2-14
BRIDGING THE
EDUCATION GAP
If the student is at
this level
Primary
Education
Secondary
Education
(or more)
and you try to teach him
from this level,
you will be talking over his
head. You wilt bore him and,
in time, lose him. You will
make him feel stupid and he
may hate you for it-because
he is not stupid. There are
probably many things he
can do much better than you
can, and many important
things he knows that you do
not.
If you try to learn from
him, and to make good
use of the language,
knowledge, and skills
he already has, often
you can help him
bridge the gap to
learning new
skills.
There are many shortcuts
to increasing the student’s
skill and understanding:
teaching aids, problem
solving, role playing,
learning by doing, etc. But
it is important to begin with
the skills and understanding
the person already has.
Go more than halfway to
meet him.
Start with the knowledge and skills a person
already has-and help him build on these.
CLOSING THE GAP
If the educational gap is
wide, better than trying
to bridge it is to close it
Work toward training
community persons
who are closer to the
educational level
of the students, so
they can take over
most or all of the
teaching.
The sooner a local health
worker can be trained to
take over the teaching
of new health workers,
the better. Then training
is more likely to be
appropriate and helpful.
If you are an outsider, work toward making yourself as unnecessary
as possible, as soon as possible.