August 19-23, 2010, Kalmak-Ashu village
Participants: schoolteachers of different subjects from the schools located in Bishkek and regional schools.
Main goals: to share the previous experience in realization of the project and passing the used methodology, working out on plans of realization of the project and discussing benefits and challenges of the project for students; signing contracts with schoolteachers-trainers for the project.
This workshop was organized in the summer holiday time when schoolteachers were free. It was organized for selected teachers who were interested in realization of the School Project in 2010 with their schoolchildren.
The program included learning of the methodology that was developed and tested in the previous similar projects with schoolchildren: basics in photography art; participatory video; place-based writing skills. Among the trainers were coordinators from Taalim-Forum and art-photographer Alexander Feodorov.
In total there were participating 12 schoolteachers from Bishkek schools and school in Chon-Kemin district: Kyzyl-Bairak, Tarsu, Kaindy villages; Barskoon, Ton and Korgondu-Bulak villages from
During the workshop a lot of attention was paid to discussing possible perspectives and challenges/difficulties of realization of the Project in practice. Among the difficulties there were mentioned:
Finance and transportation issues for the group of children;
Lack of support and understanding from the side of parents and school administrations;
Language and psychological barriers between urban and rural children.
The workshop allowed establishing links and partnership between urban and rural schools. The structure of the program, objectives and organizational details were discussed with participants. Participants also had a chance to share their own experience in out-door activities with their students and different methods, including games.
Teachers gave positive feedbacks on using these methods pointing out the need in developing children’s abilities to see the surrounding world, places they live in, to feel, observe and conduct small place-based research. All participants expressed their readiness to use these techniques not only during realization of the School Project, but in their further work with children. Most of the participants were actively learning and preparing for the realization of the project with their students.
