Leah and Kathy spread the joy of teaching and learning in Vanuatu

Hay teacher Leah Books with students in Vanuatu. Image: supplied.

By Kimberly Grabham.

Hang onto your hats, teachers Leah Books and Kathy Duncan went international!

The pair flew off to Vanuatu, where they shared their skills, knowledge and teaching to classes of children and teachers. The program was one of many which a Queensland company called Global Teacher delivers.

“It was just something which popped up on our Facebook, and we decided to apply,” Leah said. “We had our interviews, explained we would not want to go without the other, and were both accepted.”

Leah said some teachers have university degrees in Vanuatu, and some don’t.

“The teacher I was paired with was in her mid-50s and had three more years until retirement,” Leah said. “She also had five children living with her. It is a common occurrence, parents heading to Australia to find work, and having to leave their children with family, friends, or people they know.

“Something which was quite endearing was the children had not seen white teachers before and they were amazed. They kept on wanting to touch my face, hair, and arms.”

Above: Teachers from Hay Leah Books and Kathy Duncans spent time visiting schools and students in Vanuatu. Images: supplied.

Leah has kept in touch with the teacher of the class she taught, corresponding via Facebook Messenger. Leah said the teachers there have passion for their teaching and for their students, they just do not have access to a lot of the training and resources teachers in Australia have.

“They are basically sent our curriculum and told to implement,” she said. “A lot of their work is copying from the board, and writing. If I were teaching in Hay about Australian animals, I would bring pictures up on the whiteboards, or videos, and do different activities with the children,” she said.

“I didn’t have anything like that available. So the night before I spent all night drawing animals to show the children while I was teaching.

“The next day, I came back, and the teacher had photocopied the drawings and got the children to colour them in. It was the first artwork hung in the classroom.

“They just do not have the same resources, there were six lead pencils for the 36 children to share. They were so happy with anything they were given, and were happy to wait for their turn. One of the students owned a pencil sharpener, so then the class had one pencil sharpener.”

As soon as Leah and Kathy understood what lack of resources the classes faced, they found a store and bought every resource they could think might be needed.

“I made chocolate milk with the children, and they were fascinated,” Leah said.

“They had never done that before; just milk and chocolate powder. There were no books to read in the class, and no ball. The small ball I bought to do maths exercises with the children was looked at with wonder. So were the books, just small ones I brought with me on the plane.”

The journey was Kathy’s first trip overseas.

“I had no expectations, and was so happily surprised at how friendly everyone was,” Kathy said. “They wanted us there, wanted to hear our ideas and to learn from us. They valued our opinions and skills.”

Kathy had 45 children in her class, and six children sharing one pencil. Most of the children walked many kilometres to school and back, in thongs or no shoes.

“Our time there was amazing,” said Leah. “The hardest thing to overcome was the language barrier. The children knew four and five languages, but little English. They were speaking to us in Bislama, which is an English-based Melanesian pidgin, the national language.”

The teacher in Kathy’s classroom had been teaching for over 20 years, and had a huge passion for her job.

“She had such a great passion for phonics, and could see how the method of learning to read using phonics made sense, instead of reading by memory. She also loved maths.

“In that country, they are still stuck with rote learning. It was amazing to be able to show a whole new way of teaching.”

Kathy has ordered maths and literacy packs to send back to the children, and people from her school, Ivanhoe Central School, have also donated items.

The teacher who Kathy interacted with is hoping to come to Ivanhoe in the Vanuatu school holidays next year, so she can see what Kathy’s classroom and school are like, and observe teaching methods.

Leah and Kathy agree they both would do it again, and that it was a highly worthwhile experience.