Transformation at Titiana
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I had reason to visit Titiana this morning with Kerapuke Toben, Education Secretary to the United Church School Authority. I often used Titiana as an example of one of the few ‘difficult communities’ that RARP has had to work with. So it was with considerable surprise I found that a transformation for the better has occurred at Titiana.
The school is almost finished and the classrooms are in use by teachers and children. I visited each class and was pleasantly taken aback by the general positive atmosphere in place amongst teachers and children alike. Another aspect I noticed was how tidy the teachers chalk board work was and there was a very real structure in the way lessons were being conducted and participated in (ex Tech college inspector’s innate observations!). The school desks provided by RARP were very well accepted by the children and in each classroom somewhat embarrassingly RARP was awarded three cheers!! I hastened to add the donors names of course as the cheering subsided!
In addition to all that a completely new school committee had been formed and I held a meeting with this group all very positive and included representation by the head boy and head girl of the school. My mind wandered back to the problems we had experienced with the previous committee and now suddenly this – all positive, more women than men, student representation and about to commence on a ‘whole school development planning session’. Plans for the library were underway, plans for the tidy up at the front of the school were discussed, plans for the official ‘handover’ were discussed…..
Indeed the ‘times they are a changing….’ And all for the better.
John T Boveington