Afghan Friends Network
Original Article
Afghan Friends Network, Barry Scientific, Ghazni Governor's Office and Ghazni Ministry of Education jointly supported a one-week teacher training workshop in Ghazni City. Four Bay Area teachers traveled to Ghazni City from April 14-April 21 to conduct science and math training, purchase supplies for schools and do further research for future workshops.
These teachers include:
Camilla Barry & David Barry - Barry Scientific
Marianne O'Grady - San Francisco Friends School
Elsie De Laere - Albany Unified School District
The teachers conducted 4 days of extensive training with a science fair concluding the week. There were 120 teachers with around 40 female attendees.
The lessons were designed to illustrate basic science teaching methods in a number of disciplines such as geometry, physics, astronomy, math, and chemistry.
The teachers were split into 2 groups. Group 1) The middle school teachers and teachers-in training (from the new Ghazni teacher-training institute) were in one group. Group 2) The high school teachers were in another group.
The teachers greatly enjoyed and benefitted from the hands-on training and have requested that the US teachers return.
The teachers also purchased science and classroom supplies with funds raised by Afghan Friends Network. The supply purchase and distribution was a cooperative effort between the teachers, the Governor's office and the local Provincial Reconstruction Team. The teachers attending the workshops were solicited for input on which schools should get the supplies. Jahan Malika School for girls where the training was being held received extra supplies along with the Teacher Training Institute (TTI) of Ghazni.
Each school chosen got a trunk full of 45 pieces of supplies. Below is a short list of items to give you an idea of the kind of the supplies purchased:
1 thermos, 12 teaspoons, 10 pencil sharpeners, set of various size tapes, 1 white board, 10 rulers, 1 quart of olive oil, Velum paper, 1 large plastic bucket, 1 gas stove, 1 strainer, 4 nesting tubs, 3 eye droppers.
We are thrilled that this training was successful. We are always seeking dedicated and talented teachers who would be interested in working with us. If you are interested in participating in future training programs in Ghazni, please contact us at 1 800-831-2339.
Teacher Training in Ghazni, Afghanistan (2004)
Marin-based science teacher Camilla Barry traveled to Ghazni, Afghanistan in August 2004. Ghazni is a city between Kabul and Kandahar which has received minimal assistance. Camilla uses hands-on experiments to demonstrate scientific concepts. Camilla led a seminar for over 120 science teachers on hands-on teaching techniques.
