MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Seven-hundred pounds of books, lab equipment and other science materials are in the hands of children in seven schools in Ghana, thanks to the efforts of Central Michigan University. Faculty members and student teachers from the Mount Pleasant campus recently returned from Ghana and said the children were thrilled to get the supplies. "It was such a joy to see their excitement when it all arrived," said Whitney Reeds, a senior from Big Rapids and one of eight student teachers who spent two months in Ghana. "All of the students were included in the handing over ceremony of the supplies. These science materials are greatly needed and will be an asset to their curriculum." Annual delivery of school supplies to Ghana began in 2006 with a partnership started by science education faculty member Jim McDonald and the late Education and Human Services Dean Karen Adams. "The educational materials -- made possible though donations from Central Michigan University and science vendors throughout the country -- provide Ghana students with what many American schools take for granted: the tools they need to learn," university spokeswoman Tracy Burton wrote in a story on the school's Web site. McDonald supervises Central Michigan students who do their student teaching in the Ghanaian village of Tema. The university started the program in 2004. "Our student teachers have learned to be flexible, make critical decisions about teaching and learning and have collaborated with another country's education system, which results in amazing experiences for our students," McDonald said in a statement. "This is our way of giving back and seeing that children in Ghana receive a good science education." Source: www.chicagotribune.com