Ted Stepp

Our most far-flung member

Instructor of English, College of the Marshall Islands, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia

Theodore J. (Ted) Stepp, Jr., College of the Marshall Islands, P. O. Box 1258, Majuro, MH 96960, Marshall Islands Email: tstepp@cmi.edu

College of the Marshall Islands Website

Where on earth are the Marshall Islands?

It might seem a bit surprising that a member of the Forum for Access and Continuing Education (FACE), an organization devoted to educational opportunities and success in the UK, should hail from a tiny island precisely round the other side of the world from London! However, I am proof that the reach and influence of FACE is broad indeed. And, I might add, deep.

I am in my seventh year as an Instructor of English (primarily developmental English) at the post-secondary College of the Marshall Islands (CMI). The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a small independent island nation formerly part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Challenged by hitherto limited educational opportunities; very limited local economic opportunities; remoteness from mainstream global events, language, and culture; and yet increasing impact of Western and Asian values, CMI students struggle with many of the same hindrances to academic and economic success as young people in other parts of the world. As a member of the National Association for Developmental Education (NADE), FACE’s sister organization in the US, I was introduced to FACE director John Storan and the work of FACE in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2006. My subsequent attendance at FACE 2006 at the University of Wales in Swansea has helped to cement my commitment to collaborative study and implementation of institutional change, enhancement of teaching methodologies and resources, and affirmation of very human bonds on a global scale—with local outcomes.

Several presentations stand out in my memory of the 2006 FACE conference in Swansea. Prue Thimbleby, of the Clase and Caemawr Community Partnership, in the session “Changing Lives Through Telling Stories,” provided an immediate and telling connection between the “big picture” of economic trends and creative ways of coping with the very human struggles of individual people. Another pair of sessions, one by Professor Roy du Pré of South Africa’s Vaal University of Technology and the other by Vaal’s Rosemary Townsend, presented a thoughtful juxtaposition of broad aspirations for economic development among young adult South Africans and the historical poetic voices still echoing from the time of apartheid. I also was struck by the presence of the Welsh language and culture among sessions, informal conversations, and conference topics. The dignity of the individual characterizes FACE as much as solid scholarship and broad efforts to make practical advances in education in the UK.

I am grateful to the leadership and membership of FACE for the opportunity I have had to share their knowledge, their expertise, and, indeed, their community “on the ground” in Britain. This rather serendipitous connection between NADE and FACE for me over the past year has deepened my awareness of the fundamental educational needs and rights of people across the globe, and I look forward to continued mutual encouragement and enlightenment in the future. I eagerly await FACE 2007 at the University of East London in July.