroom setting or even in the open space.
I am quite encouraged to participate again this year and probably facilitate an ICT session as i identified a dire need for the same among my country men and women.
We, Youth Empowerment Strategic Scheme believe in the power of networking and partnering and therefore i call upon interested individuals with creative and noble ideas to enhance our operations to reachout to more youths in the society. Feel free to contact me on tonnxy@gmail.com;+254 721122950 for more information.
Hi Paula,
We met lots of Samburus last summer while we were conducting professional development workshops for the teachers around the Mount Kenya area. I have some great pictures of them. They danced for us, and I bought a wooden 'pillow' from a gentleman. I can still smell the wood smoke in it a year later!
Hello everyone. Have a great school year.
I would like to give a brief Reply to Paula.
I was not able to go to Kenya this year, but I was happy to be part of the 2008 and 2009 teams. There were several things that impressed me. The work that the EBB teams did was outstanding. We came together as a team and I believe delivered workshops that were very well received by our Kenyan colleagues. The Kenyan teachers work very hard under difficult conditions compared to Canadian schools. They displayed wonderful professionalism. I believe in the value of actually going to Kenya, meeting the teachers there, and working with them. Without this person to person contact, I believe we would be less effective. We did make a difference. If you are able to go to Kenya to be part of a team, please consider it. Though I have been a teacher for well over 30 years, I found it to be one of the best educational experiences I have had.
hallo everyone this holiday we had again our workshop at utumishi academy.the EBB group and our local facilitators did a commendable job in helping teachers develop proffessionally i may not have been very active due to some stressing personal and school issues which have now exploded making me shift from namuncha school. i made new friends .we were intruduced new tricks and techniques in imparting knowledge to our learners. issues were well shared and we got the best briefs from our canadian teachers. this will help us in clossing the educational gap as per our motto
I am still in the 'messy thinking stage' of writing about my experiences this past summer in Kenya.
In many ways the return experience was different from 2009. The team comprised of a few who had participated in 2008 and 2009 as well as those who were new to the Kenyan experience. To members of this year's team, thank you for teaching me so much. The other difference was the weather. Until recently Kenya had been experiencing drought for four years so that much of the land was very dry. This year was mildly cold and many days saw rain. Whereas I wore shorts and teachers in 2009, this year long sleeves and pants as well as a jacket was often required. It was great to see so much greenery and pools of water. Indeed, in some locations the difference in color , i.e. brown to green was dramatic.
There were many other reminders of 2009, such as the two puppies, now dogs, still protected the 'principal's house where I stayed.
And yet much of this year's experience was not knew. My Kenyan colleagues who participated in last year's sessions returned in 2010, which says a lot about the determination and passion of the Kenyan educators as well as a sign that last year's session were successful. They greeted me with great enthusiasm and I was just as,if not more than, pleased to see them again. While its is a cliche, in some ways I felt that I was returning to a place that has special meaning.
On a more personal note, I was honored to have been adopted into the Kikuru tribe, ceremony and all. And I was given the name Chege.
Soon I will put my thoughts into a more coherent text.
While I cannot plan that far ahead, I hope to return.
Although disappointed that I was unable for personal reasons to participate in the Kenya projects this year, I still maintain many of the contacts that I made during the 2009 trip. With these contacts, my Gr. 9 students were able to collaborate and develop a relationship with an all girls school in Kenya where the focus of our discussion was on the importance of an education to girls. My students have since moved on but were so motivated by this experience that they are personally continuing to follow up on this collaboration. I also had my students connect to a school in rural Kenya where, due to a lack of electricity and remoteness, the best way to collaborate was via cell phones. Messages were sent to their teacher via his cell phone and shared with his students, who in turn followed up with messages back to us. This experience led to a greater appreciation and understanding that although life can be so different, the similarities between children around the world is incredible.
My new group of students will be collaborating with these two schools again this year and as we have just started our school year, what this collaboration will look like is yet to unfold.
My experience in Kenya was in 2009, but my connection to the people and the communities is stronger than ever and as a person and a teacher, my life continues to change because of these connections.
Applications are now available for the 2011 Kenya teams in Laikipia and Naivasha! Email info@educationbeyondborders today... applications are due December 20th.
Tutaonana (we'll see each other) in Kenya, perhaps!
@Lois, I'd love to hear more about how you've used cellphones to communicate with schools in Kenya. We often struggle to communicate reliably via email, and it is amazing how prevalent cellphones are throughout Kenya. Did you have the messages coming to & from your cellphone in Canada?
I have been keeping in touch with one person - Samuel Kamau (Principal of Sweewaters Elementary, Nanyuki) through texting. He does not have regular internet access. The downside to cell phone use is that we cannot get too deep on a topic via texts.
We use snail mail to also communicate with this particular school but our last set of letters did not arrive so mail is not always reliable. The benefit of a text message is that within minutes or the hour, we often have a response. It makes the world seem like a very small place. The downside to the texts is the small amount of info that can be shared at a time but once you learn how to word things well to maximize what you want to say, it becomes quite effective. The teacher in Kenya and I simply relay the messages and questions back and forth between our classrooms.
Ji Ai - amazing that you're able to keep in touch through text! I hear you on the lack of depth, I'd be curious how folks work around that.
Lois - Very interesting indeed, I really like it. Two more questions - how do you deal with time zones? And how do you compensate the Kenyan teacher for the texts they send? (I think international texts cost about 40 cents each last I checked) This could have real application as we plan for next years workshops in Kenya - we want to involve the Kenyan teachers more in planning processes but realise that they have infrequent access to internet.
Elspeth Anderson
Jan 8, 2009
Kim Jonat
Jan 11, 2009
Thananga Ng'ang'a
Glad to join the trip preparing for the Kenya workshop 2009. Glad to be of assistance in any way.
Jan 18, 2009
catherine ing'ahidzu musera
Feb 3, 2009
Thananga Ng'ang'a
Hope you got my comments about the 2009 work shop in Kenya. I not, here are my views.
1. Ours being a very highly exam oriented education system, I know many teachers would welcome innovative ways to handle student revision especially as the national exams approach. These should be group oriented where large volumes of the syllabus are shared and the students research and present to others.
2. The biggesst constraint to implementation of the work shop ideas is resources. So as you plan think of ways to source material such as the ersable manilas, graphic organoizers and any other resources that will help teachers in day to day classroom implementation.
By the way, i shared the literature circles material to teachers in a national school and they have reported wonderful progress with their students. Hope to hear from you soon. Thananga.
Feb 3, 2009
Anne Beamish
Feb 4, 2009
Anita Hahoe
Feb 23, 2009
Mirjan Krstovic
I just joined this group! I am looking forward to contributing my professional knowledge and sharing my experiences. I am a Science/Chemistry teacher in Brampton, Ontario, and I am very interested in global education initiatives.
Mar 22, 2009
ROSEMARY SKUCE
Apr 21, 2009
Steve Fairbairn
I am, asking in advance for your patience as I ask questions that I should know the answers too, and as I put my foot in it (as it were) while I try to get on an even keel ..... I am a fully-released local union president who has a varied background in teaching - many subjects, many settings, (mostly junior secondary), a number of 'overseas' development/teaching teacher experiences (including 5 weeks in SA working with SADTU) ... I live to laugh. Oh yes, my world is the Southeast Kootenay region of British Columbia. Small town/rural outdoorsy stuff.
Apr 23, 2009
Kari Hall
May 24, 2009
Mary-Anne Neal
Aug 25, 2009
Steve Fairbairn
For the personal professional development opportunity. For the opportunity to share with fellow teachers from Kenya. To learn and to grow. To offer my skills to Kenyan teachers so that they may increase the number of tools and tricks in their personal repertoire of tricks and techniques. To make more friends.
How did I do? Well, it was an excellent personal professional development activity. I have learned so much from my colleagues: Canadian, American, and Kenyan. Yes, I shared with my Kenyan colleagues. I most certainly learned a lot - and I believe that I have grown personally and professionally from the experience.
We shared many new techniques and approaches with our Kenyan colleagues. I believe we have guided them in their search for answers (their own answers, not ours) to at least some of the issues they face in their schools and classrooms everyday.
Finally, I have made some new friends.
The experience was successful, it was worthwhile - I think we did a fine job. I think we have made a difference.
Sep 2, 2009
benson m. karumba
Sep 4, 2009
Mandy Kinzel
Sep 14, 2009
benson m. karumba
Sep 15, 2009
Paul Miller
This weekend in Kenya we are opening the AKIN Learning Center. Ten students will be given one year of remedial education two full time teachers in a home school environment. We are very excited about this new project.
Jan 16, 2010
Paul Miller
Jan 16, 2010
antony kamau
I am quite encouraged to participate again this year and probably facilitate an ICT session as i identified a dire need for the same among my country men and women.
We, Youth Empowerment Strategic Scheme believe in the power of networking and partnering and therefore i call upon interested individuals with creative and noble ideas to enhance our operations to reachout to more youths in the society. Feel free to contact me on tonnxy@gmail.com;+254 721122950 for more information.
Feb 16, 2010
Mary-Anne Neal
We met lots of Samburus last summer while we were conducting professional development workshops for the teachers around the Mount Kenya area. I have some great pictures of them. They danced for us, and I bought a wooden 'pillow' from a gentleman. I can still smell the wood smoke in it a year later!
Sep 7, 2010
Mandy Kinzel
Sep 9, 2010
Dennis Kuzenko
I would like to give a brief Reply to Paula.
I was not able to go to Kenya this year, but I was happy to be part of the 2008 and 2009 teams. There were several things that impressed me. The work that the EBB teams did was outstanding. We came together as a team and I believe delivered workshops that were very well received by our Kenyan colleagues. The Kenyan teachers work very hard under difficult conditions compared to Canadian schools. They displayed wonderful professionalism. I believe in the value of actually going to Kenya, meeting the teachers there, and working with them. Without this person to person contact, I believe we would be less effective. We did make a difference. If you are able to go to Kenya to be part of a team, please consider it. Though I have been a teacher for well over 30 years, I found it to be one of the best educational experiences I have had.
Sep 9, 2010
benson m. karumba
Sep 10, 2010
Dennis Kuzenko
Sep 10, 2010
Lee Rother, PhD
I am still in the 'messy thinking stage' of writing about my experiences this past summer in Kenya.
In many ways the return experience was different from 2009. The team comprised of a few who had participated in 2008 and 2009 as well as those who were new to the Kenyan experience. To members of this year's team, thank you for teaching me so much. The other difference was the weather. Until recently Kenya had been experiencing drought for four years so that much of the land was very dry. This year was mildly cold and many days saw rain. Whereas I wore shorts and teachers in 2009, this year long sleeves and pants as well as a jacket was often required. It was great to see so much greenery and pools of water. Indeed, in some locations the difference in color , i.e. brown to green was dramatic.
There were many other reminders of 2009, such as the two puppies, now dogs, still protected the 'principal's house where I stayed.
And yet much of this year's experience was not knew. My Kenyan colleagues who participated in last year's sessions returned in 2010, which says a lot about the determination and passion of the Kenyan educators as well as a sign that last year's session were successful. They greeted me with great enthusiasm and I was just as,if not more than, pleased to see them again. While its is a cliche, in some ways I felt that I was returning to a place that has special meaning.
On a more personal note, I was honored to have been adopted into the Kikuru tribe, ceremony and all. And I was given the name Chege.
Soon I will put my thoughts into a more coherent text.
While I cannot plan that far ahead, I hope to return.
Chege (Lee)
Sep 10, 2010
Lois McGill-Horn
My new group of students will be collaborating with these two schools again this year and as we have just started our school year, what this collaboration will look like is yet to unfold.
My experience in Kenya was in 2009, but my connection to the people and the communities is stronger than ever and as a person and a teacher, my life continues to change because of these connections.
I can't wait to return to Kenya again.
Sep 11, 2010
Mali Bain
Tutaonana (we'll see each other) in Kenya, perhaps!
@Lois, I'd love to hear more about how you've used cellphones to communicate with schools in Kenya. We often struggle to communicate reliably via email, and it is amazing how prevalent cellphones are throughout Kenya. Did you have the messages coming to & from your cellphone in Canada?
Dec 7, 2010
Ji Ai Cho
Dec 7, 2010
Lois McGill-Horn
We use snail mail to also communicate with this particular school but our last set of letters did not arrive so mail is not always reliable. The benefit of a text message is that within minutes or the hour, we often have a response. It makes the world seem like a very small place. The downside to the texts is the small amount of info that can be shared at a time but once you learn how to word things well to maximize what you want to say, it becomes quite effective. The teacher in Kenya and I simply relay the messages and questions back and forth between our classrooms.
Dec 7, 2010
Mali Bain
Lois - Very interesting indeed, I really like it. Two more questions - how do you deal with time zones? And how do you compensate the Kenyan teacher for the texts they send? (I think international texts cost about 40 cents each last I checked) This could have real application as we plan for next years workshops in Kenya - we want to involve the Kenyan teachers more in planning processes but realise that they have infrequent access to internet.
Dec 9, 2010