AFRICAN AND MAYAN HISTORY BOOK FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS INTRODUCED

November 07, 2007

Today the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the National Institute of Culture and History, NICH, the University of Belize and the Image Factory Art Foundation presented the book, Belize New Vision as part of the Maya and African History program.  Arturo Cantun reports.

In March 2004 Prime Minister Said Musa officially launched the African and Maya History program at the primary school level.  This morning, with the introduction of the book Belize NEW VISION: African and Maya Civilizations – the heritage of a new nation, it marks the Government’s ongoing process to introduce the formal teaching of African and Maya Civilizations to our schools.  Director of the program and co-author of the book, Doctor Aondofe Joseph Iyo, says the aim of the African and Maya History Program is to make a substantive contribution to the formation of a positive self identity in the generation of students in the school system.

Doctor Aondofe Joseph Iyo,Director of the program and co-author of the book:

“The book is written for teachers and students of all secondary schools at the normal level of the secondary school system. It is addressing the needs to understand who we are, about our history, and to integrate into the northern phenomenon that we call civilization. You have to understand why we are moving and where we are going and you need to understand the processes that are challenging our culture, ‘Who We are?’ that’s what the book says and hopes to address.”

This book was also written by Froyla Tzalam who is director of the Institute of Social and Cultural Research and the Coordinator of the House of Culture, Belize City and Francis Humphreys Principal of Stann Creek Ecumenical College since September 2003, and co-authored of Caribbean Revision History for CXC, a textbook for secondary school students.  Chief education officer in the Ministry of Education, Maud Hyde says this new book wills enhance the teaching of both history and social studies in the high school level.

Maud Hyde,Chief education officer in the Ministry of Education:

“Social Studies and History is a particularly important part of our curriculum at the secondary level as you know, and this book brings a lot of richness to that particular curriculum because it gives us a sense of appreciation from where we came from the great civilizations that existed before. Of course, one would say that we had African and Mayan civilization elements in the curriculum previous to this, however, this effort enhances what was already there and adds a greater dimension so that we can fully appreciate and share with our young people as they are coming up the richness of the cultures from which we came. So apart from giving them the wider knowledge that perhaps will take them to the regional or international level, it’s particular to us because it strengthens the Belizean identity to know that although we are from various ethnic groups, it really addresses where we came from and gives us a sense of pride of who we are and where we are going.”

Since the introduction of the program into primary schools student books and teacher guides have been published for the Primary levels - lower, middle and upper. Teacher training and school piloting have also been conducted at the Primary level. As part of the introduction of the book into the high school level, several schools were used as pilot projects.  Doctor Iyo tells us more.

Doctor Aondofe Joseph Iyo,Director of the program and co-author of the book:

“We are in every district and we try to pilot two schools. What we did essentially was request what was in the syllabus and we piloted the syllabus to see if the syllabus was actually nineteen pages for only African, Mayan and Belizeans studies. So we piloted that in schools to see if it was doable and when we did it we found out that it was not and found out that we were asking for too much, so we scaled it down to four pages and the pilot helped us in achieving that objective. Also, we had used some of the materials that we had put together in preparation for the handbook to pilot together with the syllabus that helped us when we watched the teachers teach. It helped us to understand what the teachers need and that is why we put together this book to address the needs of not only the syllabus, but what the teachers need to enable them to teach the students.”

Arturo Cantun,Love FM:

“What has been the response of the teachers that have been using these books?”

Doctor Aondofe Joseph Iyo,Director of the program and co-author of the book:

“The book actually just came out last week so we did not have the time to assess but the first comments, we have done one workshop already from Punta Gorda and the comment that came across was that it was easier to read and people love it because it has a lot of illustrations, graphics, and the language is easier to follow.”

One of the pilot schools is the Corozal Community College.  Head of Department for Social Studies at C-C-C is Ravey Vellos, and he tells us more about the use of the book by the students. 

Ravey Vellos,Head of Department for Social Studies at C-C-C:

“From the onset, what we like about the writing of the book is that the book is not only giving information, but it forces the reader/student to be an inquirer, to be a researcher. The student is not only exposed to what happened or when it happened, but it has the student  go to another level of thinking where we call critical thinking where the student then would question and he would want to find out more. So the book in itself then provides basic information but it goes beyond that in that it provides information and leaves students to want to learn more.”

One of the main aims of the Program is to make a substantive contribution to the formation of a positive self identity in the generation of students in the school system.  CEO Hyde says that in addition, this new book is going to integrate well with the Caribbean secondary competence leaving examination in high schools.

Maud Hyde,Chief education officer in the Ministry of Education:

“It is a new program that is being introduced in the region by CXC that offers an assessment program that is school-based as well as there’s a small external component. The program is geared at testing or certifying the competencies at a particular level of secondary education and it’s something that is recognized throughout the region. So a student who sits and is successful at that program can move within the Caribbean and take that certification across the board and it will be recognized across the region as indicating achievement of competence at the secondary level. Social Studies is a key component of that program and in Belize there is a compulsory component including Social Studies. So this particular text will be an important part of te Social Studies element of the CCSLC.”

On his part, President of the National Institute of Culture and History, NICH, Yasser Musa, says the new book adds to the work being done by the department he manages. 

Yasser Musa,President of the National Institute of Culture and History, NICH:

“Well it’s a great day for us at NICH. We have been lending our support to it in two ways: One, in allowing Froyla Salam, who is one of the writers of the book to work with Doctor Iyo to go around the country to help with the implementation, the piloting of teachers, students, parents, and finally also doing the research. I think that the work that Froyla and Francis have done on this project I think is an amazing accomplishment for the country of Belize because it speaks to a new vision, a new way of approaching this teaching of history. We implemented it at the primary level with the work of the Ministry of Education and Doctor Iyo’s team and now we’re at the high school level.”

The overall goal of the program is to contribute to the building of an invigorated, assertive, self-enriching, national Belizean identity based on the knowledge, wisdom, values and norms of the African, Maya and Asian civilizations passed onto the present generation of Belizeans through their mothers and fathers.

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