My language and accent are a huge barrier, but we are finding ways to overcome," he wrote. "The trick is to talk very slowly, so slowly I still sometimes laugh at myself because I sound so ridiculous." When students - about 30 per class - have a blank look when he asks questions at the end of the lesson, McClaine knows he has taught too quickly. "They are really shy and don't like to admit when they aren't following me," he said. Another tool McClaine uses to break the language barrier is to write on the board, which forces him to slow down and encourages the students to take notes. "Hopefully, this helps them improve their English through emulating my writing style," he said. Many students travel great distances to school, McClaine said. The library will be set up there in a renovated room.
Mongolia Peace Corps Volunteer Ryan McClaine has asked his community to donate 1,000 books for Maliba-Matso Secondary School
Pair of book drives getting into gear
Projects aim to help students in Africa and Asia
Carmen Paige • cpaige@pnj.com •
November 1, 2010
Navarre High School students and a Gulf Breeze man are having separate drives to collect thousands of new and used books for students in Asia and South Africa.
Navarre High's Student Government Association and Ryan McClaine, 23, are working with BookBridge and the African Library Project, respectively, to set up libraries in Mongolia and Lesotho. The groups partner with communities to establish libraries around the world for children in need.
"The students' challenge is to collect 15,000 books for children and adolescents," literacy coach Patti Petrie said. "Navarre High is BookBridge's only U.S. collection hub."
The community service project began in September when some SGA members noticed boxes of books in the hallway to be discarded, Petrie said.
"After dragging them to the sponsor's classroom, they were challenged to create a project surrounding literacy," she said.
That is how the students connected to BookBridge. They have collected about 2,000 books. All books will be shipped to Mongolia by the company, Petrie said.
McClaine, a 2009 Texas A&M University graduate, has asked his community to donate 1,000 books for Maliba-Matso Secondary School. Through the Peace Corps, he is teaching science there to about 90 students, which is a struggle.
"My language and accent are a huge barrier, but we are finding ways to overcome," he wrote. "The trick is to talk very slowly, so slowly I still sometimes laugh at myself because I sound so ridiculous."
When students - about 30 per class - have a blank look when he asks questions at the end of the lesson, McClaine knows he has taught too quickly.
"They are really shy and don't like to admit when they aren't following me," he said.
Another tool McClaine uses to break the language barrier is to write on the board, which forces him to slow down and encourages the students to take notes.
"Hopefully, this helps them improve their English through emulating my writing style," he said.
Many students travel great distances to school, McClaine said. The library will be set up there in a renovated room.
"After fetching water, bathing, cleaning their homes and cooking for their parents and siblings, some students must walk up to two hours through mountainous terrain," he said.
After his 27-month assignment with the Peace Corps ends in 1˝ years, McClaine plans to enter medical school. But first, the Peace Corps was an experience he wanted to have.
"During middle school, I had an eccentric teacher who would always tell stories about his time in the Peace Corps in Niger," he said. "That definitely planted the seed."
Books for McClaine's project have to be donated by Nov. 30 to make the Dec. 10 shipping date out of the Port of New Orleans. They should arrive by March.
McClaine's mother, Kathryn Jewell of Gulf Breeze, is coordinating the drive.
"The school in which Ryan teaches has no running water, no computers and very little access to electrical power, let alone school supplies and books that would help students be successful in the world beyond their village," she said. "The library will be a lasting legacy beyond Ryan's service and will provide a window to the United States and the English language to students for years to come."
