Lana Mayers is bringing a fresh approach to education in Barbados with her introduction of the 3T Class Assistance And Mentoring Programme (3TCAAMP), which was established as a remedial solution to tackle the increased lack of interest in education and personal betterment among Barbadian students.
“I created 3TCAAMP with the intention of providing the youth of Barbados with a space where they can be honest, where they can play leading roles in their learning process, where they can learn important skills like money management, stress management, anger management, teamwork, improving interpersonal skills, among others, which, in my belief, are not adequately addressed within our traditional educational system.”
Lana said she fell in love with the idea of going beyond traditional educational. She wanted to create a proactive and contemporary approach geared at regenerating interest in education and personal betterment.
Lana said she founded the programme because of her experience of working with students in Barbados and Cuba. During the period of pursuing her Bachelor degree at the University of Havana in Cuba, Lana worked with both primary and secondary school students and that’s when she developed an interest in helping those with behavioural issues and those who had difficulty handling stressful situations and dealing with their emotions.
Lana’s success with the four-part programme lies in her focus on motivating children to excel in any area of their choice, thereby creating confident, self-fulfilled students.
“With the self-betterment aspect of the programme, we wanted to get them to acknowledge that they are capable of doing anything they put their mind to. From communicating with them, a lot of them believe that in order for them to be successful they need to be doctors, lawyers or teachers.
“We take the time to learn their strengths and weaknesses, showing them how they can actually build careers from their strengths. For example, we had an extremely talkative student who was at times disruptive in class. We put her on to debating because that would teach her how to use what was previously p`erceived as a disruptive attribute as an asset. A career in public relations could be in her future.”
The challenges experienced with her programme were due to a lack of assistance from some parents, Lana said.
“Some students hear a lot of negativity in the home so it makes it hard for them to have a positive attitude about excelling in any area.”
Lana’s goal is to take her programme into Barbadian schools; and she has started the process by writing to the National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations about the programme. In fact, Lana is scheduled to work with students of Lester Vaughan School soon.
