Every
school system has gaps in its ability to link education with society
but in the case of my country it is even worse. We are not at the level
of reflecting upon this issue since the curriculum itself is not (or at
least was not) designed to help students become responsible members of
the community. A reform is taking place in the field of education but
still there is much to do. What saddens me is to see that students don’t
take part in any social activity. They are neither aware nor interested
in what is going on around them. I, as a teacher often try to
contextualise my lessons and through the class discussions I discover
how students’ minds are cluttered. Well, they are not to blame because
they do not have many chances to open their minds up.
I
remember once I had rented a bus and took my class to the theatre.
Well, moving from the village to the town was in itself a great event.
Students were glad to travel together with their teacher. It was the
first time they ever entered a theatre. Their eyes were shining and they
were all smiling… I never felt so happy and satisfied. They heard
choral songs performed by a university group called “Desdemona”. It was
unusual for them to hear Algerian students sing in English moreover it
happened in 2001 after the events of 09/11 so there was a kind of
tension between students and the teachers of English. From that day on I
noticed a considerable change in their attitude toward the English
class. So, to me, the most important social issue would be to help
students canalise their energy by performing a variety of artistic
activities which would help them think differently, positively, in a
more open- minded way, and most importantly it would foster self-
confidence and pride as-well-as love of the country.
For
this reason, if I were principle of my school with a budget large
enough to initiate an after school activity for my students, first I
would build a very spacious room; big enough to bear a large audience.
This room would be equipped with the latest audio-visual resources: a
big TV set, a CD and a DVD player, powerful speakers, a data show,
microphones and of course computers with access to the net. I find it a
pity to hinder initiatives just because there is no material which is
available. Then, with the help of teachers of all disciplines I would
design a schedule for the preparation and presentation of after school
activities. First, teachers of different disciplines will propose
project works realisable over a period of two to three months. These
project works would be of interest to the students and of course they
would have a link with their curriculum. Each teacher will supervise a
group or two of students during two to three months then he/she will
supervise other groups of students for another project work during two
to three months…etc (so that for each discipline there would be
approximately six teachers, supervising twelve groups of twelve
students). The same students will not participate to the same project
work with the same teachers so that all students can get the chance to
perform tasks in several disciplines.
Second,
I would invite members of different organisations such as associations
against tobacco, drugs, pollution or AIDS…etc to raise students’
awareness to such issues.
Outings
will also be organised with students and their teachers. Students will
have to write a report of their field trip. The best ones will be
published and rewarded.
Finally,
why not create a school magazine which would appear every two or three
months. It would include the reports written by the students as well as
an account of every project work and interviews with the members of the
associations invited. The articles would be written in English, French,
Arabic and Spanish. They would be read by all the pupils of the school
as well as their parents.
I
believe that such a program will permit students to get involved and
feel concerned with most social issues; it will raise their awareness
and will allow them to be socially committed, thus giving them the
chance to be full citizens and responsible members of the community.
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