Last week finally made it feel real- our teacher training journey has started! It was actually literally a journey as we traveled for 6 hours to another city to give a one-day teacher training to teachers from schools of the surrounding villages, some of which were at a 3-hour distance from the training venue. They willingly endured such long journeys in this heat because they had previously heard about us and did not want to miss this chance. What favour of God! We are truly thankful and humbled, determined to work even harder for our community. Conducting this training made us realise, once again, of the great need of our Christian children. These teachers, despite having years of teaching experience fail to successfully fulfil their students’ needs. In today’s digital world, where even villages have smartphones and Wi-Fi, these teachers did not know simple nursery rhymes! To these teachers their teaching starts with a textbook and ends with a textbook. This can also be said of their responsibilities. They believe that their professional goal is to have their students pass their exams even if to achieve this, they have to hold their students’ hands and give space for rote memorization for all their school life. On this topic, one principal shared, that to achieve good results for their classes, some teachers even do the students’ exams themselves. In this race to produce high scorers, our schools end up sacrificing the students’ holistic development, producing for society dependent adults. If you are a parent, you are well aware, there comes a time in your child’s life when you have to let go of their hand and teach them to walk independently. By failing to produce independent and holistically developed individuals, we give to society handicapped students who are not capable of achieving much. In doing this, we destroy the future of our youth, making them incapable of exploring and reaching their own potential. Therefore, for this training, the main topic, taught by our Academic Director, Kashi Javed, was “Effective Teachers”. In her session, she taught how teachers can go from seeing their teaching as just a profession to pursuing it like a passion. She discussed qualities that an effective teacher should possess in order to ensure the success of their students holistically. Many qualities, that are absent in many classrooms of Pakistani community-based schools were discussed. The second session revolved around effective teaching methods. Teachers were taught how they can take their students beyond rote-memorization ensuring effective and engaging learning. In this session emphasis was placed on sensory and experiential learning. Teachers were encouraged to conduct in-class discussions, not a common practice, and allow students to actively engage with their syllabus. This training was more than just an event; it was a wake-up call. A teacher’s responsibility extends beyond teaching from a textbook to igniting curiosity, nurturing independence and shaping young minds to think beyond the four walls of a classroom. Every small step, every interaction, every effort to improve teaching methods is a brick laid in the foundation of a better tomorrow for our students. As educators, we have the power to break the chains of rote learning and nurture a generation of confident, creative, and critical thinkers. We are on a journey to transform education with the goal of transforming lives, and our journey has only just begun. More Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fPcRHSrwgGR2g3FX6 Dua Javed
