Planning for our future

Recently, lots of energy at our school has been put into figuring out exactly what the goal of our school is and how we are going to reach that goal.  Up to this point we've been a trilingual school with the priorities  1. English first 2. Creole and 3. French.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with that order, and our students have been holding their own with the three languages.  However, we have been trying to reevaluate and determine what is best for the kids.  French is the official language of Haiti.  The problem is that the language of the people is Creole. The less educated you are, the less French you know.  Therefore, in Jubilee (where most people cannot read and write) virtually no one can speak French.

We think that the priorities of our school need to be rearranged with French as the top priority.  We are not raising our students and teaching them English so that they grow up and leave Haiti.  We want them to be educated members of society that will be strong leaders for their country.  So, why not put the focus on their official language?  Makes sense right?

It all seems easy in theory, but there is so much that needs to be figured out.  Curriculum, finding qualified teachers, training teachers, what do we teach in English, what do we teach in Creole and what do we teach in French?  The list goes on and on and on.  I'm thankful that most of my time is spent in my classroom while Lala and April work to figure out all the answers to these questions.

I'm sure to most teachers in the states, the thought of teaching in a bilingual school would seem terrifying.  I know it did to me the first time I ever heard of one.  But, three languages...now that's just crazy.  But, we're doing it.  We don't necessarily what we're doing, but we're researching and using trial and error to figure this beast out.

On top of that, we decided that if we are going to put more emphasis on French, then we should probably be able to speak it.  So, the plan is for April, Lala, and me to begin French classes next month.  Luckily for us, our good friend Keziah studied abroad in France and is fluent in French.  She has so kindly agreed to be our teacher!  I am excited, but also slightly scared because I know that French is much more difficult that Creole.  Also, unlike Creole we will not be using it on a daily basis so it will be harder to remember.  For all you prayer warriors out there, you can start praying for a supernatural ability to learn French!

While my head is spinning today trying to figure it all out, I'm excited for the future of our students.