Brush with Haiti by Tobin Kathleen A

Author:Tobin, Kathleen A. [Tobin, Kathleen A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Mill City Press
Published: 2012-12-04T00:00:00+00:00

25

Social Studies

Renate arranged for me to meet with a group of teachers and an assistant director of a small, privately funded school a short distance from where we were staying. It would be a valuable opportunity for me to learn from them. The visit centered around a presentation I agreed to make on recent trends in U.S. higher education, but I saw this as more of an exchange. That is exactly what it turned out to be. The group was small, as the meeting fell near the first of January when Haitians centered their attention on activities with family and friends. Plus it had come on the heels of a very wet spell when roads were at their muddiest and most difficult to travel. The founder of the school was away in Canada, his home country, on an educational tour, presumably with fundraising aspirations. Renate spoke very highly of his work and I could see how his vision influenced the creation of a high quality school staffed by excellent teachers.

When we entered the school grounds, the greenery was striking. We must have passed by this location before, as it was very near the doctor's house, but I could not have imagined that a school lay hidden beyond the road. Construction was underway for expansion. The original structure was limited in size but sturdy, constructed of cement block with three or four classrooms and an office surrounding a common area. The classrooms seated more students than would ever be expected in rooms of that size in the States, once more an indication that ifyou build a school they will come. The rooms were very dark, daylight inching in only through the rows of open-patterned block on one wall. The dimness was due also, I suppose, to the deep gray concrete floors, overcast skies, and dense tree cover on all sides of the building.

We pulled some desks together in the common area which, compared to the classrooms, felt more like an atrium. Light fell upon us through an opening in the ceiling, just enough to surround our circle. They apologized for the informality of our setting, but it was no less than perfect. I prefer to be seated when presenting to a small group, if the nature of the session allows. It did, and we had the most wonderful talk. We spoke about some of the challenges we face in education in our respective countries. I was in the midst of serving on the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, recently completing my time as a commissioner and having taken on responsibilities as chair of additional related committees. I used that as a framework. I had been a member of the Commission's Strategic Directions Committee and while what we addressed there might seem remote from what educators faced in Haiti, there were uncanny similarities. Though it was true that the scale of our challenges differed, the concerns remained the same.

Accessibility, affordability, accountability, college preparation, college completion, and clarifying missions of research institutions and community colleges were universal themes and easily introduced to this fertile, common ground.

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