Author Archives: Teachers' Resource Centre

Planet Earth, gives us so much and asks for just one thing in return: respect. Respect for its natural resources and the intricate balance that keeps everything in harmonious flow. As we look around at the heaps of garbage around us, the constant tufts of black smoke emitting from various pollutants and the undeniable haze in our atmosphere, it is evident that we are tipping that balance and as a result our planet and all its inhabitants are suffering.

April 22 2010 is Global Earth Day!

Most of us do our part to get involved in some way. While it is extremely important and beneficial for a collective and unified effort, the sad truth is that a mere 24 hours cannot make a substantial shift in reversing years of abuse and neglect.
So what can we do to save our planet from extinction? The solution lies in our actions, in what we practice, and in remembering that EVERY little bit helps. One wrapper not thrown on the streets is one wrapper less littering our environment.

2010, forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also offers an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now, and for the future.

This year, as part of its commitment to power the Earth Day Movement, TRC is collaborating with Earth Day Network, PeaceNiche, IUCN and Radio 1 FM 91 to deliver exciting events, discussions, and activities.

Earth Day Events

TRC Film Club – Super Size Me
17 April 2010 | 10:00 am | TRC

Super Size Me is a documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an independent filmmaker. Spurlock’s film follows a 30-day time period (February to beginning of March 2003) during which he eats only McDonald’s food. The film documents this lifestyle’s drastic effects on Spurlock’s physical and psychological well-being, and explores the fast food industry’s corporate influence, including how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit. Spurlock dined at McDonald’s restaurants three times per day, eating every item on the chain’s menu. He also always “super-sized” his meal if given the option – but only if it was offered. Spurlock consumed the equivalent of 9.26 Big Macs per day during the experiment. As a result, he gained 24? lbs, a 13% body mass increase, a cholesterol level of 230, and experienced mood swings and fat accumulation to his liver. It took Spurlock fourteen months to lose the weight gained from his experiment. The reason for Spurlock’s investigation was the increasing spread of obesity throughout American society. Spurlock believes that much of the criticism leveled against the tobacco companies applies to fast food franchises whose product is both physiologically addictive and physically harmful.

After the screening, there will be a group discussion led by TRC.

Conversations on Climate Change
15th April – 21st April 2010

Climate change may be a big problem, but there are many little things we can do to make a difference. IUCN and TRC will visit a number of public sector schools to talk to students of grades 6-8 about the effects of greenhouse gases and global warming and what can be done to take action.

These are the schools that are part of this initiative:

Ibrahim Ali Bhai Girls Elementary School No 11
Ibrahim Ali Bhai Boys Elementary School No 12
CDGK Sir Syed Girls School No 15
CDGK Sir Syed Girls School No 17
Allama Iqbal Girls Sec School No 1

Cinema for Change – Food Inc
22nd April 2010 | 6:30 pm | T2F

How much do we really know about the food we buy and serve to our families?
In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on America’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from consumers with the consent of the government’s regulatory agencies. The nation’s food supply is controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of farmers, the safety of workers and the environment. Alongside the bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, and tomatoes that don’t go bad, there are also new strains of E. coli – the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 people annually. America is riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

After the screening, Abbas Raza will talk about his organic home farm, the fruits and vegetables he grows, and what we can do to eat and live healthy.

What would you do if YOU were Pakistan’s Prime Minister?
Take 120 seconds to talk about 1 tangible thing you would do for the environment if you were the country’s Prime Minister. Students with the most interesting and practical ideas will be selected for a TV show in June. More information will be sent to schools later in April.

Weekly Classroom Activities
Each week in April and May, TRC Network schools will receive an Earth Day Activity in their Inbox. Informative, interesting, and interactive, these activities, games, and stories are designed for students to learn about the environment and how to take action.

The Citizen’s Archive of Pakistan (CAP) is a voluntary non-profit organization dedicated to commemorating the collective and individual Pakistani experience across all segments and communities of Pakistan. CAP has been formed as a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1960 as the first ever youth led private initiative to collect, archive, study, disseminate and exhibit all aspects of Pakistan’s history – both before and after partition. Our vision is to develop CAP as the foremost library and museum of Pakistani history, photography, culture and literature demonstrating the strength and spirit of Pakistan from the citizen’s perspective.

The Citizens Archive of Pakistan and Engro Corp are proud to announce ‘The Birth of Pakistan’, a unique exhibition for children above the age of 7 years exploring the early years of Pakistan. This exhibition is one of many community-outreach projects that lie at the heart of The Citizens Archive of Pakistan. We strive to create interactive, engaging exhibits for children in order to include their voices in a dialogue about our history and identity. ‘The Birth of Pakistan’ takes visitors through the defining moments of the Pakistan Movement, the creation of Pakistan in 1947 and the subsequent trials and successes faced by citizens in the five years following the birth of the newly independent nation. This exhibition is particularly focused on children and younger visitors to the Mohatta Palace Museum and traces the evolution of the idea of ‘Pakistan’.
‘The Birth of Pakistan’ takes children on a journey from the Lahore Resolution of 1940 and traces the struggle to achieve a Muslim homeland in 1947. The exhibit features a unique ‘train journey’ from India to Pakistan, recreations of make-shift government offices and refugee tents, a chance for children to explore the contents of a ‘sundook’ or trunk brought to Pakistan by a migrant, 3-D photographs and film clips of major moments in Pakistan’s early history. We hope visitors will emerge from the exhibition with a clear picture of the struggles and triumphs of the first generation of Pakistanis.

The exhibition is completely free for educational institutions and we encourage teachers to take advantage of this opportunity.

Dates: March 23 – June 23, 2010

Venue: The Mohatta Palace Museum, Hatim Alvi Road, Clifton, Karachi-75600

Timings: Tuesday – Friday 10.30 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Monday closed

Free entry for students

All bookings must be made one week prior to your visit

All schools must register the number of students attending the exhibition, the name of a teacher accompanying them and a contact number for the teacher. Please send these details to [email protected] or contact us on 0332-3392004 and 0332-2541272. We can accommodate up to a 100 students at once.

Are you curious about how children learn?
Do you enjoy working with children?
Are you passionate about education?
Do you want to make a difference?

TRC’s Institute of Early Childhood Education offers a year-long certificate programme, committed to developing and supporting teachers who work with young children. Find out more about the course at: http://trconline.org/?cat=20
TRC’s ECE Certificate Programme is the stepping stone to a career in Early Childhood Education. We are hosting an Open House on Thursday, February 18, 2010 from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm. Please drop in to discover a whole new world in education.

Enrol now for our ECE – Certificate Programme and you can avail our special Early Bird discount.