30 juni

Projektrapport:  ”To train teachers in alternative teaching South- Peru
To Sten and his friends”

Peru is a country with contrasts (especially city and mountain country) with a lot of possiblities but no doubt also a lot of problems and difficulties: environmental pollution (f.e. mining industry), social inequality, poverty… The education level is very low on the Pisa- ranking. The reproduction of the content is central.

Living a few months between the Peruvians for a pedagogical project is no easy feat, but a fascinating challenge. From the first day I was allowed to present the project via a local radio station (photo 1). A poster made it clear that a teacher training course was planned between February 19 and 28, 8 hours a day (photo 2). About 5O eager teachers responded to his invitation during their holiday and as mentioned in the program on the poster, they got to know new ideas and use didactic materials. The teachers asked questions, took photos and tried the materials (photo 3).

Then I went to work in the primary schools in Moquegua, one in the poor neighbourhood San Antonio and one in the city. Lessons were  attended and filmed by the teachers. In addition to mathematics , mainly focussed on insight, automathisms and cognitive skills, English and value education, there were also creative courses (Photo 4). There was dancing (photo 5) , singing, playing (learning by playing). Masks were made (photo 6) and workbooks were completed for maths and English. By analogy with the proposed didactic materials, teachers themselves made dominogames and drew up mathematic tables (photo 7 and 8).

Working in a school in Omate on an attitude of 3000 meters was another special experience (photo 9). It was very quite in that small school and motivated teachers followed the lessons of the primary and secundary school. Teachers were trained  before the lessons. Omate has a beautiful center of the village (photo 10) and is located in the Omate-Valley in the Andes.

On Saturday morning at 6 am, I went tot he cozy local farmermarket, where small farmers offered their fresh products for a small price (photo 11).Pure honey and subtropical fruit in particular were extremely tasty.

On my return I trained the techers and the students of the teacher training university. The next day I trained the teachers of the nursey and primary education. Many people were there (photo 12). Different contents were unknown by them: working with structure, mental arithmetics, insightful application of language rules, multiplication tables and division tables.

The project was particularly well received. A wonderful time! The schools, the teaching staff and the students were grateful and extremely satisfied. And now we hope for a long- term impact. With the start of  a stronger quality education, this project undoubtly contributed to a better welfare of the local population. Education as a lever fot the development.

With your support you also contributed to this project with my sincere thanks.

Sincerely
Georges

1    2    3

4    5    6

7    8     9

10  11  12

31 maj

On Sunday Georges go to  schools in Omate and Kinetakas in the Andes.

Conversation  with Georges:
”I am now in the city. On Saturday an on Monday I teach the teachers about mathematics in two big schools They ask a lots of unformation. Also other schools ask me. But I don’t know how to run the time. At the end of the month, I go back for five days to Omate in the mountans: teacher training and taching English. Sometimes ther is no internet. I hava a very big cold I could not talk, but step by step it’s becomong better”.

14 april

Det är söndag och idag är det skolbarnens dag. Det firas med festligheter.

Georges har köpt lera i Arequipa. Den ska han och barnen arbeta med. Han har också köpt masker, pratat om kroppen och att vi visar känslor med kroppen. Masker och lera i skapande aktiviteter.

Kvarteret där han arbetar, San Antonio, är ett fattigkvarter. Många av eleverna som bor där har ensamstående föräldrar.
Undervisning är på engelska. ”Kontakten med föräldrar och lärare är bra” säger Georges. Volontärarbetet som han utför är på statliga och privata skolor. I skolorna i staden är klassrummen välutrustade och vissa med datorer.

Skolorna i bergen där han arbetar är små och det är  inte så många barn i klasserna, 5 – 10 stycken. ”Jag går vid sjutiden ca två timmar till skolan i bergen.  Skolan börjar sedan vid nio.

”Kunskapsnivån är låg men barnen tycker om att lära sig”. Till exempel så spelar de spela Bingo och lära sig på det sättet siffrorna på engelska. ”Jag utmanar dem, jag säger inte 43 utan 20 + 23”.
De använder sig av kända sagor och i Peru känner de till sagan om Lilla Rödluvan.
Det blir mörkt vid sextiden på kvällen därför behöver Georges påbörja vandringen tillbaka till staden i tid för att inte behöva gå  i mörker.

5 april

Jag ringde Georges idag och fick en rapport samt bilder från arbetet på skolan och på det didaktiska materialet han hittills köpt och använder: ”Some didactic materials I have bought. Thanks for your support”

11 mars

Georges ringde mig hela helgen men då jag var upptagen med arbete kunde jag inte svara. Jag ringde upp honom på måndag kväll och vi hade en pratstund om läget för honom just nu. Han har precis avslutat perioden då han utbildar lärarna. De har varit mycket motiverade och efterfrågar hans DVD’s och annat material. Från och med denna vecka kommer han att möta barnen. EN klass på ca 25 elever i 8 – 10-års åldern. De flesta pratar spanska men några pratar quecha. Georges pratar spanska så att hann klarar sig men inte quecha. Skolan i Peru är inte fri. Föräldrarna måste köpa allt material: Böcker, skrivhäften, pennor, sudd, linjaler mm. Och uniform. Barnen har med sig majs att äta i pausen. Lärarlönerna är väldigt låga. En skoldag pågår från 8 till 16. Georges arbetar vanligtvis på förmiddagen. Ibland kommer han att arbeta  på eftermiddagen och då med lärarna. Frukt är billigt och väldigt gott så det äter han mycket av.  Potatis finns det 55 olika  sorter av. Potatis, ris och majs är grunden. Soppa är väldigt vanligt.

---

21 februari

Georges ringer och meddelar att han kommit fram till Moquega. Han bor inneboende hos en familj i staden. Han befinner sig på mellan 1500 – 2000 meters höjd över havet. Det är sommar i Peru, inget regn och mycket torrt. Skolan har inte börjat för eleverna ännu. De startar 11 mars. Undervisningen i bergsregionerna kommer att starta ytterligare två till tre veckor senare. Han har nu en period när han utbildar lärarna i att tänka kreativt och lösningsinriktat. Mellan 15 och 40 lärare möter han i workshops kring matematik och engelska.Han arbetar på förmiddagarna från ca 8.00 till 12.00. Under natten upplevde platsen en jordbävning (4 på skalan) och Georges blev väckt av att hundarnas skall.

                    Training teachers in alternative education in south Peru            Georges Cappelle
Dear friends
In the spring of 2019 I am going to a pedagogical project in Moquegua deep in the south of this Andes country and towards the border of Chile and Bolivia. Peru is a country that you never know fully or release, with a variety of culture, language, standard of living and sometimes extreme poverty. The low educational level is the PISA-ranking is at place 67 of 70 studied countries.

The current approach to education consists of pre- and post-talking/reading with the intention to reproduce the learning content, which inhibits learning curiosity, motivation and learning pleasure. You will not find valuable educational media and the didactic background of the teachers is very low

(Photo: educational situation in Peru)
During the project a different educational and learning model is presented to the teachers and the pupils. If possible, we work together with a teacher training college, which means that the impact of the project will continue in the long term. We choose that the children are involved with head, heart and hands in their learning process so that the learning pleasure, and the well-being increase, also for the children with problems and/or limitations.

We aim for challenging, creative and child-friendly education in mathematics, musical and physical expression, physical and manual activities, telling stories, working with playing-learning materials in English and concrete and schematic media, all during the instruction, the application and the exercise of the learning content. The teachers follow first the lessons (observation), then they take part step by step (participating) and finally they get the class in hands (realizing).

In order to be able to realize this approach, we make valuable didactic media or buy it in the city. After that use, the materials stay all in the local schools. During the purchase we look among other things at textbooks, storybooks and songbooks, a laptop, DVDs  with all kind of valuable exercises in mathematics…and attractive English children’s movies, materials for writing, drawing, handcrafting, balls, concentration games …and basic materials.

The experience teaches us that the local population, schools and children greatly appreciate such a project because it undoubtedly contributes to the development and the general welfare of everyone.

In order to be able to fulfil my commitment financially, I need a lot of money to purchase and transport all the materials from Arequipa to the project. I should be very grateful if you can support this project in south Peru. My friend  Sten will discuss with you how to transfer your contribution.

With respect and expression of gratitude

Georges Cappelle

To the kind people who supported my project in Nepal.
Teaching at a higher level in the Himalaya                              Georges Cappelle (Belgium)
The weltanschauungs Buddhism or Hinduism are very important in the life, the behavour and the activities of the people in the Himalaya: communication, helping each other, festivities…Staying several months with those people in that unique landscape in view of the white  mountain peaks of more than 8000 meters, is a splendid gift.
The farmers and other people work very hard to survive. There are no machines or cars. People transport their products with a “doko”, a typical Nepalese basket on their back. Oxes plough their fields. The people use their hands for the other work. With much respect for them!
I was lucky to become engaged to my pedagogic(al) project in Nepalese schools. The education level was low because the schools are in want of didactic media and the teachers’ methods. The teachers were trained  hardly, they didn’t have the necessary knowledge and the students repeated texts in old books (reproduction). On the contrary, during my project I used different child friendly challenging methods, inviting the students to creative and productive thinking. The structure, the understanding (the insight) and the training of automatisms and basic skills (addition, subtraction, …tables, listening, talking, reading and writing…) in mathematics and English oral and written communication are preferred. At the same time I paid  attention to the teaching and learning of some very important learning and life attitudes like working precisely, perseverance, taking care of yourself, the others and the environment, tolerance, hygiene…
These (working)methods made a great contribution to(wards) the learning pleasure, the learning process, the learning level and the complete development of the students. At the same time it stimulated the teaching satisfaction of the teachers.
I was happy I could buy with your support valuable didactic materials in Pokhara, 150 km of the project place. I used those media for the instruction, exercises an implementation: looking dvds, playing, writing, telling stories, drawing, coloring, painting…but also manual skills. During the games the students learned to cooperate, to be positive, to wait their turn, to concentrate…the students played with board games, where they must talk English, tell the numbers and operations in English, understand the English rules…
Initially the teachers observed and wrote down the didactic methods I used. Thy copied. Since they participated my teaching and took the class finally little by little over. I supported their work and gave the necessary feedback.
My project improved directly at short notice the students’ learning and development and the teaching satisfaction of the teachers as well. On the other hand it played indirectly at long notice an important part to a better well-being of the local people. There is a vicious circle between the training and the development.
It was a very successful project. The direction, the teachers, the children, the parents and myself thank you again very much for your support.

Kind regards

Georges