Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10PARAMARIBO4
2010-01-04 18:48:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Paramaribo
Cable title:  

Evaluation of Participation of Jimmy Chin Chan Sen in FY10

Tags:  OEXC KPAO SCUL NS 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPO #0004 0041849
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041848Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0078
INFO RUEHPO/AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO
UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000004 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OEXC KPAO SCUL NS
SUBJECT: Evaluation of Participation of Jimmy Chin Chan Sen in FY10
MRP "Elementary and Secondary Education in the U.S."

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000004

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OEXC KPAO SCUL NS
SUBJECT: Evaluation of Participation of Jimmy Chin Chan Sen in FY10
MRP "Elementary and Secondary Education in the U.S."


1. (SBU) Overview and positives: Mr. Jimmy Chin Chan Sen,
Education Inspector, participated as an International Visitor (IV)
in the FY10 Multi-Regional Program (MRP) "ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY
EDUCATION IN THE U.S." from October 17-November 07, 2009. During
his return brief with the PolEcon Chief, PolEconOff, and
EducationUSA advisor, Chin Chan Sen said he was honored to have
been chosen for the program and that it was a great experience in
his life. He mentioned this was his first trip to the United
States. Chin Chan Sen said that the overall program was very good,
but that the visit to Gallaudet University for deaf in Washington,
D.C., was the most memorable experience of the program. Chin Chan
Sen said he was awed by the opportunities and facilities available
in the United States that allow the deaf to develop their inner
potential and receive a full education. In Suriname, in
comparison, they do not even have the opportunity to learn
international sign language.




2. (SBU) Chin Chan Sen said U.S. universities were so modern he had
"no words to describe them," and the courses and facilities were at
a level that Suriname will not reach for many years. However, he
said that at the elementary and secondary school levels, he was
surprised to see that the United States and Surinamese education
systems face many of the same challenges. For example, schools
located in disadvantaged neighborhoods have fewer resources, and
sport student bodies with poorer grades and test results, than
schools in upscale neighborhoods. He also mentioned the visit to
the school on the Indian Reservation, saying that it was supported
by casino taxes. Chin Chan Sen said that, overall, he was very
impressed by the U.S. educational system and the equipment and
tools used for teaching. He said he appreciated the " No Child
Left Behind" program. Chin Chan Sen also was moved by his visit to
New Orleans and said he was amazed by the impact of Hurricane
Katrina on every aspect of the people's lives there as well as the
impact it had on the schools.




3. (SBU) Suggestions: Although Chin Chan Sen was very positive
about the trip, he made a few suggestions that he thought would
make the trip even better. First, although he enjoyed the tight
schedule, he thought it would have been useful if, in the
beginning, the participants had been given some additional time to
get to know each other. Second, he said that if the program had
begun with an introduction of the U.S. government system, and where
federal, state, and local responsibilities lie for education, it
would have helped the participants better understand the context of
some of the earlier visits. He also indicated that he had been
told that he would be met at the airport when he arrived in
Washington, D.C., but he was not met and had to find his hotel by
himself.




4. (SBU) Impact: Chin Chan Sen is an education inspector for 20
elementary schools, and works on a program to prevent secondary
school dropouts in two districts of Suriname. In his role as
inspector, he is responsible for evaluating and improving the
quality of education. One of the take-aways from his trip was his
exposure to the peace education courses which are a part of the
curriculum in Miami. He returned to Suriname with a number of
books on conflict resolution and has already started a peace
education program at secondary schools in one of Suriname's
districts, and will be launching the same program in a second
district the week of December 14. He also generated programming
ideas on conflict resolution and is sharing this and other ideas in
daily emails with his IV counterparts from various countries around
the world. His visit to the United States has affected the whole
inspection board of Suriname. Another "wake-up call" for Chin Chan
Sen was the idea of community service being a part of the school
program, which gives children the opportunity to practice values,
because values are not teachable.
NAY