A Discussion with Brother Aloise Ndour, EMiLe Project Coordinator, Center for Pedagogical Training, Mbour, Senegal
With: Aloise Ndour Berkley Center Profile
July 20, 2015
Background: As
part of the Education and Social Justice Project, undergraduate student
Sabrina Khan interviewed Brother Aloise Ndour, who serves as the coordinator
for the Multilingual Education based on the Mother Tongue project (Education
multilingues à base de la langue maternelle, EMiLe) at the Center for
Pedagogical Training (Centre de Formation Pédagogique, CFP) in Mbour, Senegal.
In this interview, conducted in July 2015, Ndour discusses his project and
goals for the Senegalese education system.
What is EMiLe?
EMiLe is a project led by Catholic education that is in an experimental process of introducing national languages in the Senegalese education system. The particularity of the project is that we teach a student’s maternal or local language, rather than French, which is their second language. In grade one, French is only an oral language. In grade two, we introduce it as a written language. Throughout elementary school, we primarily teach in a student’s maternal language.
What are the benefits of teaching in a maternal language?
Without using a maternal language, you teach a child in a language they’ve never heard or spoken before. The EMiLe project values the maternal language. That puts the student at ease. After leaving their families, they arrive at school and experience the same linguistic realities as they did at home.
What is the importance of Catholic education for little children?
A Catholic youth who is educated within the Catholic system learns Christian values that will serve them in their life. They also better understand their religion and the religion of others, along with religious values and interpersonal understanding. Students who are not Christian learn universal morals and civic values.
In general, what do you think attracts Muslim parents to Catholic schools?
The rigor is what attracts them. In our schools, there are no strikes. In public schools, there are a lot of strikes, which leads to wasted time. The results found in Catholic schools are largely superior to the results attained by the public system. There is also the education of values that holds a very important place in our system.
What are the values that the Catholic system transmits?
There are many fundamental religious values: charity, sharing, the love of others, fraternity, sincerity, and honesty. These values are important because students arrive differently, of different ages, genders, and religions, but we have to learn to respect everyone. If we are together and different, we can enrich ourselves through our differences.
Is there something that you would like to add that we have not discussed?
Catholic teaching is very well-appreciated in Senegal because of its results. We are in a society that is losing its values. This loss of values is due to the influence of the media and new technology, where youth do not have the time to choose. They are bombarded by so much information across the Internet that they do not have the time to choose what is good and what is bad. Horror films, certain artists who do not have any moral values, no charity, sincerity, or honesty—these are the things youth take as models. Catholic teaching tries to inculcate certain religious, civic, and moral values that permit students to live in harmony with society. We promote the education of the whole person.
EMiLe is a project led by Catholic education that is in an experimental process of introducing national languages in the Senegalese education system. The particularity of the project is that we teach a student’s maternal or local language, rather than French, which is their second language. In grade one, French is only an oral language. In grade two, we introduce it as a written language. Throughout elementary school, we primarily teach in a student’s maternal language.
What are the benefits of teaching in a maternal language?
Without using a maternal language, you teach a child in a language they’ve never heard or spoken before. The EMiLe project values the maternal language. That puts the student at ease. After leaving their families, they arrive at school and experience the same linguistic realities as they did at home.
What is the importance of Catholic education for little children?
A Catholic youth who is educated within the Catholic system learns Christian values that will serve them in their life. They also better understand their religion and the religion of others, along with religious values and interpersonal understanding. Students who are not Christian learn universal morals and civic values.
In general, what do you think attracts Muslim parents to Catholic schools?
The rigor is what attracts them. In our schools, there are no strikes. In public schools, there are a lot of strikes, which leads to wasted time. The results found in Catholic schools are largely superior to the results attained by the public system. There is also the education of values that holds a very important place in our system.
What are the values that the Catholic system transmits?
There are many fundamental religious values: charity, sharing, the love of others, fraternity, sincerity, and honesty. These values are important because students arrive differently, of different ages, genders, and religions, but we have to learn to respect everyone. If we are together and different, we can enrich ourselves through our differences.
Is there something that you would like to add that we have not discussed?
Catholic teaching is very well-appreciated in Senegal because of its results. We are in a society that is losing its values. This loss of values is due to the influence of the media and new technology, where youth do not have the time to choose. They are bombarded by so much information across the Internet that they do not have the time to choose what is good and what is bad. Horror films, certain artists who do not have any moral values, no charity, sincerity, or honesty—these are the things youth take as models. Catholic teaching tries to inculcate certain religious, civic, and moral values that permit students to live in harmony with society. We promote the education of the whole person.
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