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“The best professional development I have ever undertaken”
- More stories and photos from this year’s Project Overseas participants will be featured in the November 22 ATA News.
- Funding for Project Overseas is available. The deadline to apply for Project Overseas 2012 is November 4. For information, visit the ATA website (www.teachers.ab.ca).
I have heard it said that “you can leave Africa but Africa never leaves you.” And that has been especially true for me. This was my fifth visit to Africa in five years and my third with Project Overseas (PO).
As a member of Team Canada, I was sent to Ghana to provide workshops for about 200 teachers. The workshops were designed to help teachers prepare students for exams and to help teachers use easily available local materials to teach math and science in a more practical way. We provided 10 classes on different parts of the curriculum at different grade levels and also gave classes for school administrators. Workshops were given in three different regions, which meant a total of about 600 teachers receiving professional development. A women-only class in math/science was offered to encourage more women to teach these subjects; evening sessions looked at the role of teachers’ associations, teacher professionalism and problems associated with HIV/AIDS.
As in the past, this year I worked with senior high math teachers, however, this time my major task was to research problems facing beginning teachers and to suggest an induction program to address those problems. The main difficulty new teachers face is finding accommodation, especially in rural areas. The second is related to salary—beginning teachers wait an average of eight months before they get their first pay cheque. Some have waited almost two years! Added to this is the fact that a beginning teacher has to pay at least one year’s rent, or sometimes two, in advance. Only a few teachers can access bank loans, so most borrow money from family or friends. Following on the heels of delayed payment of salary are the usual problems of low salary (when it is paid); lack of amenities, such as water and toilets; lack of infrastructure (schools under trees); lack of teaching/learning materials; large classes; and lack of support from head teachers. And like teachers everywhere, teachers in Ghana pay out of their own pocket to help poor children pay for school materials and lunch.
I’m thankful for the PO opportunity and urge others to participate in this worthwhile program. I’m also thankful to have worked with a wonderful team of Canadian teachers. PO is the best professional development I have ever undertaken. I wish to thank the teachers of Alberta and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for supporting teachers in the developing world.
Martyn Chapman is a teacher at Hilltop High School, in Whitecourt.
