An education program in Uganda teaches the three A's

Uganda (MNN) ― When it comes to school, A's are the best mark.

Straight A's are even better, right?  That's what Worldwide Christian Schools is going for with their Educational Care program launch in Uganda. Dale Dieleman with WWCS explains  the nuts and bolts.  "'Educational Care' is a six-module program. The teachers go through each module with about six months or so in between to work on an action plan that they developed after each module."

It can take up to three years to go through all six modules, but Dieleman notes, "For many, many teachers who have never had a lot of formal educational courses, this is all brand new," which means that "even the teachers in the schools that hardly pay any salary at all are willing to say, ‘Yes, I want to be there.'" The Triple A? "We tried to make it very Affordable, Accessible and veryApplicable."

So what does the program do? It focuses on the teacher and helps them answer basic questions like, "How do you do discipline in a Christian school? How do you correct students and disciple them rather than do strictly punishment, and so on."

   

It provides on-the-job-learning, is peer-learning oriented, inductive-learning focused, practically based, Action Plan required, adaptable to local situations, world-view driven, Bible referenced, and community oriented.

But, Dieleman adds, it's very different from an educational conference. "The foundational course--the first module--is on biblical worldview. It really is all about the teacher, not so much on how to use the Bible in the classroom." The curriculum disciples teachers and has served as an evangelism tool in the training sessions. "It's something that really begins to stick over time and becomes part of who they are. They can move from school to school, and this will be part of their DNA."

What this means, explains Dieleman, is that "most countries we work in use a national curriculum. They are required to use this curriculum because students take national exams based on their performance. Their futures are based on this exam result." Teachers have to work with a secular curriculum, but because of the biblical worldview, they infuse their faith into what they teach. This approach benefits students, teachers, and ultimately, the schools. "We really feel that consistency, that continuity is really what will help teachers, in the long-run, establish themselves and recommit themselves to their calling."

Beyond the training comes an opportunity for mentorship. Dieleman says the program has been successful, but sometimes a seasoned pro can add tools they've used in their careers, and Uganda's teachers can combine the two to create a better learning environment.

With mentorship in mind, Dieleman says that now they're offering a mission trip for teachers. "We also want to give teachers with experience opportunities to become certified Educational Care trainer. What that means is: during the summer break they would have an opportunity to be assigned to one of our trainers in a particular country and actually go out and accompany them in doing some training."

To get more information, click here.