Teacher Training in Developing Nations
The excess of America stands as a symbol of our neglect and apathy towards those in developing nations. People in developing nations have hardships and struggles that never touch the lives of people in developed nations. Sure we see them on the evening news, and it's just so sad, but do we ever reach out and try to make a difference for a better world? Teachers can have a positive impact on others by traveling to developing nations for short-term teacher training.
It's not easy to leave a comfortable life to travel to a developing nation and help out. Conditions are bad enough for the natives, but from our perspective they are almost unbearable. The heat is so bad that you sweat in places you didn't know could sweat. You run the risk of eating something that will give you parasites or diarrhea. Mosquitoes are your constant companions. Getting around the cities become lessons in courage as there either aren't any traffic lights and signs, or they are merely considered suggestions.
It also cost thousands of dollars. Dollars that could be used for a vacation in Italy, viewing great works of art or in the Bahamas, lying in the sun sipping drinks with little umbrellas. Plus the poverty in a developing nation is dismal. It's oppressing and inhuman. It makes the middle class in America seem like an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Think about the movie, Slumdog Millionaire,and add smell and three dimensions. It's worse than that.
Of course if it's a country that has been in a war sometime in the last twenty years, you'll also get to hear the horror stories. Stories of parents hiding their families in the jungle to eat rice, hoping that the soldiers would not find them as they would kill the entire family to get the rice. Stories of teenage orphan girls who so desperately wanted to attend school that they sold their bodies to pay for school tuition and uniforms. The problems are so overwhelming that one person can't possibly make a difference in the tragic lives of these human beings.
Once there were thousands upon thousands of starfish lying on a beach. For miles and miles the starfish were lying in the sand. A man walking along the beach, saw the devastation and then saw a little girl who picked up a starfish and hurled it back into the ocean. She then walked to the next starfish and hurled it back into the ocean. He walked up to her and said, "Why even bother? You can't make a difference to all these starfish." The little girl looked at him and said, "But I made a difference to that one."
Traveling to a developing nation for a few weeks to give teacher training and in-service can make a huge difference. The teachers in these countries teach with nothing but a chalkboard and a few pieces of chalk. They have no textbooks, no literature books, no math manipulatives, no libraries, and no computers. They also have little knowledge of teaching methods. A teacher from a developing nation can bring knowledge and experience to these teachers that won't just make a difference to one but to the teacher and his or her many students. This knowledge will change the lives of hundreds of students over the years.
Two brains are better than one. If you bring the knowledge of a teacher from a developed nation together with the creativity of a teacher from developing nation, possibilities for collaboration abound. A melding of the minds if you will. Like atomic fusion, energy in the form of teaching innovation explodes and young minds are expanded. These teachers are just as bright as the teachers from richer nations. They just haven't had the opportunities in training. Imagine the possibilities when two teachers from different parts of the world collaborate on a project.
Opportunities in education are the key to bringing a nation in despair up in self sufficiency and sustainable prosperity. The people in developing nations are in the midst of dire poverty because they do not have the knowledge that would empower them to question and act on the behalf of their community. Research has shown that educating children in developing nations has the greatest impact on improving the standard of living of all the people in the community.
Traveling to a developing nation for a short-term trip to present teacher training could be the single most significant thing a person could do in life. Sure there's no electricity, it cost the same as a fancy vacation, and you have to find ways to present ideas to teachers who have no materials, but the rewards gained from stepping outside of personal wants and desires and helping someone achieve something they couldn't before is something that can't be experienced any other way. When those with excessive opportunities help those without any opportunities, everyone gains and the world becomes a better place.
