Celebrating education around the world

Many visitors step on board Logos Hope looking for just the right book. In each port there are schools and teachers who look for just the right teaching material for their students too.

What many people don’t know is that Logos Hope has her own school staffed by teachers from around the world who have volunteered their time to serve on board.

Let’s explore the Logos Hope school and it’s cross cultural education!

Embracing diversity

Jan Arrowsmith (UK) became a teacher in England in 1984. In her now forty years of teaching experience, she’s taught different subjects to all types of students around the world.

She began serving in the Logos Hope school in 2020 as an assistant teacher and is now the head teacher.

To Jan, the most distinctive aspect of the floating school is its diversity. “We embrace it massively and wholeheartedly and have found that it enriches the children’s curriculum and their education.”

Children learn to interact with peers and adults from different cultures, often for the first time in their lives. In some cases, children come in with limited English language skills. “Within weeks, they’re interacting with the children, they’ve picked up English, and they are learning well,” shares Jan. 

Learning from one another

Among the staff, the diversity is also considered a benefit: “We have the privilege of bringing in ideas, strategies and pedagogy from all over the world,” Jan continues.

Hannah (Philippines) has been teaching at Logos Hope’s school for over one year. She says, “It’s so special to see so many teaching techniques from different countries. I get to work with teachers from the USA, Switzerland, the UK, Aruba, South Africa, Australia... everyone’s just learning and growing from each other.”

Using resources available

Another special opportunity offered to Logos Hope’s school are the 300 volunteers representing over 60 nationalities. The potential to learn never ends.

Moving from port to port also creates a very special ‘hands-on’ learning experience. Just being in a new country opens the door for children to discover new landscapes, architecture, history, language, art, people and cultures of different communities.

ChunJi (South Korea) has two daughters who received their education on board. She says, “I really appreciate the Logos Hope school. I think it’s a wonderful idea to incorporate the unique aspects of [the ship] into children’s education.”

Beyond the vessel

But according to Jan, “The Logos Hope school isn’t just about teaching children, but about reaching out to others as we go around the world.”

Having such a unique staff and teaching environment inspired the school team to share their love of education. In Dominica, for example, Logos Hope hosted a teacher training seminar. Thirty-five teachers from local schools were invited on board to engage with teachers from around the world.

“They were so responsive,” Jan shared. “They wanted all our notes and truly wanted to connect with us.”

Thank you for your support

Despite all of Jan’s previous experience, Logos Hope’s school has impacted and encouraged her immensely.

Thank you to all the teachers around the world for passionately passing knowledge on to future generations. Have you considered supporting the work of GBA Ships? Learn more about how you can help support teachers like Jan and Hannah to pass on knowledge, help and hope to future generations by clicking here.