TRC News

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.

TRC’s  Annual General Body Meeting (AGM)

Our AGM for 2008-2009 was held at the TRC office on Saturday, December 16, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. It was attended by members of the TRC Board as well as representatives of member schools. The Director highlighted the achievements of the year and shared TRC’s future plans. Members were encouraged to continue their support to TRC and to give constructive feedback on its services.

What’s been happening at The TRC-IECE

Term 1 of ECE-CP’s 2009-2010 session has almost come to an end. Our fourth cohort of students for this year draws from a diverse pool of both pre-service and in-service teachers. This combination of backgrounds has enriched discussions in the classroom and challenged the ECE-CP faculty to continually support engaging dialogue about issues and perspectives within ECE.

In Term 1, participants were enrolled in three courses; Child Development, The Learning Environment and Promoting Pro-social Behaviour – the triad of which establishes a meaningful foundation from which to explore equally pivotal areas of Play Experiences, Observation and Assessment, as well as the History and Philosophy of ECE in Term 2. The participants also completed field education placements and academic courses simultaneously – a requirement of ECE-CP which continues throughout the year to facilitate integration of theory and practice.

We are now busy getting ready for the beginning of the next term which promises to excite and extend our learning within the field of ECE. Kudos to our participants for engaging with the course content so enthusiastically thus far and consistently introspecting about their teaching practices along the way. We look forward to welcoming them back next week.

The TRC Film Club

In the last quarter of 2009, we hosted two film club screenings. Though we had to proactively solicit participation, both were well attended. The December screening of Chak De had a mix of private and public school teachers and heads. The head teachers of our RCC partner schools from Korangi Town had an intellectually stimulating morning and requested for more in the future. Later we had calls from others who hadn’t been invited to lodge their complaints. Read more about the screenings: http://trconline.org/?cat=2

The Green Generation

For Earth Day 2009, we invited member schools to make a pledge to work together when schools re-opened in August, on a ‘Green My School’ initiative aimed to create Eco Friendly schools. Three schools responded: The Indus Academy, PECHS Girls’ School and Ida Rieu School. To begin with, in September, the group decided to formulate Eco Mission statements and Eco Teams who would take the initiative forward in their own schools. We shared some sample eco-audits with the group to facilitate identification of areas to work on, individually, and as institutions.

Schools have formed their Eco Teams and Mission and have either completed or are in the final stages of completing their audits. The group will meet again in January 2010 at TRC, to move things forward.

PECHS Girls’ School Secondary Section Evaluation

Following an intensive period of education and training and a continuous cycle of “plan, do and critical review”, the junior section of the PECHS Girls’ School is now a happening place for children and teachers alike. This process took almost five years and now there is no looking back!

The principal has now tasked TRC with turning the senior section around. The current process began at the end of October 2009, with a discussion on why change is required and what the evaluation will entail. A week later, teachers filled out a ‘Conditions of School’ rating survey and a self assessment questionnaire. Discussions were held to give them feedback on the findings. A random sample of students from Classes 6 to 10 also participated in a survey to assess the conditions of school and students from Classes 4 and 5 participated in a focus group discussion in December to air their views about the senior school. Very interesting results!! In January 2010, we will be talking to a group of parents.

The MoE Requests TRC’s Help with the NCECE

The Ministry of Education Curriculum Wing, organised a three day review of the Urdu translation of the National ECE Curriculum (2007) from November 11-13, 2009, in Islamabad. TRC had translated the curriculum and now our representative, Farzana Kausar, sat with the review group to finalise the document. Following heated debates, the group finally arrived at consensus. The MoE is now responsible for the typing and completion of the reviewed content.

Meeting Mothers in Korangi Town

As part of the process of assisting our RCC supported, public sector partner schools to provide developmentally appropriate learning experiences in their early years’ classrooms, we organised parents’ meetings in four of the 40 partner schools, in December 2009. We began with Korangi Town.

The meeting focussed on how children grow, develop and learn, and what is meant by active learning. We also talked about expectations at both ends: the ECE teachers expectations from parents (such as, giving healthy snacks instead of money to buy from hawkers, limiting TV viewing/sleeping early and letting the school do the teaching instead of sending them to tuition) and what the parents hoped their children would learn. Mothers shared that their children recite poems that they had learnt in school and that their language skills and confidence had improved by leaps and bounds.

The mothers and caregivers, such as aunts and grandmothers, who attended the meeting observed children working in the goshas (learning areas) and looked at the Pehla Taleemi Basta as well.

The mothers said that they felt really honoured and encouraged, as this was the first time that the school had invited them to such a forum. They were very happy with the active learning approach and some said they had moved their children from local private schools to this government school.

Meetings in the remaining 36 schools will be held in the first quarter of 2010.

Requests from Donors/NGOs

December brought several requests for collaborations from donors and NGOs.

• Pre – Step asked us to respond to their Request for Proposals for training partners to work with GCETs. The long term goal of Pre-Step is to improve classroom teaching throughout the education system of Pakistan. We gave this request a great deal of thought, but had to regret in the end.

• Save the Children UK, (SCUK) Pakistan Programme

We have received a request from SCUK to develop a capacity building education programme for TRDP staff so that they can support teachers, in order to enhance the quality component for working children in non-formal education centres. A needs’ assessment visit is scheduled for January 05, 2010, after which a final agreement will be made.

• Sudhaar

Sudhaar, a Punjab based NGO established in 1995, has proposed TRC as “technical expert ” in a recently submitted proposal to PLAN International, for the establishment of ECCD centers in 3 districts: Chakwal, Vehari and Islamabad slum areas. Their CEO visited TRC to request a partnership. We have agreed in principle and will move forward if their proposal is accepted by PLAN.

• USAID Visit

Tariq Khan, Education Specialist and Katie Donahue, Deputy Director, Education Office, visited us to discuss education projects in Pakistan and to solicit our perspective on what works.

ECE Comes to V.M. Public School

VM Public School, managed by the Rangoonwala Trust, decided to revamp their pre-school and asked TRC for advice. We suggested that they follow the National ECE Curriculum, after which a group of 12 of their pre-school teachers attended our 50 hour ‘Active Learning’ workshop. We changed the delivery model for this school-based workshop, conducting three hour sessions thrice a week, starting in October and ending in the beginning of December 2009. We will begin classroom support in February 2010 and also conduct one session on Team Teaching.

Website Integration

We decided it is high time we integrated our two websites: trconline and Interact. trconline was launched in 1995 on our 15th birthday and we are very attached to the look and feel of the site. Those were the days of html … Interact uses the WordPress platform and is much easier to use and manage. We finally gave in and in November 2009, began in-house content reviews and discussions with our technology partners b.i.t.s. We now have a couple of site maps/wireframe options and will soon give them the green signal to begin. We have seriously considered a smooth transition but will need all of you to sign up for updates once again. We apologize in advance for the inconvenience.

Dear Friends

In line with TRC’s environmental commitment, we had sent out email invitations to all our members, in early November, for participation in a global exhibition being organized by the Learning & Ecological Activities Foundation for Children (LEAF). However, some emails bounced back. so we decided to post this letter on our website for everyone to see.

The Earth Watching Club Nishinomiya, Japan will hold its 17th Annual Eco-Panel Exhibition with participants all around the world. This exhibition will provide a platform to voice thoughts about the environment and its sustainability in creative ways.

Details of the exhibition and an application form are available on the links below.

If you wish to participate in the exhibition please inform us by Friday, December 11, 2009, so that we can share this information with  LEAF; they manage the Earth Watching Club.

To confirm your participation or in case of any queries, please contact us at [email protected]

Please Note: TRC will not be responsible for mailing your projects/art work to Japan.

Details of the Exhibition

Application Form

UNESCO Pakistan in collaboration with Idara Taleem o Agahi (ITA), initiated a project for celebrating teachers and their continued journeys of success despite the general disregard and indifference faced by them in education policy and society in general. The “Remembering Empowered Teachers” project was an attempt to highlight the positive role and contributions the teachers made to society. UNESCO and ITA decided to collect 100 stories from all over Pakistan. These narratives were aimed at inspiring new teachers to achieve professional excellence, while also nudging readers to rethink and change their perspective towards teachers and the teaching profession.

TRC participated in this project by sharing stories of committed teachers in government schools – we are happy to share the stories of Ms. Mehnaz Amir Ali and Ms. Naheed Parveen that were selected by UNESCO-ITA and are posted on their website.

Ms. Mehnaz Amir Ali

Ms. Naheed Parveen

Teachers Stories on the UNESCO website

TRC was invited by Haque Academy to give a talk to parents of 6-8 year olds on October 28, 2009. Due to shortage of time, it was decided that an informal conversation would be held with the parents on how they can understand challenging behaviour exhibited by their children. The talk, given by TRC’s Nida Alavi, highlighted the role of the adult and the larger environment in explaining why children engage in what is considered “bad” behaviour in the first place. Eager to share, parents who attended the talk actively participated in the conversation. Issues explored included how to define and  identify causes of challenging behaviour. Inevitably, the conversation led to discussions on related issues like  developmentally appropriate practices, labeling and the pressure of meeting expectations – indicating just how complex a subject challenging behaviour is. The parents (and a few teachers who decided to join us) all gave positive feedback and have requested further conversations in the future on various issues of concern. Haque Academy will get in touch with TRC in this regard.

The Anita Ghulam Ali Award for Teachers, constituted in 2008, recognizes teachers’ efforts and excellence in teaching. The Iconic stature of Anita Ghulam Ali in Education in Pakistan and the teaching community in particular, symbolizes a continuous struggle for social change through teaching and learning. It is for this reason that the first award for Excellence in Teaching in Pakistan is named after her. The award, initiated and coordinated by Idara Taleem o Agahi (ITA) is merit-based where the applications and nominations are assessed and judged by an eminent panel of judges.

In its second year, the 2009 AGA Award aims to recognize Excellence in teaching at the Early Childhood Education level. Given that ECE sets the foundation for learning, teachers have an immensely important role to play at this stage. The nature and quality of early care a child receives from parents, pre-school teachers and care givers determines how a child learns and relates to school and life in general. It is during the early years that a child develops confidence, curiosity, purposefulness, self control, connectedness, the capacity to communicate and cooperate – all the elements required for becoming a life-long learner.

The AGA Teachers’ Award for 2009 acknowledges efforts for promoting Early Childhood Education in Pakistan, both by teachers and teacher educators. ITA is inviting applications with a complete portfolio of work. Eligibility criteria, important dates and registration forms can be accessed at www.itacec.org.

The Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT) is holding its 25th Annual Conference in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Multan and Abbottabad.

Interested persons can download details from the following link:

SPELT Flyer