So, this week I discovered that I am headed to Kolda, in the southern part of Senegal below the Gambia. Our host will be Mme Fanta Fofana, English teacher at the Lycee Alpha Molo Balde, who has already impressed me with her organization and creativity.
I am looking forward to the entire experience, but especially visiting the schools. Being the French system, it is interesting to me that so many aspects sound like Togo, but yet I expect to find many differences as well. Like the fact that my phone says it will be 108 next week. And the hotel where we'll be staying offers boar hunts. (Which, by the way, was a French verb I actually recognized from high school- chasser. I certainly didn't have need of that verb in Togo or anytime since, but apparently I retained that knowledge nonetheless). The hospitality, the greetings (saluer), and community emphasis all remind me of Togo, which are some of my favorite memories. Now that we know where we are going, the time to prepare and plan seems rather short- everything from small gifts to bug spray to revising my research question, which I think will stem around ESD. Having observed very structured instruction for sustainable development in Japan, and having made a greater effort to actively teach ESD in my own classes, I am curious what I will find in Kolda- and Dakar. One of the great things about sustainability education is that it is almost impossible to be a cynic about our future as a global community, when dealing with such passionate, sincere teenagers who are determined to change the world...and probably will.
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Kirstin Bullington
I teach science, engineering, and computer science at W.J. Keenan High School in Columbia, SC Archives
March 2016
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