THE TEACHER EXCHANGE PROGRAM
Applications for participating in the Teacher Exchange Summer of 2012 are now available. Click here to download it.
The Teacher Exchange
An initiative under the Schools for Schools umbrella - was created to enhance present educational models, and to establish long-term learning opportunities for both international and Ugandan teachers.Invisible Children developed the Teacher Exchange to support our Schools for Schools partners as they work to bring their classrooms in northern Uganda to a competitive standard, from the inside out. Teachers in northern Uganda have limited opportunities for personal and professional development. Classrooms in the north are typically characterized by huge student numbers and often complicated by a lack of space, a lack of furniture, a lack of textbooks and resources. As the Schools for Schools Program works to address problems with space and supplies, the Teacher Exchange provides a dynamic opportunity for educators to engage in team teaching, information sharing, and skill building - all with the purpose of generating collaboration among teachers from around the world.
For the Summer of 2012: Invisible Children seeks dedicated educators with skill sets in various subjects. Please download the application above for a complete list of subjects we are seeking. Applicants should have (or be in the process of obtaining) a teaching credential and/or a Master's degree. We are specifically interested in teachers with expertise and experience working alongside youth, ages 12 and up (the secondary system in Uganda begins at the US equivalent of 7th grade).
The Reciprocal Teacher Exchange
The Reciprocal Teacher Exchange Program provides a dynamic opportunity involving 3 teachers in each setting. The Ugandan teacher is paired with a Host teacher (a former Teacher Exchange participant willing to open his/her home to the Ugandan teacher for one month), and a Partner teacher (a teacher who teaches at the Host’ s school, is willing to share his/her classroom, and does not have prior experience with the Teacher Exchange). The experience had such a remarkably formative impact on all of the teachers and their school communities that our 2010 Teacher Exchange participants, Schools for Schools and The Teacher Exchange have agreed that we have to continue this incredible program. Thanks to our partners at Better World Books and their “ LEAP” program, we now can continue this experience. The “ LEAP” (Literacy and Education in Action) program is used to train teachers, boost literacy scores, and support the funding of pre-defined programs and initiatives that are focused on education. Thank you Better World Books for believing in our programs.
Get a glimpse of the impact from our 2010 Teacher Reciprocal Exchange with the quotes
below:
Lydia is a most amazing individual. We enjoyed having her at Ridge View so much. We (the teachers) learned so much from her. With all the education cutbacks we are suffering across the US, Lydia’s ability to share how little they have to teach with has made us stop and take notice of all that we have to be grateful for. She opened many a student’s eyes when she told them that their children are very grateful to even be in school. I do believe our excesses are debilitating in many ways. We expect everything and when a little is taken away, we wonder how we will function. So many lessons can continue to be learned through these teacher exchanges and the impact they have on both sides of our world! Thank you to Invisible Children for all they do to keep us all aware!
~Mary Harmon and Diane Melton
Allow me to say this has been an experience of this millennium and my fun and exposure in New York City, and now with the exciting girls of Nerinx Hall High school, makes it incomparable to any other experience. This venture will prove to many Ugandans that teaching is noble and that it is a globally treasured profession.
~Okaali John
I see the world differently. The world to me now is bigger than just one tribe or country. Sharing a class, a meal, a dance, a conference, sharing life experiences here in Uganda and later flying to the US to do these things with the American teachers has left an undeniable mark of confidence and satisfaction in me as a teacher.
~Kasule Ben Otto
Many people have asked, “What was your favorite part of the trip?” There is always a long pause before I answer...getting flipped while white water rafting on a grade-5 rapid in the Nile River, creating small groups in a class of 100 to review signed numbers in algebra, taking my first shower in Uganda in the rain, riding a boda-boda with a skirt on...talking education philosophy with Gulu SS teachers...seeing the stars at 4:30 am...talking football or Tupac with the boys from Gulu Senior Secondary. How do I choose?"
~Melanie Blood
Please email The Teacher Exchange Contact, Catherine Hanna (channa@invisiblechildren.com), with any additional questions.
For information about previous trips and details about the upcoming summer trip, download A Detailed Look at the Teacher Exchange.
And be sure to follow all of the blog entries and news articles relating to The Teacher Exchange Program right here: http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/tag/schools-for-schools/. Or, if you just want the highlights, look no further:
“Immersed in the reality of their small world, they were unable to see it. By taking some distance, they emerged and were thus able to see it as they never had before.”
Paulo Freire, Reading the World/Reading the Word
