Teaching Critical Thinking on the “Forgotten Island”
In a typical classroom in Haiti, the air is filled with a rhythmic, steady sound: students reciting. For generations, the standard of education in this country has been built on rote learning. A teacher reads from a textbook, and the students memorize the words, syllable by syllable, until they can repeat them back perfectly. It is a system designed for repetition, but not necessarily for comprehension.
When we started Pi Gwo Byen on the island of La Gonâve, I knew we had to do something different. I am a project-based, constructivist teacher at heart. My education and years of practice in California taught me that true learning doesn't happen when a child simply absorbs information; it happens when they construct meaning through experience, inquiry, and critical thinking.
On La Gonâve—often called the "forgotten island" even by Haitian standards—bringing this philosophy to life is both our greatest challenge and our proudest achievement.
The Power of the Picture
To understand the difference between the traditional way and the "Pi Gwo Byen Way," you only have to look at how we approach a history lesson.
In many schools, if a chapter is about the Haitian Revolution, the students are expected to memorize the text and recite it back to the teacher. But in our classrooms, we start with the eyes and the mind, not the memory.
We ask the children to look at the pictures in the book first. We don’t read a word of text for the first thirty minutes. Instead, we ask:
"What is happening in this picture?"
"What tools do you see?"
"What actions are the people taking?"
"Why do you think they are doing that?"
We encourage them to make predictions. We want them to form an informed decision about what might be happening before the book even tells them the "answer". Then, we read the text together and compare it to their predictions. We analyze the "why" and the "how."
The result? A year later, those students still understand what happened during the revolution. They aren't just reciting words they've forgotten; they are describing an event they have mentally lived.
Scaffolding and Rubrics: A New Standard
Transitioning from rote learning to critical thinking requires a process called "scaffolding". We start with the basic bottom structure of a lesson and then carefully build the pieces on top of it to create a complete unit of understanding. This ensures that no child is left behind as the concepts become more complex.
We’ve also moved away from the traditional grade system, which can often feel like a judgment of a child's worth. Instead, we use a rubric system.
Pulled from best practices in California schools, our rubrics track whether a student has mastered a skill, is still working on it, or needs more work in that specific area. It is a more comprehensive and dignified way to measure growth. It tells the student that learning is a journey, not a final score.
Leading from Afar
For the past two and a half years, I haven't been able to step foot on La Gonâve due to the rising gang violence and safety risks in Haiti. I miss the face-to-face interactions with our children and teachers more than I can say.
However, the strength of our educational model is being proven every day in my absence.
Our long-term teachers, like Rose Mani and Benera—who have been with us since the very beginning—are now Assistant Directors. They lead our weekly staff meetings and manage the student services and operations. Even with two new teachers I have never met, the standard remains high because the team understands the "why" behind what we do.
We are infusing best practices that help the Haitian educational standard grow. We aren't just teaching kids to pass a test; we are teaching them to be problem solvers in a country that desperately needs them.
The Goal of Greater Good
I’ve always believed that humans are like links in a chain—we are all connected. If one link is struggling, we must work to bring it back into the chain.
By teaching critical thinking on La Gonâve, we are strengthening those links. We are giving children the tools to look at their world, analyze the challenges, and believe that they have the power to change it.
Every time a child at Pi Gwo Byen looks at a picture and asks "Why?", we are one step closer to that goal.