Education

Also beginning in 2015, EB works in the local elementary and high schools, facilitated by Coordinator Carolyn Thornton, a retired high school math teacher.  Individuals and small groups of certified teachers come and help by demonstrating new teaching techniques they have used and practiced in their classrooms in the United States and giving the local teachers new ideas on ways to convey their subject matter in different and exciting ways.  This can be done both by giving a whole class, demonstrating the technique in action with the students, or by giving short teacher workshops, outlining techniques and answering any questions on the how’s and why’s of these often new and very different strategies for the Honduran school system.

Some activities this branch of EB’s mission has completed have been: helping two first grade teachers with new ideas on teaching phonics in Spanish; assisting in elementary math classes by introducing the use of interactive games and manipulatives to engage the students; tutoring the students in a small GED program on their 7th-9th grade algebra, geometry, and advanced arithmetic; and helping a new teacher with a large kindergarten class to involve more activity and movement in her lessons.

It can be a challenge for the teachers from the USA to analyze and respond to the needs of the children and teachers in the Honduran system, however both the kids and the US teachers appreciate the exchange and discovering how each other learns and teaches.  It can occasionally get a bit noisy as the children participate in the educational games and activities, but all involved enjoy learning together, and the day always ends with many hugs and wishes for the teachers return!