Feedback is the breakfast of champions!

An email today from one of the teacher delegates on our Foundation course has given so much positive and useful feedback it just HAS to be transcribed here:

"Today I have learned lots about values and even ran a V4C session myself. Before attending I had no idea about how values could be taught in a professional and practical way, it is so important for us. By using this technique children will learn not only about values but also will develop listening, questioning, language and other cognitive skills. 

I have never seen or heard of this running in any school in Nepal. But with young children being at a specific development stage can learn to be more creative, can become more disciplined, cooperate more etc. In my opinion V4C will be the best technique to use with primary children and should be used in all our schools as it is so child centred and makes us better facilitators as teachers. "
This tells us exactly what we need to know from our 4th Foundation course since launching our Academy programme. It gives us the courage to continue on this path and to rebuff the doubters who snipe at our syllabus. This sort of feedback will also reinforce our case with grant foundations and potential donors who ask us if we have conducted needs-analysis or how we know we are doing the right thing. Feedback is the breakfast of champions, and ....... the most important meal of the day!

Ridiculous Ministry comment!

A short report in today's Himalayan Times has almost sent us into orbit with its muddle headed pathetic thinking, which is just plain WRONG. Read it for yourselves and judge whether this man has ever been anywhere near a school in the last decade and how he concludes that embracing new technology and digital methods is the way forward. It's like building a roof of a house before the foundations and walls have been built! How about improving teaching standards first, how about some simple training in child centred learning for existing teachers, how about getting teachers to discover and use basic resources readily available first ...... ??? What planet is he on!!!

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Education Secretary Kishor Thapa has vowed to innovate classrooms of schools and universities in Nepal after coming back from a three-day conference in London.

Thapa said educational programmes should be aimed at embracing new technology and digital methods to upgrade standards in Nepal.

The focus of annual conference, organised by UK’s Education Ministry, was on classrooms changes due to technological innovation of this decade. 

Secretary, along with Nepali Education Minister, had attended the gathering of ministers of 60 countries and other 10 representatives. 

“Children and teachers are using smart boards in the classrooms in developing countries. Teachers can take many classes at the same time, eBooks can be the reading materials and exams can be of internet-based,” said Thapa, talking to this daily.

Keeping our feet on the ground

The third Foundation course in our initial series of five has just been completed with another 21 attendees, five days spread over 6 days because of a break in the middle caused by yet another national strike!

This course was exceptionally pleasing because we had 5 Head Teachers attending who now realise that in order to motivate their staff through the programme and to implement some changes, they need to know the content themselves. There was some reluctance at first; "I don't need this I'm already trained, I don't need this I don't do any teaching etc" but with more of their teachers returning from our courses they seem to be getting the message. So, that's 9 of the 15 registered school's Heads now having attended, let's hope we can get the remaining 6 trained this month on the next two Foundations.

The courses are going well from a content and organisation point of view too, no major adjustments needed and all the delegates enjoying and buying in to our view of the concepts and skills needed to develop the Nepal education system and Nepal schools. 

Word of our programme is spreading too with some renewed interest from the Ministry of Education who want to talk to us again about spreading the programme even wider (!) and a stream of enquiries from other schools not currently registered and NGO's or agencies asking about a "partnership" with us.(whatever that means) Keeping our feet on the ground is our motto for the week/month/year/5 years!