Philipsburg:--- Teachers teaching at the undocumented schools on St. Maarten attended a two-day workshop at the UTS training center. The workshop is sponsored by the Ceespot funds said vice president of the St. Maarten United Multipurpose Educational Foundation (S.U.M.E.F) Claire Elshot. Elshot told reporters that the instructor for this third workshop is Ms. Dimph Rubbens of the Academic Pedagogic Center in Holland.There were some thirty teachers from the Starlight Education, ACE foundation, and School of Arts (Sophia Camp) that attended the workshop Elshot explained.
The instructor also visited the schools on Tuesday to both observe and gain experience with how the teachers work at these undocumented schools. Rubbens said two of her colleagues visited St. Maarten to conduct the same kind of training. She said while visiting the classrooms she immediately realized that the teachers at these undocumented schools were applying the skills and knowledge passed on to them by Ceespot. Rubbens felt that the training provided to them will bring about a greater good in education on St. Maarten. She said that with these trainings the teachers enhanced their skills. "During my school visits I realized that these teachers love their jobs and the students they teach."
President of the SUMEF Carmen Hodge said the changes in the teachers are visible to the owners of each school. Hodge said the trainings provided by Ceespot is a plus for the private schools since they are not allowed to make use of the FBE training provided by the education department. Mrs. Hodge, director of Starlight education said they managed to secure a two-year grant from Ceespot in the form of trainings. Hodge said the teachers still have to participate in two other workshops before they are certified by Ceespot. The SUMEF board said the trainings that are provided are similar to the FBE training. One of the strategies taught on Thursday is how to deal with students behavioral problems. Claire Elshot said the training on Thursday focused on structures and or ways to deal with students that have behavioral problems in the classroom. She said in several cases they would find that certain structural models have to be used in problematic cases, many of which has to involve the students that need special care. Elshot said one of the issues they are faced with is that students are being suspended from school when they misbehave but there are never alternative measures to occupy the students. "We are in a period where corporal punishment cannot be used in schools and teachers today have to find ways and means to embrace their troubled students so that they can be streamlined or more productive in their class." Elshot said they are currently looking for new strategies to address children with disruptive behavior. She said in many cases students act out because they are not accepted. Students she said have to be analyzed and streamline, something they are currently working on. One of the of the options that teachers could use is to give students with behavioral problems awards as they change their pattern of behavior.