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Summertime
for many teachers is a time to kick back, relax and recharge before
another school year begins. But at least two SSTA members are spending
their summer holidays travelling to destinations around the world
to share their knowledge and skills with fellow teachers.
Margaret Mackay, a teacher at Lochgelly High School, is currently
spending five weeks in a rural community in the Dedza district of
Malawi. She will work alongside the Head and staff at the local school
where classes have over 100 pupils and minimal resources. She will
be helping to develop leadership and management skills and teaching
practice in the school.
“I have found the ideal opportunity to use my professional
skills where it really counts – to help make poverty history,” Maggie
said. “… I know I will learn so much which I can share
with my pupils in Lochgelly High School on my return.”
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Following her return from Malawi, Maggie will work
with students in her school to raise awareness of global issues
such as fair trade, equality, justice, and examine ways to change
the world for the better through recycling and sharing of resources.
She hopes to forge a long-lasting link between Lochgelly High School,
Denend Primary School and her school in Dedza.
Maggie is going to Malawi as part of the Global Teachers Programme, run by
the international charity, Link Community Development (LCD), with funding from
the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) and a contribution from
the SSTA. Fellow teacher Catherine Baker of Kelso High School will also
be travelling south to work as a volunteer with LCD for a five-week
placement in South Africa in July, funded in part by the SSTA.
Catherine also participated in a 48-hour sponsored fast to raise
money for her placement.
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“I am confident
that this experience will provide me with a fresh challenge and
enable me to further broaden my horizons,” Catherine said. “It
will also provide me with a deeper insight into another culture,
which I will in turn be able to use to educate my students and
broaden their horizons further than the rural community they live
in. The experience will take me out of my comfort zone and re-energise
and influence my passion for the education of the whole person,
and the contrast with my own school and education system will be
enlightening.” For more information on Link Community Development’s Global
Teachers Programme, write to link@lcd.org.uk or phone 020 7691
1818.
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