Teachers go back to school
IMERYS Rio Capim Caulim (IRCC) is currently running two elementary school
teacher-training
projects in northern Brazil as part of the Group's Environmental
Education Program.
Winner of the IMERYS Sustainable Development Challenge 2009 for Community - Education
The IMERYS Pigments for Paper & Packaging plant in Brazil is located in the northern state of Pará in an area that has recently been industrialized, but continues to suffer from a shortage of skilled labour and qualified teachers. In May 2008, IMERYS RCC's Jacilaine Contente set out to help counter this by launching a two-year initiative to train teachers working in the elementary schools of Barcarena, where the plant is located, and Ipixuna, the mining site. "We have built up the programme with the support of educational and environmental authorities in the Pará cities involved, and consultants from Pará State University." explains Glaydon Sousa, the senior manager who validated Jacilaine's initiative. "We are hoping to turn it into a long-lasting venture that will become a reference in training, preservation and sustainable development."
A mix of theory and practice
One month later, IMERYS RCC followed this initiative with the launch of another Environmental Programme operation destined to improve the skills of the teachers at the Pica-Pau Amarelo elementary school at Vila do Conde in Barcarena. This one-year project, which is also part of the "Light of Tomorrow" social programme, involved workshops and seminars that combine theory and practice, reading sessions and debates on texts on the Amazon people and their way of life. "The teachers were very receptive," says Jacilaine, "and their teaching performance improved markedly in just two months. We also involved the students, using audio, video, sports and educational games, and are banking on them to spread sustainable principles through their neighborhoods."
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