Top 10 Reasons to Join T2T

Each year a small team of UWCSEA teachers provides free professional development to teachers who work with underserved populations in the developing world. These are powerful opportunities to refine our own teaching practice, provide meaningful service and stretch ourselves by tackling challenges which we do not often run into during our day to day work in Singapore.

We are looking to expand our teams this year, but we must act quickly as our partner schools are eager to have a plan in place. Usually the trips are scheduled for the first two days of a holiday, leaving you time to enjoy the rest of the break. Personally speaking, it has been one of the most meaningful professional experiences of my career thus far. When I see teachers who have participated on a trip, I sincerely feel like we have a purposeful bond based on our shared experience. It is my fond hope that everyone who is interested will be able to participate. This year’s team leaders are Sean McHugh (Team Cambodia) and Alice Henry (Team India). They are good points of contact for more information.

Without further ado, here are my top 10 reasons why I think you should consider joining T2T, if not this year, then definitely in the future:

 1. Embody the UWCSEA Profile

“T2T forces me to make the profile my own, interpreting its qualities as mine as well as the purposes, beliefs, judgements, and feelings of the place I work. But it’s more than that—way more—the skills and qualities of the UWCSEA profile makes no sense if it’s just ‘mine’; it has to be ‘ours’—and working through and wrestling with these attributes with the collegial, cross curricular, cross cultural team that is T2T fulfills that critical requirement in so many unique ways. I think that facilitating such understanding is in many ways the cardinal goal of adult education; transformative learning develops autonomous thinking, exactly the kind of autonomy we are trying to impart to our teaching colleagues at CCF.” Sean McHugh

2. Interact with colleagues with whom you would not normally have the opportunity to work

“It has been one of my greatest honors in my teaching career to be a part of the T2T Team. I have always enjoyed and thrived on any opportunity to work with colleagues whether co-teaching, in meetings, while planning or when partaking in PD sessions. T2T takes collaboration to a whole other level.” Erin Belliveau

 3. Refine your own teaching practice 

 “From a teaching standpoint, having the opportunity to help develop  teachers with minimal training and experience has inspired me to be an even more reflective practitioner. My experience in Cambodia pushed  me to consider various classroom contexts and conditions, and to think critically about my own practice in order to determine which strategies are most suitable for my students and the lessons I intend to teach. The T2T  experience has reminded me that we often lose touch with the depth of our skillset, and that by taking stock of our experience and knowledge we can reinvigorate our practice.” David Millard

4. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude

 “Seeing the realities of teaching outside of UWC is also a great reminder of how good our situation is and how far ahead our school is. Seeing the use of technology being integrated from the beginning stages of curriculum planning has been useful to compare to my role in UWC. It is amazing to see how enthusiastic the Cambodian teachers are and how keen they are to make use of what they have in their classrooms.”  Alison Forrow

5. Remember why you love teaching

 “Hands down, this has been the most rewarding PD I have experienced at UWC. Not only did the preparation for the workshops really push me to reflect on my own practice but it was fantastic to be intellectually challenged when delivering the workshops. It was fantastic to work with highly motivated individuals who want what is best for student learning. It was a meeting of minds for everyone involved and reminded me why I love teaching.”  Alice Henry

6. Grow in leadership 

 “In a school as large as UWCSEA there can sometimes be limited opportunities to really show what you are capable of and I have been extremely grateful to have been able to share my passion and understanding of curriculum design, pedagogy and leadership with the teacher trainers. The project is certainly unique and I would have to say that it has easily been some of the best and most stretching PD that I have had.” Aaron Kane

7. Offer professional development to motivated teachers who have not had equal opportunity

“The teachers at CCF showed the same commitment to their students; and are trying to improve their practice, deliver the best pedagogy as they can, with equal fervour just like my colleagues at UWCSEA. They were interested, engaged, willing to try things out, ask questions and had fantastic team-spirit. It strengthened my belief in education as a force to unite, and I loved the reinforcement that committed, passionate teachers, whether they have many resources or very few, have the same goals, and keep the students to the fore of their decision making.” Claire O’Farrell

8. Observe meaningful change as a result of your efforts

 “Since our first visit, the Early Childhood teachers have started planning together as a team, and they have incorporated play based centres into each day. They are beginning to see the advantage of the children working in groups on different activities, rather than always teaching whole class lessons. This is still something that the teachers find difficult as it is so far removed from the way that they have been taught at school. However, the teachers are keen to try new ways of teaching and have seen the advantages of this.” Sarah McHugh

9. Help grow a PD model which supports our mission and is unique to our school

“I think that this programme should grow and that all UWC teachers should have the opportunity to participate. A unique and cost effective model that I have not seen in other schools, T2T has been the best service and PD that I have participated in since starting my teaching career.”  Angela Erickson

10. Contribute service in an area in which you have genuine expertise

“In my 7 years at UWC I have helped students to raise money for GCs, and I have no experience in sales. I have given students the opportunity to learn about the challenges faced by children all over Asia, and to raise awareness of the NGOs trying to help them, and I have limited experience in marketing and promotion. I have helped to build houses in Cambodia, although I am not a builder. However, the T2T programme has built on my professional skills and experience as a teacher, to give lasting benefit to the children at CCF.”  Matt Singer

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