December 26, 2004: Headlines: COS - Mauritania: Blogs - Mauritania: Internet: Personal Web Site: Jay Davidson is living and working in Mauritania, West Africa
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December 26, 2004: Headlines: COS - Mauritania: Blogs - Mauritania: Internet: Personal Web Site: Jay Davidson is living and working in Mauritania, West Africa
Jay Davidson is living and working in Mauritania, West Africa
Jay Davidson is living and working in Mauritania, West Africa
Jay is living and working in Mauritania, West Africa
As an experienced teacher, Jay is working with Mauritania's Ministry of Education as a curriculum development specialist. He is working on the design and production of a national English syllabus, in revising and rewriting existing textbooks, producing English textbooks, peer coaching, and teacher training.
After his first year in Mauritania, Jay was asked by the Peace Corps to revise the existing written materials about Mauritanian culture, so that the new manual could be used for the 2004 training class. You can learn a lot about Mauritanian culture by reading this Cross-Culture Manual.
After Saidou's wedding (post of 09.13.2004, below) Jay got to thinking about the phenomenon of cousins marrying, which is more the rule than the exception in Mauritania. He wrote an e-mail to Cecil Adams, author of The Straight Dope, and his question was answered in the column a few weeks later.
In October, 2004 Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez addressed a National Press Club luncheon and announced that Muslim countries were increasingly asking for volunteers. A United Press International reporter interviewed Jay for an article about this topic.
Jay is writing about his experiences and posting here. All reports reflect Jay's activities. Opinions are his own and do not represent Peace Corps policy.
Meet Jay Davidson
Jay Davidson taught in San Francisco public schools from 1969 to 2003. He began at the junior high school level, grades 7, 8, and 9. He began teaching in elementary schools in 1975.
During his career, Jay enjoyed working with other adults as well as children. He was a mentor teacher for four years, working with new teachers in the school district. He was also a master teacher, working with student teachers from San Francisco State University and the University of San Francisco.
Jay continues working with parents, helping them to understand the importance of their role in educating children. Parents are their children's first, most important, and most consistent teachers.
In 1997, Jay wrote 99 Ways to Guide Your Child to Success in School. It covers the curriculum areas of reading, writing, listening skills, math, science, social studies, and creative expression. It also has information on cooperation with others, responsibility, exercise and motor skills, health and diet, safety, and parent involvement at school.
Jay wrote his Teacher Talk column for the Palo Alto Daily News on its family page from 1998 - 2002. It also has begun to appear in parenting publications around the United States. In this column, he explains some of his educational ideas in greater detail.
Teach Your Children Well: A Teacher's Advice for Parents began as a collection of Teacher Talk columns. It also has more information - the kind of things that were too long for newspaper columns, such as lists of typical spelling words for kindergartners and first graders, collectible authors, book titles, and other useful resources for parents.
When he retired from teaching, Jay was able to fulfill his boyhood ambition of becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer. He left San Francisco in June, 2003 to live in Africa for two years. You can follow his adventures via this website, where he is posting weekly.
When this story was posted in December 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:
 | Our debt to Bill Moyers
Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia." |
 | Is Gaddi Leaving?
Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors. |
 | The Birth of the Peace Corps
UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn. |
 | Charges possible in 1976 PCV slaying
Congressman Norm Dicks has asked the U.S. attorney in Seattle to consider pursuing charges against Dennis Priven, the man accused of killing Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner on the South Pacific island of Tonga 28 years ago. Background on this story here and here. |
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Story Source: Personal Web Site
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