During the past two years UNICEF has been running an innovative program to deal with classroom problems. The program combines active learning, teacher-counselors and creative thinking in the classroom. It was initially implemented in Gazan UNRWA and some private schools, and it is hoped that it will be implemented in PNA government schools in the near future. The Network interviewed Cairo Arafat, Project Officer for Early Childhood Development and Psychological Health at UNICEF, about the program.
Ednet: What, in your opinion, are the problems commonly faced in the classroom?
Cairo Arafat (CA): 'There are a number of widespread, major deficits, which, in the long run, will play a tremendous role in students' abilities to focus on their studies and to achieve. These deficits include: attention span deficits; behavioral control problems such as aggression and withdrawal in the classroom; and we are also beginning to see lack of confidence in older school children who are promoted to the next grade but realize that they can't read.'
Ednet: How are these problems usually dealt with in school?
CA: 'The system consisted primarily of rote learning, and, with an average of fifty children in the classroom, individual teaching methods and relationships between the teacher and the child were not the norm. A lot of these problems were simply ignored, or, if he or she disrupted the rest of the class, the child would often just be pulled out of school. More innovative programs have now looked at teachers counseling minor problems, and at referring children with more complicated psychological problems - but they still only reach a minority of the population.'
Ednet: What do you see as the reasons for these problems?
CA: 'We had a poor educational system to begin with, and many of these problems existed but were overlooked or disregarded. They are mostly due to poor educational facilities, lack of teacher training, boring and outdated educational materials, overcrowding, poor educational techniques - from hitting children to rote learning - with little emphasis on analytical skills, or learning that is appropriate to the child's lifestyle. The large number of students graduating in the past concealed the fact that the large majority of the children were just getting by.
The intifada and the resulting disruption of schooling, along with the social and political upheaval at the time, also affected learning. Children became more inquisitive. We call it lack of discipline, but I think the unruliness in our children was to be expected. Previously, children were told to come to school and to accept whatever was dished out to them. I think their revolt against this situation had to occur, but it will eventually subside if it's dealt with appropriately, by listening to what children are saying (much of which is realistic and sensible) and not by trying to subdue or oppress them. They shouldn't be hit at school, be forced to sit in a cold, damp classroom with fifty kids, unable to see the blackboard. Many classes have nothing to stimulate children and have teachers just getting lessons done rather than children learning.'
Ednet: How did the UNICEF program start?
CA: 'Our psycho-social health program offered children psychological services via health clinics. Some of the UNRWA and private schools had teacher-counselors, but the ratio of counselors to students was totally disproportionate, and the teachers concerned often weren't allotted the time to sit with students, so they were looking for a better model. We brought all the counselors together and began to discuss the types of problems seen in children. Psychological problems need to be worked on day in and day out, for weeks, months and sometimes years; the only person who can really do that is the teacher. So we tried to make a balance between what the teacher can do as an educator and as a counselor.'
Ednet: How was the program implemented?
CA: 'We trained counselors for four months and then wrote a plan of action, in which counselors worked with teachers after school. The general themes in the curricula for younger children are very common. They are about the fallah (farmer), about living at home, being clean, or being nice to animals. We took those and looked at them in psychological terms: what values are we trying to help the child learn here, and how do these relate to his everyday life? Even if the child is a refugee, the chances are that his family has a past of being fallaheen. So the child has to go back into the family and ask questions, perhaps bring back related things from home, thus bringing the school, the family and the child together.
Despite our rich environment, children are not exposed to enough stimuli and their lives are repetitive. They sit in front of the TV. Story-telling and singing songs in families has markedly declined, resulting in an under-stimulated child, and a fall in the child's academic achievement capacity. We looked at how children acquire skills. For many teachers, if you wanted a child to learn a word, it just had to keep writing it. Instead we emphasized the meaning behind the words, making it fun for children. They had to write down stories - for example, they would ask their grandmother to tell them about life when she was a young girl in her village, which would encourage the child's writing skills. Children love to do; - to sing, to dance, to move, to paint, to act, so let's take these activities - commonly used in play-therapy - and redefine them for a classroom situation.'
Ednet: Was there any psychological training involved?
CA: 'Teachers also received instructions on child development, on perceiving and understanding students. They learnt how not to force children, and to encourage those who are withdrawn and to help those who are aggressive or uncontrolled through rewarding their behavior. Many teachers love children that are withdrawn in the classroom: 'he's good!' But if you never hear a child talk in class he is not a good student! We did not so much focus on telling teachers that they were doing something psychological. We did not want them to feel that they are playing with or controlling the minds of children, but that what this program teaches them is what a good classroom should look like. The teachers were able to go on with their lessons as before, and they were given very practical means of helping children, as well as a lot of supervision and support from counselors who worked with them outside school. The supervision, both from the counselor and the group, was very important. That sense of collegial atmosphere and the sharing of ideas really worked quite well.'
Ednet: What was the effect of the program in the classroom?
CA: 'From the third week of the program the children started responding, which doesn't so much reflect the success of the program as it does the impoverished conditions the schools were in. We did different things: making patterns of sound and rhythm on the table, simple dance techniques; drawing; painting; - everything very simple and inexpensive, but they caused a tremendous change in the behavior of the classes. Teachers put together the Ramadan feast or told stories from long ago and were amazed at how much it stimulated the children to learn. They came into the class wide awake, they weren't late, they wanted to know what was going to happen, to do their homework and bring in their books. The teachers' biggest concern was how to control the children; they couldn't believe that their classroom of fifty could actually do watercolors, clean up afterwards and not be chaotic, but by the second time it worked. It had the effect of calming down the boys and bringing out the girls, who, especially in Gaza, are much more subdued.
Ednet: How did the teachers react?
CA: 'Except for a few they really enjoyed it. Once they let themselves go, they really came up with wonderful ideas. We have kept records, although we have not written a manual. We wanted teachers to see that it is their duty and responsibility to come up with new ideas suiting the class and themselves. We are trying to encourage active learning and participatory approaches, encouraging the teachers to see that within themselves there is that creativity.'
Ednet: What was the response from the parents?
CA: 'We decided not to tell the parents about the program, to test the common complaint of teachers that parents were not interested in their children. Within a month of the program parents started coming in and saying: 'Why has my child come to ask me for my old fallahi dress? Why is she asking all these questions?' They were very supportive and came to talk to teachers a lot more, see the exhibitions, the sketches, which was very rewarding. One mother said: 'I can't believe Mohammed is the same kid he was two months ago. Do you remember him? He was nearly banging his head against the wall he was so active, and look at him now!'
Elaine Clark
Educational Network, POB 66, Ramallah, West Bank
tel: 02 995 6230/fax: 02 995 6231 e-mail: eclark@ednet.birzeit.edu