First - I have come to the realization that we are departing for our separate placements in (more or less) about 10 weeks. 10 weeks. Dix. Dieci. Ten. That is mind blowing to me. It seems like only yesterday we were accepted into the program. Then we found out where we were going, started fundraising and BAM! we're here at this point in time. Amazing. Looking at my calendar and thinking about it day by day, it seems like such a long time. But to say 10 weeks or compare it/think about in terms of school results in the fact that school is finished in 5 weeks, my final exam is in 7 weeks and then we leave - it makes it seem like such a short time. As a side note, my immunization appointment is next week, March 4th (Jess if you're reading this, remember that's your appointment too!) so that will be so (not) fun and I am so (not) looking forward to it! We also have our last Beyond Borders Seminar March 7th. Further preperatory details for the summer.

Also - I have had fundraising success which makes me extremely happy. Based on my last post, I am still standing at $950.00 that I have given to Elyse Redden. However, I believe that I may receiving a very generous donation from some close family friends (thank you Renato and Belinda Bernardo!) as well as the money raised by Star Academy. I'd like to give a little shout out to the Senior Class and let you know what they're doing to raise money for me:

The Senior Class has already raised about $68.00 from hosting a Valentine's Day themed dress down day (they normally wear uniforms). They have also planned, completely by themselves (and this is a class of gr.7 and 8's) a combined Game Day and Movie Day on Friday March 6th. There will be various games that the students can play such as Guitar Hero and then there will be a showing of 4 movies in different classrooms that students can pay admission to and buy snacks and such to eat during the movie. In a school of over 100 students, that is such impressive co-ordination and should be very successful! I am so proud and extremely fortunate that they have taken such an interest and drive in fundraising for me. I can't even begin to express my gratitude. THANK YOU SENIOR CLASS OF STAR ACADEMY! YOU ARE AMAZING! What's also neat is that I was mentioned in the February newsletter sent out by Star Academy. Check it out! It was just something I thought was cool.
http://www.staracademy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/feb-09-newsletter.pdf

Now to my possible Pedagogical example that I came across. There was an article in the Nicaraguan Post that I thought demonstrated Freire's beliefs about pedagogical teaching/problem-posing education. It's titled "Nicaraguans Like Housing Program" and reads:

Managua, Feb 18 (Prensa Latina) Social organizations and the general public approved of the A Better House program by the government of Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega. This plan is inclusive and aims to offer construction materials to low income families to repair and build their homes, pointed out German Ordonez, coordinator of the community movement on a departmental level. The official explained that their work in coordination with the government has benefited more than 2,500 families in Managua alone. This is a program that we consider open, clear and not exclusive or sectarian. It is for the community, he added.

The pedagogical approach, as explained by Freire, was a way of teaching that was student centred and aimed to free the oppressed poor from the oppressive rich. One topic highly emphasized by Freire was the notion of the teacher-student relationship. In the past, the relationship has consisted of the teacher imposing knowledge on the student in a banking method - where the student is forced to just listen to the teacher, learn what ever it is being taught, and memorize/repeat the information. This method does not allow the student to engage themselves in the learning process. The teacher acts as a subject and the students are the object, being acted upon by the teacher. What this article conveys to me is the problem-posing method in which the "students" (in this case, the low-income families) are actively engaged in their learning, discussing and posing problems about the material. This is a harder and more expensive method but it is providing a service to the students. The idea that the government is providing the families with the building supplies to do it themselves and learn along the way is a much more effective way of doing it than forcing the families to either reside in crumbling homes or a shared house with other families. Not only does it teach the families essential skills but it is not exclusive/class-dependent and is beneficial to the families involved. I'm reminded of the proverb "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for life" Give someone the materials and the skills to do it for themselves and they will be better off in the long run than if someone does it for them. I hope that it works out well for everyone involved.

Later days!

Source: The Nicaraguan Post " Nicaraguans Like Housing Program". This article details the government effort to provide low income families with building supplies to repair and build their homes.
http://www.nicaraguanpost.com/nicaragua/nicaraguans-like-housing-program