ATLANTA, Georgia:
THELMA WELHAM, an international exchange teacher from Kingston, is being honoured in the United States as an outstanding cultural ambassador for excellence in educating U.S. students about Jamaica's culture.
The honour is from the Visiting International Faculty (VIF) programme, the U.S.'s largest cultural exchange programme for teachers and schools.
REWARDING EXPERIENCE
VIF provides teachers from around the world the professional-development opportunity of living, teaching and travelling in the U.S. for up to three years.
They return home to share their American experiences and their knowledge of the U.S. education system with students and colleagues. VIF provides comprehensive support services for a rewarding experience.
One of 125 VIF teachers from Jamaica, Welham was chosen for the honour from among 1,800 cultural exchange teachers from 52 nations teaching in 10 U.S. states.
"The VIF experience has been a rich, rewarding challenge," said Ms. Welham. "I have acquired a tremendous wealth of knowledge and skills that will allow me to further enrich the educational development of children in my home country."
CULTURAL REFERENCES
Ms. Welham is a fourth and fifth-grade special education teacher at Frank L. Stanton Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia, in south-eastern United States.
She incorporates a wide range of cultural references into her lessons, sharing foods like jerk chicken, ackee and saltfish, and introducing students to the music of Bob Marley.
"Ms. Welham brings her culture into the classroom, as she shares many Jamaican attributes with the students and staff members at Frank L. Stanton Elementary School," said principal Marlo M. Barber. "The school community appreciates Ms. Welham and what she has taught them about her country."
