A mirror through which you can observe your mistakes — teacher training for Syrian refugees
“I remember when I was a student, teachers used to hit their students if they didn’t answer a question or if they forgot to do their homework. That made students afraid even to speak with the teachers. Hopefully, now everything is changing. If there is good communication between teachers and students, students will respect their teachers and love their classes.”
Wahab is an English teacher attending teacher training at Basirma Camp for Syrian refugees, in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil.
“Teachers should participate in this kind of training because it is like a mirror through which you can observe your mistakes,” Wahab said.
Wahab is joined by Afaf who teaches geography, this is their third week of teacher training that is designed to cover pedagogy (the method and practice of teaching) that includes measurement and assessment, psychosocial support and classroom management. Wahab and Afaf will also have to pass a test administered by UNICEF at the end of the training and successful participants will be provided with a teaching certificate.
359 volunteer teachers in 18 Syrian refugee schools in Erbil province have received this training that is funded by the Government of Norway and the US Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. The aim of the training is to improve the quality of education for Syrian students.
Wahab is from Akre, a town in the mountains in the north of Iraq. He moved to the town of Basirma in 2008 for financial reasons. Afaf is from Syria and has lived in Basirma Camp since 2015 when she left her home because of the ongoing conflict that has disrupted the country. For Afaf, it was difficult to leave, despite the instability. “The bombing and shelling all day every day affected our health, especially mental health. Living in a Syrian refugee camp and teaching Syrian students makes me feel like I’m at home.”
For Wahab, quality of education and the way of treating students is critical. The training demonstrates that mistreating or unduly disciplining students could condition them to become aggressive. “Our job is to raise a generation that loves their school, teachers, friends, respect each another and altogether help in improving and rebuilding their country,” Wahab says.
“Through this training, I know that when you have a flexible way of teaching, then you will have motivated students and those students will work harder to achieve their dreams.”
Wahab believes that ongoing training is essential, because it helps teachers continue to improve their skills and deliver quality lessons.
This is Afaf’s first year as a teacher, she is determined to deliver the best possible education to her students.
“I believe that all of us need support to recover. This training has helped me a lot, I feel that personally I have changed and improved the way I teach. As you know, no one is perfect. We have to be continually improving ourselves.”
“I have a three-year-old daughter and I hope that when she grows up she receives the best education possible. A good future starts with a good education,” Afaf said.
Krman Kamal is a Communications Consultant with UNICEF Iraq.
Direction donations to UNICEF Iraq: https://support.unicef.org/campaign/donate-now/donate
