Puede hablar Espanol? (Can you speak Spanish?) If asked this question, the students of Arbor-a co-ed kindergarden, Rosewood-a primary and secondary school catering to girls and Trimont College-a primary and secondary school for boys-will answer an enthusiastic, Si! (Yes!). The three private educational institutions located in St Clair and Woodbrook, respectively, are currently the only schools in T&T offering bilingual instruction. According to Trimont College Principal, Herman Rodriguez and Nicola Ramsaran, the Principal of Rosewood, the schools were born out of the need to develop the nation's youth on "a holistic level."
Ramsaran is quick to point out though that it required trained personnel and lots of time and money to have Spanish-now a necessity in today's increasingly globalised world-as the schools' official second language. "I understand the challenges other schools face because it is very expensive to do what we do but when you look at our close links to Latin America, offering Spanish is an asset," she said. Rodriguez concurs. He noted that the students, some as young as two years old, were learning the foreign language "at a shocking rate." "What's different about our schools is that students aren't just taught Spanish, they are taught in Spanish," he explained. "We teach them one-third Spanish and two-thirds English and very soon they are talking to you in fluent Spanish. Even parents are amazed!"
Making learning fun
Ramsaran and Rodriguez believe that The Nine Learning Situations, a teaching methodology used in schools throughout Europe and Venezuela, is a contributing factor to the schools' continued successes, as it seeks to develop "the whole person." "This system that we use is great because the children really learn a lot," revealed Rodriguez. "It's all about making learning fun again."
And while Trimont and Rosewood, which combine the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) with the local curriculum, are founded on the principles of Christian values, Rodriguez assured that the schools are "all embracing" and "everyone is welcome." He added, "Right now we have mostly students from middle-class families but anyone can come. We really just want to help as many families and kids as we possibly can."
Upstanding citizens
On a mission to produce "good, upstanding citizens in our society" the educators stress that parents of students are encouraged to play an integral role in the lives of their children as they are "the first educators." And with the implementation of the Tutor and Advisory Systems, in which students are assigned a personal tutor to help formulate study timetables, discuss career objectives, academic, personal and social issues, Ramsaran stated that their students are afforded the best opportunity to succeed.
In the near future, the principals hope to expand both Trimont College and Rosewood so that they can facilitate even more students by offering classes up to the pre-university level. According to them, the time has come for more emphasis to be placed on holistic education as the nation's future is indeed in the school bags of its children.
More info
• Call 221-2227 or 628-7944 for more details on the bilingual schools.