Bath and District Branch
Branch Address
10 Clan House,
Sydney Road,
Bath,
BA2 6NS.
Branch Officers
Chairman & Hon. Treasurer
Mr. Nick Lennard
Email: nicklennard@gmail.com
Tel: 07980 591 449
Secretary
VACANT
Other Council Members
Sheila Allen
Tessa Berridge
Jean Cowley
Paul Swift
Branch News and Events
The annual general meeting of the bath branch took place on the Saturday before St. George's day. After the routine business we were privileged to hear a talk by Mildred Okwako from Kenya who is concluding a postgraduate Masters degree in Education at Bristol University. The fact that questions kept flowing long after her address showed the interest of members in what she had to say. She spoke about education in her country but she was much wider in her comments and her appreciation of 'Global Education'.
Mildred shared her knowledge, experience and passion for education while highlighting both the opportunities and challenges in her country where class sizes and gender disparity raise important questions.
Among her many goals when she returns to teaching in Kenya is to establish a digital library at her village primary school. This is part of a wider imperative to improve literacy skills through technology. A theme that cropped up often in her talk was the challenge of teaching to very large class sizes and far from being daunted by this, Mildred relished the opportunity to enact change by improving the quality and culture of education. However as she embarks on this journey she is aware that she cannot do this alone and is actively reaching out to individuals and organisations that can help her acquire 700 tablets necessary to kickstart her technological education initiative that will assist her community and demonstrate the potential benefits of a broader initiative nationally.
Throughout her talk and Q and A she spoke with insight, wit and a passion that was nothing short of inspiring. Mildred Okwako will be a name to remember in the coming years as Kenya's Education system evolves and embraces new methods of nurturing talent and delivering higher standards.
Afterwards we had lunch together provided by members. The event raised £320 for our commonwealth student grant fund.
