Posted by Pierre Joanis,PhD. on 2/02/09

Project Teach/Konbit Pwof is offering its 11th annual
professional development seminar for Haitian teachers in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 1-9, 2009.

The seminar, staffed by teachers from North America and
Europe, is attended by Haitian teachers who may never have
had any teacher training. It covers teaching methods for
core subjects, with a strong emphasis on respecting and
protecting children¡¦s rights and the importance of a
teacher¡¦s role in society.

Here is what some former Project Teach volunteers have
said:

I was struck by the Haitian teachers¡¦ level of
enthusiasm. Every morning my ¡§students¡¨ sang to me,
giving me a sense of pure joy as we began our day. [D.R.
99, 01]

Participating in Project Teach has been the most important
professional development experience of my teaching
career. The Haitian teachers with whom I had the
privilege to work reminded me why teaching is the most
important job ever. [M.L. 06, 07]

One of the biggest realizations for the Haitian teachers
was that learning could be fun. Project Teach¡¦s approach
was invaluable. [G.T. 06, 08]

I had never seen such poverty, but I had also never met
people more generous or with a greater ¡§joie de vivre¡¨ and
profound belief in the future. The participants in my
group had to travel many hours to reach the seminar site,
but each day they arrived on time and smiling. [D.R. 99,
01]

An experience like this should be mandatory for every
teacher from the North. [G.T. 06, 08]

On the first day, all my worries were replaced with energy
fed by the Haitian teachers¡¦ boundless enthusiasm. I
quickly realized that their intellectual appetite and
overwhelming need for support would easily fuel the energy
I would need to teach in these difficult conditions. [L.M.
99, 03, 08]

The spirit of generosity shared by the Project Teach
volunteers will stay with me forever. In life, one must
seize the opportunity to give, participate, and open our
hearts to others. For me, this is the cornerstone of
Project Teach. [D.R. 99, 01]

Seeing first-hand the realities of the Haitian school
system and the monumental daily obstacles our colleagues
there face was truly humbling, yet the volunteers and the
Haitian teachers shared an incredible sense of solidarity
and passion for teaching. [M.L. 06, 07]

Project Teach¡¦s success was visible daily. We could see
it in the participants¡¦ vigorous after-class discussions
about how best to apply the techniques and strategies they
were learning into their own teaching. We saw it when
they made plans to spread the message about children¡¦s
rights ¡V so central to Project Teach¡¦s program and so
controversial among them ¡V to other colleagues. Upon
returning to the site six months later, a participant
stopped us to tell us how much the seminar had meant to
him, how much more he now enjoys teaching, and how much
happier his students are now that he has changed the way
he runs the class. You couldn¡¦t have a stronger incentive
for continuing this work! [I.P. 98-08]

Come join this exciting project. This year we
particularly need trainers in the methodology of teaching:

„X Second Language (English, French, Spanish)
„X Math
„X Social Studies, and
„X Writing.

Application materials and more information available from:
www.project-teach-haiti.org

APPLICATIONS DUE BY MARCH 15, 2009.

Project Teach/Konbit Pwof

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