Every one of us remembers a name of a teacher who has changed his or her life. In moments of confusion and weakness teachers have enlightened our way and made us able to make significant decisions in our lives. I still remember some of my teachers with pride and admiration for the simple reason that they were there to provide assistance and guidance whenever needed.
Teachers, in general, can play an important role in shaping younger generations’ views to themselves and the world around them. Therefore, it is important for us to be aware of the influence that we can have in our students. We are the ones that should make the right decisions at the right time to help our students develop the skills and abilities to fully understand the world around them. In a world of sophisticated technology kids have become easy to reach by those who have made hatred and terrorism as their main tool to send their messages to the world, messages that can leave devastating effects in our children’s minds forever. This is where teachers fit in; we need to develop strategies to promote global awareness, global connectedness and build bridges of trust between our kids in different parts of the world.
I have always thought that there should be a bigger role of teachers outside their classrooms. Teachers need to create better opportunities for their students, it is here that started my quest for new ideas to improve my teaching methods and techniques.
Friendship Across Cultures
After my participation in IVLP Program and meeting professionals from different parts of the world in addition to my participation in “ Connecting Classrooms” Program, things started to make more sense. During our three weeks together and our visits to different schools and institutions in the United States, we gained new ideas and better perspective on how to make teaching, especially English language teaching, key driver in promoting awareness of universal values and the importance of recognizing diversity.
Hicham
Ait-ouaarab