TEACHERS
TEACHERS Program (Circles of Change)
Training 300 teachers (of about 6,000 students) annually.
Your Partnership:
- Supports individual teacher trainers
- Pays for books and videos
- Provides seminars and workshops for trainers and participants
The Need
Haiti’s history of dictatorial leadership is evident at all levels of society. The problems ripple through schools where authoritarian teachers, often with the best of intentions, squash opportunities for authentic learning and de-motivate students so much that they don’t learn and become profoundly discouraged. Of the about 50% of children that are able to attend school, less than half of these complete primary school. Two-thirds of teachers do not have professional or academic qualifications and many have not even completed high school. Gabriel Bien-Aime, Haiti’s previous Minister of Education, said of this program, “These are the types of approaches we need to help us re-think our work and to create curriculum and experiences that cultivate community.”
Strategy
Haiti Partners has developed a 6-month training program called Circles of Change. Circles of Change helps Haitian institutions and groups with limited financial resources—mostly schools, but also grassroots organizations and churches—receive training in participatory, liberating education and collaboration methods. Two key methods we teach are called Reflection Circles (called Touchstones in the US) and Open Space Technology. They enable teachers to take approaches to education that create great learning environments and bring out the best in their students. Together, they create a Circle of Change: a group of 20-30 teacher/leaders who meet weekly for 6 months to practice these methods with two qualified Haitian trainers to guide them through the process.
Goals
To help teachers:
- Open their minds to new ideas and to encourage their students to do the same
- Learn to create a classroom environment that fosters each student’s love for learning
- Learn to cultivate their students’ gifts and to honor their accomplishments
- Learn to encourage students’ sense of responsibility for their own learning
- Nurture in their school a culture of respect for the dignity and worth of every person
How you can help
- $150 enables one teacher to participate in a 6-month training
- $3,000 sponsors a Circle of Change (20 teachers in a 6-month training)
Click here to download a PDF document with a more extensive explanation of TEACHERS Program.
