Our volunteers have spectacularly large hearts and work their patooties off, some year round. Board member, Brad Adams is also a leader on the SuperKids literacy project. This past summer (2011), he and his team launched a new project: Teach the Teachers. Here’s an excerpt from Brad’s personal experience…
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| Brad Adams and his helper in JA |
I have been volunteering and teaching for a very long time. I have taught thousands of people how to use computers in Jamaica and in my daily job as a high school teacher in Washington State. I have NEVER experienced a greater outflow of appreciation than I did from Jamaican school teachers in the Green Island High School computer lab in August of 2011.
Main teaching duties were led by 4 great MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) students Victoria, Glory, Rebecca, and Megan. Each day started with a song and an inspirational message led by one of the Jamaican teachers. On the last day of our 8 day training session covering computer basics the teachers presented us all with small gifts to show their appreciation. After the gifts were given the teachers spontaneously broke into singing “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”; looking around the room at the teachers singing to us I have never seen faces filled with such joy and happiness and a genuine look of appreciation. Their enthusiasm and joy struck me in the chest with an overwhelming force I will never forget. To teach the teachers has been a Great Shape! Inc. goal for many years and I feel this year we have made a giant leap toward the sustainability of our computer projects in Jamaica. The teachers in Jamaica are already looking forward to our return and collaboration in August.
Check out this video to hear about the impact that Brad and his team have made in Jamaica.