The Adventures of Lynne

  Yesterday, our new CTF-FCE Executive Director, Annette Bouzi delivered one of her first speeches in her new role. We were receptive of course! Welcoming Annette Bouzi We continue to receive training in preparation for our various countries. Many of the teams, especially the ones going to African countries will leave tomorrow afternoon. We will head to the airport in the middle of the night tomorrow and get to Guyana through Barbados at 8pm. We are excited and ready! This evening we walked past the parliament buildings (whch are under construction), I knocked on Mark Carney\s office door--no answer. I stopped to say hi to Oscar Peterson before heading back to the U of Ottawa residence where we are staying. Talk to you from Guyana! hanging out with Oscar Our fearless leaders (program officers) Our officer is Beverley Parks, second from the left, who is also the director of the International Programs at CTF. She's fantastic at her role, a woman to admire! The other three are also wo...

This is my third year with the Canadian Teacher's Federation (CTF, FCE for  Fédération canadienne des enseignantes et des enseignants ) "Teaching Together or TT (Enseigner Ensembe or EE.)" It used to be called "Project Overseas"--in fact, it was still called that my first year. CTF wanted to change the name from "project," which sounds a little like Canadians fixing problems elsewhere as their pet project, to a name that reflected the collaboration and cooperation between Canada's federation and the those of other countries. We all belong to "Education International." In fact, those of us who are team leaders went to Ottawa in February for training and were addressed by Cassandra Halle, our then Executive Director, for the last time, because she became Deputy General Secretary for EI! I found her inspiring and feel happy (and proud) that she will represent Canadian educators so well. Two years ago the first new name that CTF came up with...

On the last day in Accra, the eight of us went to the Osu castle which is a UNESCO world heritage site. From a trading centre (gold, ivory, human beings) to a government building, it was a Danish-turned-British castle that was used for housing and trading slaves. Housing involved being in a dungeon in shackles while waiting for a ship, being fed minimal carbohydrates to keep you docile. We saw the "door of no return" where each human being lost name, cultural identity and dignity. It was a sobering experience and very interesting. https://christiansborgarchaeologicalheritageproject.org/christiansborg-castle-history/

 It's tricky to find new things to write about since this trip to Ghana is almost the same as last July! I feel both savvy on Ghanaian culture (esp. in Education) and so I'm good to go! But I also feel like staying for a long time, continuing to help Ghanaian partners succeed in improving the conditions of their teachers and especially wanted to help improve the quality education for all Ghanaian children. Simple things mean so much. Oh my, what I take for granted in Ontario...... I worked with my dear friend Lord again this year for the first week. This week I am working with Justice who is also very lovely, with a humourous style that puts the participants at ease. I have noticed this year, when the participants have come from the four northern regions of Ghana, that they are hungry for the offered professional development. They are engaged and enthusiastic--which of course is contagious! I look forward to each class, digging in to talk shop with other teachers.     ...

 I'm so lucky! I get to go back! Project Overseas is now called "Teaching Together," which a nice way to move away from a "project" as if the Canadians are "serving" rather than collaborating with other countries' federations! It was going to be called International Collaboration for Education (which is a title I loved because of the word 'collaboration') but if you think of the acronym (ICE), it's an ugly acronym in the rhymes-with-dump era in the United States. So I like our new name. It works en francais aussi--"Ensignants Ensemble." I look forward to meeting old friends from last year. I am the team leader for three wonderful teachers and I look forward to working with them: Laura, Laun and Kevin. Thanks for coming along again with me!

 Our second week was spent at the Kibi Presbyterian College of Education in Kibi--pronounced chibi, and sometimes spelled Kyebi. It was a gorgeous campus in a valley, surrounded by mountains. There was a garden, used by students, and many fruit trees (mango, papaya, banana, coconut), available to students to help themselves to! We had cocoyam for our supper one night. The leaves grow plentifully and Ghanaiansr refer to it as "spinach." cocoyam leaves growing all over the campus The campus had lush plant life, especially hibiscus--they also serve hibiscus drinks which are delicious. Did you know that Ghana (at least in the south of the country where we were) has red soil just like PEI? The pictures of red soil that I took don't look quite red. In real life the soil is a much brighter red. The second week was a replica of the first. Two cohorts from the Volta and Eastern regions. Opening ceremonies, 2 days of 4, 2 hour classes, a closing ceremony and Canada/Ghana night. For...