I was able to find funding to send some teachers abroad for training courses and have used technology to connect with educators abroad over the Internet. I have organized workshops to clarify the aims and strategy of the program to teachers, to encourage them to get 'on board' and believe in the curriculum changes.
A child's education must entail more than memorization or even passing standardized exams. Education must open a student's mind, and the teacher is the key to unlock the mystery of a student's inherent gifts. Teachers must guide a child's life and foster every child's innate passion for learning, before the child learns that school is not supposed to be 'cool' or fun. As an instructor of science teachers, I stress that all children are innate experimenters and lovers of science, until the children learn they 'should be' otherwise: it is the mission of every science teacher to keep the flame of the...
A teacher must never forget that serving his or her students is the core objective, not serving pre-determined standards. A teacher must be flexible and willing to change with the needs of students, so the student always enters the classroom in a spirit of joy. Of course, we as teachers reside in a social and organizational context where standardized tests are important. Meeting standardized benchmarks is essential in securing funding. But when students are motivated to attend class and are willing to learn in an experiential fashion they are more willing to tackle the basics: students like to understand why something is true and they want to feel in control of their own learning.
