Those That Understand…Teach

“Turn obstacles into experiments and setbacks into instruction.”          – Marcus Ellery

Magic dresses up as children…The Copey Learning Center

The Copey Learning Center is doing well, and much of the credit goes to the two volunteer teachers who are providing educational services. As previously mentioned, Stella and Arthur—a husband‑and‑wife team—began the year teaching in Copey and will unfortunately be concluding their term of service around May 10th. On behalf of all “Friends of Copey,” we thank Stella and Arthur.

Stella reports:

“The Copey Learning Centre has become a special place for us in the last few weeks. We soon found the materials and resources we needed to plan and teach our English lessons and have divided the teaching between us according to age. I teach the younger children in Kinder class to Grade 4 and Arthur teaches grades 5-11.

A little about the children; they are adorable, keen to learn and respectful. Some can be shy at first, others talk non stop! but they are a dream to teach. We have found using visuals and material they can relate to helps with engagement. 

Some of the children have not had much experience outside of the local area so we are mindful of this.

We have been teaching grammar including adjectives, nouns, personal pronouns, past and future tenses, questions, numbers, colors, and always a game or two of bingo or go fish!

We encourage speaking in English and rarely use Spanish in class. The groups are arranged by age, but there are a variety of ability levels within this, getting to know the children individually means we can support and challenge within the group. 

The parents are always thankful at drop off and pick up, they value the opportunities that speaking English will hold for their children.

We have to mention our support network, Gloria is always here on hand and helps us with any request, Catalina makes us feel so welcome and we have conversations about the impact Learning English holds for the community. We have also been treated to meals out in the local area. We pass Lorena’s house every day on our walk to the Centre, we had a lovely time with her and her daughter. It feels comforting for us, so far from home that we have this support on hand. 

We have been exploring the local area on the bus, we can get to Santa Maria and San Marcos, we even met an American couple who have become friends. We went to San Jose for Holy week, it was very quiet but it gave us the chance to get away. Copey is very beautiful and we love the walks but it can be isolating without a car to get around so the occasional trip out helps us. 

We have been very impressed with the Copey learning centre, how it supports the Local community and the level of English the older children can achieve. It has been our pleasure to be able to teach here and get to know the local children and wish every one of them success for the future.”

ALERT!  The Annual Pathway Project Is Cancelled!

We regret to inform all “Friends of Copey” that the Pathway Project will not take place this year. Several concerns surrounding international travel for Copey students—both to and from the United States—have made it necessary to pause the program for 2024. While this decision was difficult, it reflects our commitment to safety, responsibility, and long‑term sustainability.

These concerns are being fully acknowledged, and the decision to postpone the Pathway Project—and resume in 2027—is final. Early donors to the Pathway Project will be contacted individually by me this week.

The Emory & Henry University students scheduled to travel to Copey will continue with their plans. We will monitor their activities closely and provide frequent updates regarding their involvement with the Copey Learning Center.

Traveling to Virginia…Still On!

I am scheduled to speak at two events. Plans to travel to southwest Viginia remain in place desite the cancellation of the Pathway Project and the annual Copey reception.