Any teacher will tell you that it takes a strong individual to focus the attention of all students in any class on the intended topic, given that each student has a different learning style and unique set of interests.

This presents a serious challenge that is well known and documented, but teachers have an additional resource that they may not have been aware of - the postage stamp.

To tackle the problem, try using a teaching aid that may not have been mentioned at teachers' college. Increased interest can be generated by using the postage stamp as a teaching aid, and this applies across the age group spectrum from kindergarten to the secondary level.

Glimpse into life

Postage stamps actually provide a glimpse into life within any country. Situations that may be familiar to us may be experienced by someone else in another land far away. Details in each postage stamp's design allow a teacher to explore ideas related to the lesson, thus creating an effective method for enhancing the learning experience while focusing on the topic at hand.

For example, the design of the Cricket World Cup 2007 sheetlet ($200) has elements such as a map and national flags of the Caribbean that will help those who teach geography and history and even principles of business at the secondary level, as well as social studies at the primary level. Kindergarten teachers will benefit from using stamps such as the flora and fauna series.

Teachers: Start a philately club at your school.

Encourage students to collect stamps from as many countries as possible and have them discuss what they have learned from the diverse stamps' designs.

For details on the range of available stamps, please contact the Philatelic Bureau at the Central Sorting Office in Kingston: telephone 922-9430-8 or email postcorp_admin@colis.com.