The Vice-Principal of Green Valley School in Grunthal is back from a working vacation in Guyana. Rachel Thiessen went to the remote mountain village of Paramakatoi for two-and-a-half weeks in July to mentor teachers who want to improve the way they deliver education. She was part of a delegation of four Canadian Teachers. Thiessen says the setting of the village is stunning.

"It was absolutely beautiful. There were mountains all around. We were in the rain forest area of Guyana. There are no roads, no running water but the people were absolutely friendly."

She says language was not a problem since school classes are taught in English. Thiessen adds the teachers and administrators at the school were eager to learn.

"All of the educators that we were working with wanted to improve their own education, their teaching skills and their pedagogy for themselves, but also for their students and to improve the education and the living conditions for those students that they were working with and the families that they were working with."

Thiessen says the teachers and administrators were very motivated to learn about the way we do things in Canada, noting many of them only have a Grade 12 education. She adds she also learned a lot from them.

"I think there were lots of 'aha' moments for all of us. When we were talking about planning things for our students and for our staff and for our school communities, it's important to make sure that we're improving education and that we're evaluating it and not just doing it because somebody told us we have to do it."

In looking back on the trip. Thiessen says it was wonderful to be in such a beautiful, remote location and be able to connect with the people on so many levels.

"People there were just absolutely incredible and welcoming and invited us into their lives. I even got to go to church there and it was quite an experience. It was wonderful to be relating to people that you'd never met before but that you, in the end, have so much in common with and can learn from each other."

Thiessen had a disappointing end to the trip as she broke her ankle while hiking down the mountain to the air strip. The injury required surgery as soon as she returned to Canada and she will be laid up for awhile.

Paramakatoi, Guyana