By Hamna Aamir | Senior Associate, Development and Partnerships
Dear partner,
We hope you are well and excited about the turn of the season. As the year draws to a close, we hope you are able to look back at it with delight and await the New Year with anticipation for what it will bring. Teach For Pakistan has been privy to much excitement in the past few months, and we’re glad to be able to share it with you! Since August, we have been supporting 155+ first and second-year Fellows and their 10,000+ students. With our Fellows now working in 27% of the public schools in Islamabad, we have sustained our impact and contributions as one of the leading actors in catalyzing system-wide change that pushes for an inclusive education system providing quality support to students from marginalized groups and communities.
Our Fellows are continually adapting their classroom practice in the service of improving student outcomes, and they employ innovative techniques to overcome barriers to student learning to achieve this. This is made possible through your continued support, as it presents Fellows the opportunity to access essential learning resources and materials to work towards their vision, and ultimately impact student learning and outcomes as well.
A glimpse into how our Fellows have been making use of your contributions in their classrooms:
Grounded in purpose: Articulating vision and goals
Fellow Anisa teaches 6th and 7th graders at a public school in Nilore. The first time Anisa asked her students about their aspirations and goals, they were unresponsive and hesitant to share, worried about answering ‘incorrectly’. With a gentle push and reassurance that there were no ‘wrong answers’ to such a question, students began sharing more about what they aspired to do - becoming independent, communicate in English, improve their vocabulary etc. Anisa thought it important not to let these ambitions stay hidden, and in an effort to memorialize them and make them more real for her students, she decided to commit them to writing. Enabled by your contributions, she procured resources in the form of stationery, art supplies, and chart paper. Anisa’s students used these supplies to begin to put their visions down on paper, working together to verbalize what they wanted to achieve and decorating them as they wished. By adorning their classroom with their finished products, these goals became more than just a means to brighten the space - they were something the girls had deeply engaged with and thought about, and thus became a catalyst for change since her students now had something to work towards. In the days following this activity, Anisa saw a shift in her classroom – each day, students read these goals aloud as affirmations that fueled their determination to achieve their dreams. Her students are now more invested in their learning as it is grounded in purpose which they are reminded of daily.
Leveraging resources to learn and work together!
When Fellow Mehboob began teaching the 4th and 5th grade, he noticed a lack of collective responsibility among his students. This concerned him as it impacted their socio-emotional awareness and consciousness, as well as larger classroom culture, as a whole affecting student learning and outcomes. In an effort to enable his students as critical thinkers and engaged citizens, he initiated in-class Study Circles, Reading Hours, and Group Practice. The success of these activities was facilitated by the use of essential classroom supplies such as chart papers and stationery - used by his students as they conducted research on certain socio-political and cultural topics and then presented to their peers. Mehboob’s students engaged with one another and the resources available to them not only to build their critical thinking skills but also in recognizing the power of collaboration and the collective. In a move towards civic engagement, his students also penned a letter to their principal highlighting hygienic concerns in school and a need for improved infrastructure while suggesting solutions for these problems. Not only had Mehboob’s students internalized the notion of collective responsibility, but embodied the concept of collective action by coming together as one and speaking up for their rights!
From complexity to clarity: Teaching science visually
Second-year Fellow Hajra teaches Biology and Chemistry to grades 9 and 10 in a public school in Tarnol. As a science teacher she found it worrying that her students approached these subjects with apprehension, leading to a lack of interest and disengagement with the subject. To make these subjects more accessible and engaging, she thought to use resources she was able to procure as a result of your contributions. Now armed with chart papers and stationery, she began teaching her students through visual aids -charts with visually appealing diagrams that illustrated intricate biological and chemical processes. Hajra’s students were now able to interact with their learning content more tangibly and use these resources as a reference on the daily. Now, her students are more confident about their grasp on complex topics and more curious to learn about them - they are able to absorb and understand information at a faster pace and eagerly participate in class, fostering a collective learning environment.
Your contributions have not only impacted student outcomes, but also enabled Hajra to augment her teaching practice. By leveraging resources through your support, she is able to organize complex topics more meticulously with the aim of conveying them to her students clearly and effectively!
Images have been attached as PDF (closed_Images) to preserve quality
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The current economic climate has made it difficult for many to be hopeful, but we at Teach For Pakistan are sustained by your unwavering support. Your contributions are a reminder that we are not alone in this work, and provide Fellows the strength and conviction to do what they do best.
Last year, you enabled 9,700 students. This year, with growing scale, your contribution will support 12,000 students across 70 public schools.
Give your Zakat today.
Continue to support the education movement nurturing loving, thinking, and engaged citizens.
Links:
By Ushna Fawad | Senior Associate, Development and Partnerships
By Muhammad Ali and Ans Iqbal | Teach For Pakistan Fellows
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