Centre

Sorry for not answering your questions for so long Aunt Cindy!! It's been on my to do list for awhile, just haven't had the time.

The students at the Centre come from many places- all of the villages around #68. Some of them live an hour away, and they travel that one way every day. Many of the students are drop-outs from the public schools, or just students that couldn't function right there. In Guyana, the school system is pretty strict, and there is no program set up for students that are slower learners or that just learn differently. It seems the way to teach here is to write it on the chalk board and have them copy down the information. While this is very effective for some, others are left out. So some of these students simply didn't make it into high school (didn't test high enough to go on) so they are coming for the Remedial program which is reading, writing, math, global studies, arts and crafts, singing, and general topics.

The EduCare students are the garment making girls, and the electrical boys. They are students that are coming to the Centre to learn a trade. That is it. Now, we incorporate other things into their learning, such as computer classes, and bible classes, but their primary focus is their trade. I have asked many of these students why they aren't in public school, and some of them said they finished, others simply didn't test high enough, and they were no longer allowed to continue on. This seems fairly common here, and these students are not stupid or lacking intelligence, so I'm not sure why they fail. It may be that they were not applying themselves, and weren't studying, but I'm not sure. Regardless, they are learning a trade.

We have the CXC students that come in the afternoon from 3-5, and these are public school students (secondary students, like high school age) who are coming to get extra help for the CXC exam, which is somewhat like our ACT or SAT. These students go over any and everything that might be on the exam. They need to finish this exam to pass secondary school, and possibly enter university.

Finally, there are the OVC children, who come in the afternoon from 3-5 as well. These are children who are Orphans and Vulnerable Children. We play games with them, do a craft activity, feed them, show them a movie, draw pictures, and feed them a meal. This is an after school program for them as well.

At the Centre, Ellen and I do a wide variety of things.

Some of the things I do include:
Teach Microsoft Access class to the Centre's computer instructors
Work on updating/creating a web site for the Centre
Teach arts and crafts with the 14-17 year old Remedial class
Teach Singing to the 14-17 year old Remedial class
Teach singing to the EduCare students (electrical and garment making)
Do activities with the OVC students (make posters)
Teach random classes when a teacher is absent unexpectedly. I usually teach the Bible.
Head up projects like doing skits, teaching students to make a nice dinner for staff, etc.
Teach "counseling" class 2 times a month to Remedial students
Teach staff-improvement class

Some of the things Ellen does:
Teach arts and crafts with the younger Remedial Class
Teach singing with the younger Remedial Class
Teach singing to the EduCare students (electrical and garment making)
Do activities with the OVC students
Teach random classes when a teacher is absent unexpectedly.
Head up projects like the skits, cooking classes, etc.
Teach "counseling" class 2 times a month to Remedial students
Teach staff-improvement class
Re-arrange the office
Work on chucking old library books
helping teach the younger Remedial class

We spend a lot of time working together, and that's good- it's how we like it.

The Remedial students pay tuition, and I believe the other programs are funded. There is more information (not recently updated, but information none-the-less) regarding this on the school's website- geocities.com/rbbcentre

I hope that answered your questions, if you have any more, shoot them at me, and I'll try to answer them as best I can!