At the BCI Academy, learning does not end when the school year is over. We believe that learning is a year-round endeavor and we provide plenty of opportunities for both our students and staff to continue to grow over the summer. One such example is a teacher development workshop that took place from July 25-28. Ten teachers from the BCI Academy participated along with two teachers who will join the staff in the fall. In addition, one of our university students who will graduate next year with a teaching degree also took part, as well as one of our social workers, Getu Belay.
The workshop was led by Hailey Gebre, an experienced teacher who is now an expert at training other teachers. Mr. Gebre provides development opportunities for many schools in Ethiopia.
Teacher Development Workshop in the BCI Academy Library
We believe that providing the opportunity for staff to develop is an important factor in offering a quality education to our students. One of the primary goals of the training is to expand teaching perspectives and to share additional techniques and new methods for teaching. The university instruction of teachers in Ethiopia can be slow to progress at times, and many times the instruction is in long-held practices. These workshops offer new approaches to help students progress with the times.
Another focus of the workshop was to help the teachers understand how to work with children who come from challenging home situations, as many of our children do. Participants explored the impact of a difficult home situation on conduct and learning at school, and received advice on how to work through these challenges to facilitate a strong learning environment.
Slide from Workshop Presentation
Blessing the Children International 