A Day in a Life of a Teacher

Blog contributed by Sasha Novell-Solacito, Teacher, Volcanes Community Education Project, Mexico

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My workday morning starts out with a very dusty and bumpy ride through the working class neighborhoods of Puerto Vallarta. As the school’s SUV approaches the gates, my smiling students run in flip-flopped feet to greet me. They help me carry my teacher bag, my thermos of tea and the morning breakfasts to the classroom and we immediately start the lesson. Our students come on the shift opposite of their public school schedule to learn English and computer skills, completely voluntarily.

I teach grades 2, 3 and 4, and by now, they know the drill. We warm up with a quick introduction, sing a few songs and dance around to get the wiggles out, and then work on the current units’ vocabulary and sentence pattern. As a small non-government funded, non-profit school we are blessed to have computers, internet and TV’s in each classroom and for many of the students, this is their first encounter with technology.


Even small things such as teaching aids, board games, and classroom decorations make our teaching and learning environment more fun, interactive and efficient. Our new toy for this coming school year – Scholastic’s Little Red Tool Box – contains magnetic letters and sight words that allow students to move, manipulate and build their own words and sentences. Thanks to donations like these from Isa Mundo Foundation, English class becomes a gateway into a new world.

From Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, muchas gracias Isa Mundo!

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Isa Mundo Foundation has been supporting the Volcanes Community Education Project since 2011. The first Isa Mundo Education Centre project in Mexico was launched in this school. 

IMEC in Granada, Nicaragua

In partnership with Soccer Without Borders (SWB), we are in the process of developing a second Isa Mundo Education Centre (IMEC) in Granada, Nicaragua. Isa Mundo has partnered with SWB in the past as their volunteers brought the first set of technological supplies to Empowerment International to create the first IMEC in Nicaragua. 

SWB has launched their Granada Education Program to facilitate positive secondary school outcomes and empower students to reach their full potential. One of the barriers to success is access to teachers, computers, internet and education software and tools. Isa Mundo has always been supportive of similar goals and we have committed to partner with SWB by providing much needed laptops to complement their program.  

Isa Mundo has been working with Mary McVeigh, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of SWB, to use their volunteers traveling to Nicaragua and bring the first batch of laptops to their school. We would like to thank UPS Store #501 in Vancouver for helping us with the shipping of these laptops and for supporting other projects in the future.

We will keep you all updated on the progress of the 2nd IMEC in Nicaragua. To learn more about SWB's education project click on the Granada Education Program.  

Happy Birthday Canada

Today, Canada is celebrating its 148th birthday.

2015 has been deemed as the Year of Sport in Canada, meaning that volunteers across the country will be giving their time and their talents putting on some major sporting events such as the Pan Am and Parapan Games and the FIFA Women’s World Cup. 

Canadians have remained as the most generous and engaged with their communities and continue to donate their time, money, energy and skills to the causes that matter to them the most. According to Volunteer Canada, 12.7 million Canadians contribute close to 2 billion hours of giving, volunteering and participating (www.volunteer.ca)

In his Canada Day speech this year, Governor General David Johnson issued a challenge to all Canadians to" use our unique talents to build a better Canada—especially as we approach Canada’s 150th birthday" The Isa Mundo  Foundation would like to thank Canadians for supporting not-for-profit organizations in their communities, Canada and internationally and most of all, those who continue to believe in Isa Mundo and its work. Let's together build better communities, a better Canada and a better world!

12.7 million Canadians contribute close to 2 billion hours (General Social Survey - Giving, Volunteering and Participating - See more at: http://volunteer.ca/about#sthash.OWW1Mimv.dpuf

Compass Community School

Blog contributed by Elaine Su and Nicole Treitz of Compass Community School
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Education is an interesting topic. Every person that you speak to holds an opinion about what education should look like, whether it is rooted in reflection on personal experiences, a vested interest in the education of one’s children, a belief about public services, an opinion about tax-dollar spending, a vision for the overall purpose of education, or any other one of the countless connections that individuals form with education. The bottom line is that everyone has an opinion when it comes to education and more often than not, we are all looking for change.

There is a fun exercise that we like to do when talking about education – we ask people to imagine their “dream school”. What does it look like? Who is inside? Who is outside? What is being learned? How are things learned? What is the overall purpose of this school? So please, go ahead and take a moment to envision your dream school.

Ours looks something like this:

·      A learning environment not bound by walls. One that counts its natural surroundings, built surroundings, peers and neighbours as crucial components of the learning landscape.

·      A place where knowledge is sought, shared and respected. One that does not rely on one voice to guide learning, but welcomes and encourages mentorship from community members and experts. One that values and honours Indigenous knowledge and the history of our land.

·      A hub that welcomes, nourishes, and supports the community. One where we do not only learn from and within the community, but actively engage with and as advocates for the community. 

·      A place where individuals are celebrated. An environment that supports students in their social, emotional, and intellectual development while fostering a space in which they can explore their curiosities and interests.

·      A student body that is mobile.  A visible force within the community that cycles, scoots, skips, and walks to their next learning adventure. Everyone who sees them pass by waves and smiles because they know, appreciate, and respect who they are.

·      A safe space that is welcoming to all.

This is our vision. This is Compass Community School.

Compass Community School is a new place-based community school, based in Vancouver, B.C, created in response to a collective desire to see change in our schools and communities. Our team is built of parents, educators, and community members with a diverse range of interests and experiences, who have all come together to imagine a new way of learning. 

It is a growing concern amongst Vancouverites that there is no sense of belonging in our communities. Everyone seems to be searching for it, and yet the feeling of belonging remains elusive. Compass hopes to change that, by bringing community into the classroom, and bringing the classroom into the community. We believe that children should be active, valued, contributing members of their communities and that they have the capacity to revitalize and reinvigorate spaces that feel stagnant and isolated.  

Now that we have told you our vision, we would love to know: What does your dream school look like? 

To us, the most heartening aspect of Compass Community School is that it is truly “of the community.” Our vision grows and evolves with each new voice that enters the conversation.  We invite you to share your voice and join us as we help build this dream into a reality.

If you would like to share your vision or find out more about Compass Community School, please contact us at compasscommunityschool@gmail.com or visit the Compass Community School website. 

We would like to say a special thank you to Isa Mundo Foundation for being a supportive and generous partner of ours. We deeply admire the work that Isa Mundo does internationally and look forward to being a partner in opening the first Canadian IMEC in Vancouver!

Hidden Well

Blog contributed by Elaine Su and Nicole Treitz. of Hidden Well

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Hidden Well is a non-profit educational organization based in Vancouver, B.C., that is devoted to redefining the relationship between schools and their wider communities. In the eyes of BC Educators and Hidden Well Founders, Elayn Su and Nicole Treitz, isolation is one of the greatest obstacles to meaningful education. Teachers are isolated within classrooms, as are students within desks, and schools within communities. By encouraging teachers, students, and schools to knock down walls and embrace their wider communities, the potential for individual and community transformation is vast.

The goal of Hidden Well is to challenge current conventions within Canadian schools and to work collaboratively toward solutions for more meaningful, authentic, and interactive learning opportunities. To kickstart relationship building between schools and communities, Elayn and Nicole reached out to community members, leaders, and organizations and were humbled by their readiness to be involved in collaborative education. Imagine the potential for impactful learning and engagement when we all work together!

Hidden Well currently offers several programs that serve to encourage increased collaboration between learners and their surroundings. The School Resource Mapping program helps schools identify how partnering with local community members and organizations will support learning and satisfy provincial learning outcomes. Mentor Matching helps connect students with local professionals than can provide content specific or general guidance and hands on experience.

Most recently, Hidden Well developed a youth leadership program called Changemakers: Me, My Community, The World. Changemakers is a three-level program that is focused on social justice, leadership, and responsible citizenship. Throughout this program, youth meaningfully engage with their local and global communities and develop their roles as informed, active, and contributing citizens. Perhaps one day Hidden Well’s Changemakers can collaborate with Isa Mundo on one of their many incredible international projects!

Hidden Well hosts many dreams and visions for education and is continually enriched through new connections and voices. Fun Fact: Some of Hidden Well’s best dreaming is rooted in long talks over mochas with Isa Mundo Founder and Director, Paul Lorilla! It is the integrity, ambition, and good work of friends like Paul that continue to inspire big dreams! 

Learn more at: hiddenwell.org

Voluntourism

We often receive requests (mostly from Canada and the US) wanting to be involved in our work.  Our first question is whether the person or group wants to help our organization or volunteer overseas in one of the projects we support or organizations we have partnered with.  Almost 100% are interested in traveling and wanting to attain first hand experience in: international development; be immersed in local culture and language; and contribute to bettering the world.  Within the first few years of our launch, we would travel to visit communities and often sent volunteers to complete project site visits and/or volunteer for a day to learn more about projects and how they operate. We never sent volunteers to do actual hands on work until the past few years.  We have successfully partnered with organizations and individuals to travel to our projects and help complete initiatives or volunteer to help in the day to day activities in schools, orphanages and communities.

Lately, we have seen a rise in people traveling abroad to gain experience and see the world through volunteering. In our current research, we have learned that the term 'voluntourism' has created a global industry.  A recent article stated that:

"An entire industry has sprouted out of voluntourism as it increases in popularity, possibly equal to the increase in global inequality."

As voluntourism expands worldwide, not-for-profit organizations (including Isa Mundo) are being asked to assess whether it does more harm than good in communities by sending volunteers who are not well equipped or experienced to accomplish tasks they have been given or are looking for.  For Isa Mundo, we are committed to identify volunteers by matching their skills with appropriate activities or tasks. We will continue to optimize and evaluate this process and ensure that organizations and communities are receiving appropriate and quality volunteer service. At the same time, the volunteers are gaining valuable hands on skills while enriching their cultural experience.

We would like to share a CBC Doc Zone report that was recently shown this week. We feel that it is important that everyone watch this documentary as a starting point for discussion and determining if volunteering internationally is the right decision for current and future volunteers.

CBC Doc Zone - Volunteers Unleashed

United Nations - Millennium Development Goals

When we offiically launched the Isa Mundo Foundation in 2006, we attached our education theme and projects to one of the UN Millennium Development Goals which is to provide access to basic primary education by 2015.

We have been successful in supporting and delivering this initiative through the creation of our Isa Mundo Education Centre (IMEC) concept in developing countries.  Since our launch, we have established IMECs in the Philippines (2), Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. We hope to complete another IMEC by end of 2015 as part of our commitment to provide access to basic primary education in less fortunate students and communities worldwide.

To review the education target for 2015, visit the website at UN Millennium Development Goals for Education.

Photo Banner taken from UN Website