Learning away from home

IF John Holt’s premise is accurate, then the students of St George’s College, Barataria, are becoming very active learners. Some of its upper six students, ten (six girls and four boys) to be exact, recently returned from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Associated Schools Project Network trip where they visited Norwegian school, Den Norska Skole in Spain.

This is, however, not the school’s first visit to Norway or Spain but rather its eight. Schools across TT began participating in the programme some 20 years ago.

The ASPNET programme as it is called was created in 1953 and was formed to, “promote the ideals of Unesco as expressed in its constitution and to further peace and international co-operation by promoting education, science and culture in schools...” The programme has four main study areas which are; world concerns and the role of the United Nations system, education for sustainable development; peace and human rights and inter-cultural learning. The latter being the theme chosen by St George’s College which is located at Sixth Avenue and Tenth Street. One of the initial co-ordinators of the programme Jason Ganpat, a former St George’s College teacher as well, explained to Newsday how the exchange began: “In 1997 through the local national commission for Unesco and a Norwegian school.

The two teachers [its founder here, Monica Regisford-Douglin] met at a UN conference in New York and the explored the possibility of having the student/teacher inter-cultural learning exchange.

The school in Norway paid the first visit to us in 1997. It started happening after that, schools from TT visiting Norway. The visit is every two years.” Ganpat said he became involved through his wife, Gail Ganpat, also a former teacher. She then worked at El Dorado East Secondary [the pioneer school for the programme]. He said they got involved when they hosted the two Norwegian teachers who visited with the first group. “We actually hosted the two teachers who were in charge, who came from Norway.

At that time the groups used to be pretty large, 20 students and about four or five teachers,” he said.

Although this year’s group dwindled to ten students, Ganpat said many schools were used to participating in the programme, something he believes should be looked at.

“During that period 1997 to 2004/2005, several exchange visits took place. From Norway it was one upper secondary school, from TT we had several secondary schools participating. After El Dorado East, there was St Stephen’s College, Princes Town; St Joseph’s Convent, Port-of-Spain; and St Joseph’s Convent, San Fernando, Signal Hill form Tobago and Bishop’s High School from Tobago.

“After a while a number of these schools dropped out of the programme...” Ganpat could not say why less schools were participating but only that, possibly, “teachers changed.” When Ganpat and his wife who has since retired, moved to St George’s College in 1998 and then 2002 respectively, the Norwegian teachers moved to Spain and the students there began visiting the school in Spain.

“When my wife and I moved on to St George’s College, in 1998 and 2002, at the same time the teachers in Norway got the opportunity to transfer to Spain to work at a Norwegian school there.” “They invited us to come to Spain ...that happened in 2008. We paid the first visit in the year 2009.

This recent visit is our fifth to Spain. They have made four visits to us already and their fifth one will be next year.” For Ganpat and the current co-ordinating teacher, Larrisha Nunes-Charles, such exchanges are positive for students since they provide a different perspective.

“We think that it continues to have a very positive and strong effect on both sets of students. For example, when our students go across to Spain, they have to know that it is a different community, a Norwegian community living in Spain, in a Spanish environment, so that is two things they have to become accustomed to...,” Ganpat said.

The students experience Spanish and Norwegian customs.

Nunes-Charles said the students also learnt that the Norwegian children and their experiences were not far removed from their own. “For some of the children some of their expectations is that these people are Norwegians they are so far away from us, they kind of expect a lot of differences but when they meet students their own age they realise they have so much in common...so they can just start coming together and sharing immediately.” The group visited Berlin in Germany for three days and then spent the rest of its time in Madrid, Spain. Nunes-Charles said, “This year we decided on the UN’s theme for this year which is sustainable tourism, for development.

Based on that team, the visiting group would have to prepare presentations to share with the host.

Within that we looked for things that would showcase our culture, naturally. We did festivals, music, a taste of Trinidad and Tobago. We did the natural environment because the tropics is quite different to what they are used to. Linked to the theme, we looked at the benefits of sustainable tourism, which is kind of what we were living at the time....” The group funds its own way to Norway and that is one of the criterion used to choose the students who attend as they must pay their own way. Students’ discipline and grades are also taken into consideration. This was why only upper-six students were chosen.

However, the school in Norway has asked the group to consider forms five for the next trip as they might be able to get a bigger contingent.

Ganpat said: “The group that went in 2013 was 20 students and five adults. It was big up to 2013 but Norway being an economy based on oil and gas and things started to go down. We found that less students who were attending the school in Norway, their parents could not afford to send them so the school is actually downsizing at that age group.” For the students, Nunes-Charles said, lifetime memories and friendships are formed from the experience.

“Even though there is a school [component] involved, the memories and relationships that they form, last. Some of them become really good friends afterward.

Then some of them discover the environment and decide to study, abroad. Some of them think they want to be there..,” she said.

Ganpat added: “Some of our people who were involved in the beginning, in 1997, are still in touch with their friends who they met at that time.

“I believe it is really very important...

We become sensitised to the whole programme. The students and the families we have to fund it ourselves and then expand it. There were a lot of schools involved in the beginning. They need to look again and see what was the reason for the fallout. It is a very valuable learning experience.”