Their mission was three-fold – to provide training, encouragement, and teaching materials to 74 educators at HFHC-affiliated schools. The faculty at each school have education levels which range from a tenth grade diploma to a university degree. With this in mind, the team started the conference with some key ingredients. First, a time was set aside to recognize each teacher as a peer, celebrating the good work that God is accomplishing through him or her. Next, the trainers focused on a child’s brain development. Understanding how the brain works motivates a teacher to try new methodology. Ultimately, the Haitian teachers, just like their American counterparts, long to see their students learn and succeed in life.
After a session on learning styles (auditory, visual and kinesthetic) and how to become a more effective teacher, one teacher stood before his peers and challenged them to heed the words of the trainer. This man grieved over the fact that there was a gap in his own education, one that prevented him from understanding how children learn. In the past he felt it was the student’s role to learn; his role was simply to impart knowledge. He had not taken into consideration how the students in his class learned. With new knowledge in hand, he left hopeful for his future.
Over the last two years, the U.S team has been amazed at the openness and enthusiasm of our Haitian teachers. After the first year’s training, principals informed the trainers that the entire environment of their school had changed — teachers returned to school excited to teach and children learned material faster than ever. We applaud these Haitian teachers and their ongoing effort to become the best teachers possible!
74 teachers attend 2nd Annual HFHC Teacher Training Conference
Haitian educators practice Bloom’s Taxonomy