Primary schools across the country closed last week Friday. And on Monday of this week, 10 teachers from the Cayo District began their vacation at Chaa Creek Lodge. But these teachers weren't enjoying five days at one of Belize's most exclusive jungle resorts; they're working. We went to Chaa Creek today and found out why the work never ends for teachers, even if they are staying at a 300 acre resort. Keith Swift has the story.
Keith Swift Reporting,
For the past five days, the sprawling natural environment surrounding the Lodge at Chaa Creek has been one giant classroom for ten Belizean teachers along with 13 American participants. And in this 300-acre classroom, no books were allowed. Director of the training - Rita Rosenberg from the State University of New York (Cortland) - says the training was hands on.
Rita Rosenberg, Director of Training
"Everything is hands on, all the teachers are moving, they are engaged; the learning is very very meaningful for them. And when you model that type of instruction and that type of pedagogue then hopefully the teachers see that as being meaningful to the students and then they go back into their classrooms and the same type of instruction will occur."
Rosenberg says the teachers should leave with a greater appreciation for the environment.
Rita Rosenberg,
"They are going to leave here hopefully with a new appreciation for the environment and for the natural resources of Belize. They will also leave with some new strategies, new techniques, for sharing information with their students."
And that is just what Mike Mangini will take back to his classroom at a high school in New York. Mangini has been teaching science for 20 years but for him the past five days has been a new experience.
Mike Mangini, Teacher - NY
"I've been teaching twenty years and one of the things that happens when you've been teaching twenty years is that you begin to fall into a pattern, into a routine, and by getting new ideas from other people it invigorates you and it makes it all fresh and new and at this point in my career, this is important to me."
And while Mangini came to Belize to experience it, Margarito Cal lives here. He is the principal as well as a teacher at St. Michael's R.C. School in the Las Flores area of Belmopan. He says programmes like these are what has been lacking in Belizean training.
Margarito Cal, Principal - St. Michael's R.C. School
"There is a very strong need to preserve our forests mainly because what happens is that a lot of people, especially people who are more business oriented, are just going into forest, natural fresh forest, and just scraping down whatever they can and then leave the land barren."
Roquelino Mendez is the principal at Saint Martin's Government School in Belmopan.
Roquelino Mendez, Principal - St. Martin's Gov't School
"It is a life experience. Chaa Creek in itself is a living example of
what can be done with the environment. We take things for granted, our way of life. We say that is how we do things. But the reality is that whatever we do impacts the environment to a great extent."
The workshop was observed by officials from the Ministry of education. Eleanor Carrillo is a curriculum coordinator and Pablo Chan is a curriculum officer. Carrillo says this training gives teachers what the curriculum doesn't.
Eleanor Carrillo, Curriculum Coordinator
"This workshop features the environment and it sensitizes the teachers as to what is the importance of our environment and it also gives them a one on one touch with nature in this beautiful environment and that makes them appreciate whatever we have more than just reading about it. And you know we as Belizeans always walk about, we are used to our trees, but we sometimes never highlight what good it is to our lives, our everyday lives."
This is the fifth year that Chaa Creek has been hosting the workshop. Manager Lucy Fleming says she has a passion for Belize's environment. For Fleming, teachers equipped with first hand knowledge of the environment can ignite a similar passion, or at the very least - awareness in students.
Lucy Fleming, Manager - Chaa Creek
"Once we can teach young children and primary school children that they truly own the environment that they live in, and that they can be a part of making a difference, we feel that it is vitally important to the survival of all of us and to the future of our children and their well being. We feel that really by teaching primary school children about environment, and really giving them a sense of ownership of their environment, will carry them through life and into the future. And as we hold hands with them, we know that we hold hands with the future so getting the message across at an early age, when the children are still young and excited, involved, they will become our ambassadors into the future and we're just delighted to have the opportunity to work with the teachers who of course are really the heart and soul of our educational system here."
And that will be the challenge for these teachers: taking back the knowledge gained here into their respective classrooms. Reporting for 7NEWS, I am Keith Swift.
The workshop was funded by the Belize Foundation for Conservation.
