A humbling first week with the future of Pakistan...

Lots of collaboration and sharing of ideas.

After our first three days of facilitating the teacher training workshop at the FI Foundation School in the village of Mirpukhas, it has become very clear how meaningful our time, ideas, thoughts, open ended questions and answers are for these teachers. Marisa and I share a child centered teaching philosophy. While here in Pakistan we are placing particular emphasis on building positive healthy relationships in the classroom, amongst students and teachers.  We want to help these teachers understand the relevance in how student’s think about themselves as students, how they can set goals, how they can express their feelings, ideas, thoughts, and emotions all have equal impact into a child’s social, emotional, and academic development.   What we might deem as common place in school’s throughout parts of the United States, this progressive approach toward education have come across as revolutionary ideas for many of these teachers.  It is not that the teachers here are unaware of these things, rather, they have not been encouraged and told of the importance of making these critically important child development concepts as a component in their teaching style and practice. 

Some solid one-on-one between teacher and teacher. 

The teachers here are aware some of their students misbehave, are unengaged, apathetic, easily distracted, unorganized, lazy, and unhappy at school.  These are common realities that happen in schools all over the world.  However, how to go about best supporting students who are feeling these challenges and pains are daily struggles some teachers, especially in developing communities, do not know where to start with, and how to manage on a consistent basis.  Marisa and I are fortunate enough to have been trained in how to better manage student’s experiencing these behaviors, we know the value of collaboration with our colleagues, we’ve been supported by previous administrators, we attended formal teacher training graduate school programs, and professional development workshops.  Although this is a new experience for us as well, it is clear to us that ALL the information we have brought to share with the teachers in this rural and developing community is being soaked up with open eyes, ears, and extreme curiosity. 

Communication is something we have stressed since day one of the training.  It's been wonderful to see it happening on a more consistent basis, even between a 2nd grade teacher and high school physics teacher.    

Junaid translating from his heart.

Teachers looking for teacher approval. 

Lots of check-ins all week long.  Modeling our best teaching practices as much as we can!

The discussion of rearranging classroom desks into a U shape, semi circle, and table groups, as a way to mix things up was a totally foreign concept to them met with extreme excitement.  Classroom timing is a huge reality many of the teachers struggle with throughout their day, not sure how to fit everything into their busy days.  Classroom management, and how to keep students engaged and participating, eager to be in school is felt by practically all the teachers we have met so far.  Teachers that are in their 4^th or 6^th years of teaching at these schools are not sure how to juggle the stresses and realities most first and second year teachers in the U.S. spend afternoons, evenings, and sleepless hours trying to figure out.  The challenges in education are the same at schools throughout the world, however having the support system in place, the leadership, the wisdom, the guidance, the confidence in implementing new ideas a try to see if they work and being ok with moving on to the next type of management are risks these teachers do not necessarily feel comfortable trying.  It has been our goal to help them know making mistakes is part of being a teacher, as well as an important lesson for students to learn and feel comfortable with as well. 

Each day we enter the school in the morning we are met with immense praise and respect.  During short breaks and when we leave at the end of each day teachers flock to us with admonishment, wanting to take pictures with us, shake our hands, look us deeply in the eye and say thank you from the bottom of their heart. This feeling of reverence makes it feel as if these teachers think we have been master teachers for 10 years. Rather, we are young teachers who have taken a leap of faith on what has so far felt like a life changing and eye opening experience.  There are no professional development and graduate school courses or programs offered by Stanford, Columbia, Teach for America, or any other highly regarded teaching institution in the U.S. that can come close to offering and providing the experience and feelings we have been flooded with during our first few days in this quaint village, which truly feels like it is in the middle of nowhere.   We have come on this unique and critically thought processing adventure with the hope we can share with others what we have been fortunate to enough to learn. 

Happy teachers.  Happy Principal.

It is an intense feeling to bring your ideas, what you deem “best practices” into someone else’s culture.  We are explicitly clear when we use the language that these are “mere suggestions”, “new techniques, new approaches, new ideas” you may want to try, only if you want to, only if it seems appropriate for you, your students, your style, your school’s community.  There are many questions brought our way in English, broken English, in Urdu and Sindhi( the local Pakistani languages).  Whether communicating in English, or through an interpreter we are simply trying our best to help support these teachers with their questions, concerns, and unending curiosities about how to adapt the activities, lectures, lesson plans, and philosophies we are sharing with them. 

Morning assembly at school

The administration, the volunteers, the American Pakistanis = solid team.  Left to right, Vice Principal, Principal, Danny, Marisa, Malika, Shanzeh, Junaid

Morning assembly at school.  The schools pulled out all the bells and whistles for the "special visitors", singing, prayers, announcements, all led by the students. 

Curious 2nd grade students, wondering, "who are these visitors?" 

Greeting the Kindergarten class

Mickey Mouse is a legend all over the world!

Counting to 100 in Kindergarten

Marisa working with some 3rd grade boys on a lesson about factoring.

Marisa and a student check the factor tree numbers

A second student comes up to check her friend's work on the board.

3rd grade students attempt to solve some math grade problems together. 

Junaid is introducing Danny and Marisa to the teacher of the FI Foundation school during our first day of teacher training.  

Marisa introducing the week's schedule to the teachers. 

Danny and Sama are making a first day connection

Danny leads the group in some morning stretches, as well as 30 second dance party.  This was met with some odd looks at first, and a lot of laughs by the time we were all done and ready to sit down and get started. 

Danny introduces the "Grow Your Garden" activity, with Shazeb as the interpreter.  

Teachers work on their "gardens", taking diligent care and pride in their work.  

Teachers looking for Danny's feedback.  The teachers in Mirpukhas wanted Marisa and I to evaluate and "write comments and sign" every piece of work they produced or activity we did....a bit exhausting, however, very rewarding to see their appreciative smiles following our comments. 

The principal showing off his lovely flower. 

Comments for dayyyyyys! 

A beautiful drawing by one of the teachers.

Nursery school and kindergaten students filing off to class following the morning assembly. 

Some proud 3rd grade boys...notice the classic mischievous look in the boy's smile on the right....kids are kids, no matter where they come from. 

We will be here in Mirpukhas one more day.  We have created “Certificates of Completion of Professional Development” to hand out to all 29 teachers and 4 administrators tomorrow before we bid farewell to them.  What may seem like merely a certificate to us, will surely be a crowing moment in many of these aspiring teacher’s teaching careers.  I can not wait to hand out certificates, shake the hands of someone who is elated and proud of their hard work, while looking at the camera for a photo.  It is going to be awesome!