Kufundisha Pamoja

Through professional development, collaborative lesson planning, co-teaching and immersion in daily school life, visiting educators and St Jude’s teachers exchange skills, knowledge and experiences.

Mrs Erin, an art teacher at The Galloway School in Atlanta, Georgia, spent the program working alongside Mr Kephas, St Jude’s art teacher at Girls’ Secondary School. Here, they share some of the highlights from the program.

Mrs Erin – Art teacher

1. Why did you want to get involved in this program?

I teach art to middle school students, which is grades five through eight at my school. My school is called the Galloway School, and we've had a partnership with the Kufundisha Pamoja program for about seven or eight years. Many of my colleagues have come and really just raved about their experience and how positive it was. And I’m really excited that it was finally my turn to come!

2. What has been a highlight for you during the program?

Getting to know Mr Kephas has been such a highlight. Seeing the students have so much affection for him has been so special because you can tell that they have a really good rapport and they’re comfortable in the art room, which is so important in making them comfortable to take creative risks.  

3. Why is investing in teachers so important

When you invest in a teacher, you are investing in hundreds or thousands of students’ futures because every teacher touches so many students. And so, if you can make an impact with a teacher and teach them something new, and they teach that to many other students, and those students go out in the world and spread that, it’s definitely making an impact on the future.

4. What have you learned from this program?

Mr Kephas taught me how to make batik (a traditional fabric-dyeing technique), which was really exciting. I have a whole new vision for how I’m going to use that in my classroom. Mr Kephas has been so generous in sharing his teaching wisdom and his teaching time with me. It’s not always easy to allow another teacher into your classroom but he's been really open to my ideas and sharing the time.

Mr Kephas

1. How would you describe the experience in one word?

Exceptional! This experience has added lots to my career and professional development. Erin is an exceptional teacher who I learned a lot of unique teaching techniques from. These are things that I am already bringing into the classroom.

2. What have you enjoyed most about working together?

I’ve loved sharing ideas. We plan the lesson together and think about how we can engage the students. We also look at how we can use the school’s available resources such as the projector and the computers in lessons. The students also asked her a lot of questions. They really enjoyed having her in the classroom.

3. What have you gained?

When you get the chance to talk with another teacher from the other side of the world who is teaching the same thing, it really helps. When you have a problem, you can share it with them, and they can give you a new way to tackle it. That can be really helpful in the future. That’s why we say we gained a lot from the experience, especially new skills.