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A
Practical Guide to Education Chapter 3
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HOW TO DEAL WITH LACK OF RESOURCES
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3.1
Utilizing available facilities, space, and environment for learning Physical
access to school is a major constraint against educational participation
in emergency situations, often because of the destruction of school facilities.
The common perception is that learning cannot take place without classrooms
and school buildings (Boyden & Ryder, 1996). However, buildings are not
an essential component for learning. Other locally available facilities,
space, and environment can be effectively utilized for educational purposes.
What is a learning environment - desks? walls? blackboard? a few windows?
For children, school is where learning takes place. Children learn best
through their interactions with the teachers, parents, their peers, and
the world around them. Since interaction is one of the most important
elements of learning, education programs can be started with very few
facilities and resources. The space, the objects in the space, the organization
of time, and human interactions are all parts of the learning environment.
If the school buildings have been destroyed, learning can take place at
home, in a shelter, or outdoors. In fact, many refugee schools start in
the open in the shade of a tree. When selecting a school site, the following
locally available facilities, space and environment can be considered:
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- parts
of the school that have not been destroyed and can be used without any
danger;
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buildings that can be made available by the community such as empty
rooms in a health center and parts of religious property;
- homes/houses
of the community members;
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temporary shelters, such as grass thatched shelters used in many parts
of Africa and shelters made of mats used in BRAC schools in Bangladesh;
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quiet and safe places outside, such as a playground or clearing.
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CASE-STUDY:
Zimbabwe: Many of the schools run by the Zimbabwean Liberation
movements in the 1970s were held under trees, or in camouflaged huts built
from sticks and foliage. A total of 30,000 children were enrolled in 11
schools in Mozambique and Zambia.
Safety
and Health The most basic aspect of the learning environment
is its safety. When setting up a school in an emergency situation, it
is important to check possible school sites for landmines and to ensure
that children are not at risk when traveling to and from school sites.
Whenever possible, alternative routes to and from school and a means of
rapid exit need to be identified and taught to children (Boyden & Ryder,
1996, p. 26). When parents are confident about the safety of their children,
they are more likely to have their children enrolled in schools.
The
learning environment should be clean, airy, shady, and protected against
the sun, strong winds, rain, dust, and noise. Therefore, it should be
moved away from stagnant water to avoid health problems, the main roads
because of dust and noise, and distribution points because of distraction
(UNESCO/UNHCR, 1988). It is desirable that the school environment has
good sanitation and a clean water supply to avoid potential health hazard.
With an external environment that is chaotic and dangerous, clean and
secluded school sites can create a new frame of reference for children
through which they will experience a sense of order, safety, and peace.
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In
instances where the community's traditions and beliefs do not allow
girls and boys to attend school together, it is important to determine
what conditions should be met before girls are allowed to attend school
(Pigozzi et al, 1996). Acceptable strategies for gaining access to
education for girls may include specific space arrangements such as
having boys and girls sit on separate sides of the classroom, attend
separate classes, shifts, or schools; and constructing separate female
latrines. |
Gender
considerations
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Space
arrangement Classroom furniture is desirable but not essential,
particularly for a school which has just started. Children should have
enough space to move around and something to write on. Usually movable
tables and chairs are preferable to the traditional fixed desks and attached
benches, just because it is possible to move more easily from whole class
teaching to group work, whereas fixed furniture may make such flexibility
more difficult. A simple blackboard is usually essential. In situations
where this is not readily available, it can often be made by painting
a mud wall or a large piece of plywood black or dark green. Experimenting
with traditional paints often provides a ready solution. A simple slate
and piece of chalk may be all that is needed for a pupil to write on.
3.2
Accessing non-governmental organizations Non-governmental organizations
are groups of people who work together to achieve certain goals and objectives,
often in the interest of a community. These organizations can be local,
regional, national or international. They are, by definition, not part
of the government, although some of these organizations may receive monetary
support from their local or national government. Their goals may include
educating children, training teachers, or teaching people how to vote
in elections. Their objectives may be to build a school, to hold training
sessions for teachers, or to monitor elections as they occur.
In
order to achieve their goals, these non?governmental organizations (NGOs)
raise money and use it effectively. If a teacher in a school needs a certain
type of supply or needs help in building a sheltered area to hold classes,
he or she may be able to contact a NGO and ask for their assistance. Some
NGOs may be able to help financially, while others may help by mobilizing
people to do physical labor.
Teachers
should ask local leaders which NGOs are operating locally. You can contact
UNICEF office nearest you to obtain a list of local and international
NGOs. Usually, NGOs know of each other and are in contact, so once one
organization is contacted, people there might be able to suggest other
organizations in the area. Often, NGOs do not know the true needs of communities,
and they appreciate letters of request from local teachers in order to
direct their efforts and to help in a meaningful way. Letters can be brief.
They should include:
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- an
introduction (who are you and what is your need)
- how
do you plan to meet your need?
- why
do you need assistance from the NGO?
- how
exactly would you like them to help?
- if
they cannot help, ask them to suggest other organizations that might
help
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thank them for their time in considering your request.
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On the following page is a sample letter from a teacher of primary school
to an international organization.
PRACTICAL
SUGGESTIONS
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Hinche
Public School |
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Rue
de la Montaigne |
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Hinche, Haiti |
Director,
Teacher Training Programs |
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Save
the Children |
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Westport,
CT |
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June
10, 1997 |
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Dear
Director, |
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I
am a teacher in a school of grades 1?3 in the rural town of Hinche,
Haiti. My classroom is very overcrowded with 50?60 students and
I desperately need more teachers to help teach the students. I ask
for your help in this regard.
There
are two community members in Hinche who are willing to teach, and
they each have had 6 years of schooling. I believe they will make
excellent teachers. Our community does not have the resources to
hire teacher trainers, nor can the national government afford the
training expense. Furthermore, I do not have the time to train them.
I
hope that your organization could conduct a short?term, basic teacher
training session (approximately two weeks) for these two persons.
Perhaps the session could be advertised to include other teachers
in this region. We live in the highlands and it is very difficult
to find transportation to a larger city, but perhaps this could
be arranged if it would help your effort. If it is the case that
your organization does not specialize in teacher training of this
type, would you please suggest another organization that does, so
that I can write to them?
Thank
you very much for your consideration of my request, and I look forward
to hearing from you soon. I can be reached at the address above.
Sincerely,
Ms.
Evelyn Pessard
Teacher,
Hinche Public School
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<----your
address in top right corner |
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<----address
of the organization |
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<----date |
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<-----who
you are |
<-----what
you need |
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<-----how
you can meet the need |
and
why you need the NGO |
assistance |
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<----how
exactly you would like |
them
to help and ask for names of |
other
organizations |
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<----thank
them for their time |
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<----sign your name |
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<----print your name and title |
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