Training Effective Afghan Teachers

Latest News!!

Dr. Yacoobi was honored to receive the 2015 WISE Prize for Education. A prestigious award given to those who are tireless advocates for the right to education. “I know from my life that education gives power, status and opportunity. I see women who are smart, intelligent but did not have opportunity so I gave them that. It is education and not guns that can transform society and give us a peaceful tomorrow. “ Sakena

Dear Friends,

AIL has trained 540 teachers so far in 2015, including 405 females. What is different? These teachers now know how to engage the students in interactive learning, how to foster critical thinking and to develop students who are curious and have confidence in their ability to figure out solutions to problems – that is what’s different!

This sort of mindset change is what will make a changed Afghanistan possible. Young people growing to adulthood with capacity and self- belief and who first seek to fix problems rather than look for someone else to do it for them. The lessons we learn in the classroom go with us in life and help form who we are and how we function in society.

The teachers themselves need some of this learning too, so the teacher training seminars also include, how to manage a classroom, what to do about discipline, how to project your voice and other capacity building lessons.

Thank you for continuing to support our efforts to train teachers in Afghanistan!

Dear Friends,

Bonus Day September 16^th!  30% matching funds available for this project!

Can you help?

Donate between 9am- midnight  ET September 16^th and get a 30% match up to $1,000 per donor per organization! Only until the funds run out.

Thank you  for your kind support of our efforts to train Afghan teachers! In Afghanistan, many teachers  follow the traditional method of teaching relying on rote memorization as the main way to teach their students. The teacher will repeatedly tell students that 2 + 2 = 4 until the students have memorized this fact, but they will not understand why 2 + 2 = 4, or that 1 + 3 = 4 as well. Students are expected to sit in classes and listen to teachers lecture. Teachers do not ask questions, and students are not encouraged to think critically for themselves.

The Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) wants teachers to do more than lecture, and students should do more than memorize. In order to move Afghanistan towards a culture of peace and harmony, AIL believes that people must be taught to think critically and independently, which is why it trains teachers to encourage discussion and ask questions of their students. To date, AIL has been able to train 486 teachers in 2015, 387 of whom are women.

The teachers have participated in trainings developed just for teachers, and in subject specific workshops with other members of the public. These other workshops are taught using the techniques that AIL uses to train its teachers, and it gives teachers the opportunity to see these techniques in action, and then to take them back to their classrooms, along with the lessons they’ve learned.

Thank you for continuing to support our efforts to train teachers in Afghanistan!