This month we had an incredible team of educators from Flatirons Community Church come and work alongside our teachers at Musana Nursery and Primary School! Unlike most mission trips that have an aim of hands-on service, we believe a successful missions trip is one full of relationship building and collaboration where there can be mutual learning and growth for everyone involved. Our Ugandan teaching team is made up of qualified, intelligent, and energetic individuals that are committed to changing their community by raising the next generation of leaders. The U.S. teachers have broad experience in teaching techniques and emphasizing critical thinking in the classroom. Together, these two groups encouraged each other and pushed each other to be all around better teachers!
What mutual learning looks like:
“The teachers at Musana made us fall in love with teaching again. The joy of the teachers there which can be seen in the way that they smile, dance, sing, and celebrate with their students is something we all brought back with us. I know for me that my soul feels full of grace and love since I have been back and my students in Colorado even notice and benefit from it. On a super practical note, we also learned good fine motor skill strategies for younger kids to help them develop good handwriting skills as they get older. Our time writing goals with the teachers also reminded us of the importance of goal setting in our own classrooms.” –Kristen Baker (U.S. Teacher)
“They were lovely individuals that encouraged us by being free with us. We danced, we laughed, and we learned from one another. One area that captured our ears was the importance of using downtime during class by engaging the children in activities. Also, they taught us to use critical thinking questions that provoke our children to ask the “why’s” which makes them more eager to learn. We also set goals that we can use to follow up and check on ourselves as effective teachers. We loved the team so much and hope to see them return next year.” –Nalugoda Mike (Musana’s Headmaster)
We are thankful for the time we had with the team and look forward to all the other visitors we will host throughout 2017!
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