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| Sheau Peng in the Classroom |
Sundays at TRACC include a short boat ride to the
neighboring island of Kalapuan to teach English, basic science, and a bit about
recycling in an effort to clean up the island and prepare the next generation
to be active stewards of their island and environment.
Sheau Peng a TRACC volunteer and Marine Science A-level student
stands in the front of the open classroom in front of about 50 young village
children and writes the lesson on the black board. Today the children learn
three letters, A, B, C, and three words from each letter, as well as a short
and helpful English phrase. “Good Morning, My Name is ____. I am a
Girl/Boy”. The children actively and
attentively write down each letter and word Peng writes on the blackboard,
careful to be sure each letter and word is perfectly written.
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| TRACC Volunteer Liam Working the "Rollercoaster" |
When the time comes for Peng to ask the children to stand up
and speak their new phrase, a few brave students rise and proudly use their new
words. Yet when Peng walks to a side of the room to ask a particular student to
use the phrase, the rest of the students quickly scuttle to the opposite side,
shyly, but happily, avoiding being called on. The lesson moves on and the
students learn a little about health and nutrition, and separating glass,
plastic, and metal for recycling, before being sent out into the village,
garbage bags in tow, to practice their new skills and collect plastic bottles
for recycling.
After the lesson Peng and a few other TRACC Volunteers and
A-level students are led to the other side of the island by the group of happy
students to explore the tide pools and see the “rollercoaster” (the swing
crafted from rope and a section of an old rubber tire and strung high between
two trees). As we walk, the children so shy in the classroom, excitedly test
their new words and shout “Good Morning. My name is _____. I am a Girl/Boy” up
and down the path.
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| Kalapuan from the Boat |
Peng, sums it up best as we walk back to the boat to return
to Pom-Pom Island – “It’s so satisfying to see the children already using their
English words” – and I see exactly what she means. The peaceful village is
filled with bright happy voices and the intelligent and observing faces of
children learning skills that will provide them with wider opportunities in the
future.
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If you want to help with teaching or any marine conservation activity, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org
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