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Program Description
WorldTeach - Volunteer Teaching in Bangladesh
Description
WorldTeach is honored to continue its partnership with the Asian University for Women is an international university located in Chittagong that seeks to provide a world-class education to promising young women from diverse cultural, religious, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds from across South and South East Asia and the Middle East. AUW aspires to develop thoughtful and ethical leaders through an innovative, rigorous curriculum that encompasses the liberal arts and sciences at the undergraduate level and professional training in fields such as computer science, environmental engineering and management at the graduate level.
The WorldTeach program Bangladesh began in 2008 with volunteers assisting the brand Asian University for Women in its inagural year as an educational institution. After a year hiatus to allow the AUW to solidfy the area in which it most needed volunteer service, WorldTeach sent its second cohort for the 2010 academic year (August-May) to assist as Teaching Assistants as well as seminar leaders at the Access Academy, AUW's pre-collegiate one-year program. This unique program provides an incredible opportunity to be intimately involved in the education process of bright young women who will use this knowledge to affect positive change for their home countries transitioning socially, economically and politically.
Highlights
WorldTeach Bangladesh volunteers will primarily serve as Teaching Assistants to support the undergraduate program for one or two classes in their area of academic expertise, attending classroom lectures, assisting with grading, and holding weekly sections to enhance students' learning of the material as well as improving academic writing. Each volunteer will be partnered with a faculty member in the humanities, social sciences, or sciences. Likely fields include political science, literature, economics, sociology, anthropology, ethics, biology, and public health. As an AUW Teaching Assistant, volunteers will work closely with their assigned professor to craft a supplemental writing program for the class. The focus will be on grammar, rhetoric and composition in order to aid undergraduates with academic writing and expression.
Beyond the university walls, WorldTeach volunteers will serve as ambassadors of AUW to the larger Chittagong community, teaching English and other skills to target communities including BRAC school students, Grameen women's self-help groups, and businessmen through the local Chamber of Commerce. Volunteers are also expected to serve as mentors and advisors in running community activities both within the university as well as supporting and expanding outreach activities. AUW currently has over 50 student clubs and initiatives, where volunteers are encouraged to take a leadership role and participate according to their interests.Such activities include a large variety of school clubs from photography to volleyball as well as more academic groups such as the debate team, Model UN, and entrepreneurs club.
Qualifications
Volunteers must:
--Be native or near-native English speaker
--Have a Bachelor's degree (in any subject)
--Be flexibile, open-minded, patient and mature
--Have a deep interest in women's issues, especially their role in international
development
--Possess a desire to teach in Bangladesh
--Experience living and/or working in a developing country a plus. Female applicants
as well as WorldTeach alumni are encouraged to apply.
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Life in Chittagong
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Work with the most incredible students ever!
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Although the Asian University for Women suffers from some of the common pitfalls of universities and organizations in the developing world (meetings don't happen on time, bureaucracy gets in the way of efficiency, it's difficult to get things done quickly,) the dedication of the students more than makes up for it!
Each day, I worked with students individually in the university Writing Center or in small discussion groups for various courses. I was constantly blown away by students' curiosity and intelligence. They don't rest until they are sure they have completed every requirement as fully as possible. After having worked with students in the U.S., this was quite surprising, and actually took a bit of getting used to.
Living in Chittagong is also quite the adjustment. Westerners are rare, so you get quite the celebrity treatment everywhere you go - cell phone pictures, random people saying hello to you, a lot of staring. Also, there are very few "third spaces" - places to just hang out, outside of work and home so if you like hanging out at coffee shops, parks, bars, or museums, this is not the place for you. Apartments provided by the university are huge, though sometimes hard to keep clean. Food is a constant adventure in adjusting.
The students have great spirit and the mission of this school is perfect and wonderful on paper, but the university has administrative and logistic issues that have ultimately impeded the students' education and progress. While some students are quite bright, many are average and others barely understand English. You will inevitably be teaching English grammar even if you're meant to be TA'ing a science or literature class. Your experience is what you make of it but will most likely be shaped by your fellow volunteers, who you will live, work, and socialize with. Getting out of the AUW bubble can be rewarding and fun as much as it is frustrating and exhausting, and there are many days where you might find it best to just stay indoors.