A Warm Bekka Valley Reception for TYO-L

 

After months of preparation and hard work for the Child Friendly Schools (CFS) Project, TYO-Lebanon recently had the great pleasure of a formal visit with the teachers and principals of 3 out of the 4 schools that will be receiving the CFS training at the end of August.  The meetings were held, on-site, in each of the following schools in the heart of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley:

• Kab Elias School
• Bar Elias  School
• Marj School

TYO-Lebanon was so pleased to be received with the genuine enthusiasm of teachers and administrators as they expressed a real need for the delivery of the training.  In fact, one teacher shared with us, the personal story of the difficulties and challenges that she faced with her own son, with regard to his abilities to stay focused in class. She talked about how important it was for his teacher to understand that perhaps her son could benefit from alternative teaching methods and when different methods were used, she watched her son flourish and his behavioral problems well under control!

While listening to another teacher share her story of how she managed a classroom of 40 students with the creative approach of taking the more advanced students and utilizing them as “team leaders,” we sat back, pleased to see her explaining the non-formal learning technique of group work.

It seems that most teachers/administrators had an innate sense of the importance of non-formal education, where they may lack the technical experience or understanding. That makes our job a lot easier and we are off to a great start, as we are ready to fill that gap.

We are happy to announce that the first trainings have been scheduled for August 30, 31 and Sept. 1 at the Marj Makassed School which has volunteered to be the host of all of the schools, for the trainings, moving forward.

Thank you to the Makassed School Network and CARD for their work and commitment to the project!