71
A series of seminars for adults has come to an end at the International School of Astana. From April 5 to May 17, parents of schoolchildren attended classes specifically designed for a new course. A unique project entitled ‘School for Parents’ was launched by Primary Years Programme (PYP) coordinators Ms.Mayra Kunanbayeva and Timur Boskin tailored to the needs and addressing the specific concerns of parents.
The authors and organizers of the project were thoroughly prepared for its creation. Since they have studied the works in androgogy, the entire course was based on the theory and practice of adult education. During the seminars they addressed such vital issues of the school life as keeping children safe, attitudes to the assessment of learning outcomes, features of the International Baccalaureate Primary School (PYP) programme, and much more. All the classes were carefully planned and brought to a logical conclusion, and their conduct was entrusted to specialists with extensive teaching experience. At the end of each seminar, reflection activities were held, when participants could evaluate the results of their collaborative work, leave their feedback and ask questions they were concerned about.
All the workshops used proven best-practice methodologies and focused on the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme issues faced by modern parents. Through workshops and seminars, the school provided access to reliable and trustworthy information to support parents and children to reach their full potential and create an environment in which everyone’s needs are met.
To the parenting panel of the school, in which more than 1,000 students are enrolled, the project is of great importance. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is aimed at establishing close cooperation and maintaining trustful and comprehensive relationships between the two main social institutes – the family and school. In this regard, the organizers believe that they managed to show the parents how their children were learning, familiarizing themselves with the educational process, the peculiarities of the educational programme, in particular with the principles of transdisciplinarity, conceptual approach and inquiry-based learning.
In this period there was a lot of group work, the participants of the seminars attended real Kazakh and English, mathematics, physical culture lessons and others many times which gave them an opportunity to feel themselves to be real schoolchildren, they openly shared their thoughts during the round table discussions, also offered their ideas on improving the educational process.
The main thing, according to Ms. Mayra Kunanbayeva, the parents found out what the PYP programme, which has been successfully implemented by the school since its foundation, really means. After all, it is well known that the audience that grew up in the post-Soviet space is still unaware of the international standards of the secondary education system.
As part of the project, a group of specialists from the Child Safety Center “Angel of Astana City” was invited to the school to conduct trainings under the title “Stop Threat” on the safety of the new generation. The participants of the trainings enthusiastically accepted all the information provided during a fascinating and saturated event. During the interactive seminar, the participants analyzed common mistakes that parents used to make, learned to communicate with children at different ages together, found answers to troubling questions, shared cunning ways of avoiding tricks of kidnappers, threats from users of the World Wide Web and other troubles, about useful websites, films and contacts of necessary institutions.
During the final session, those parents who had not missed a single event received special certificates from the Principal of the International School of Astana, Mr. Bauyrzhan Uzakbay, after which some of them gave a speech telling about their impressions of the course they had done.
– I pay special attention to the personal development of my children. Therefore, thanks to the “School for Parents”, I was very pleased to learn that this is exactly what this school strives to do. I am sure that graduates of this school will become prominent people in the future,” said Zhanar Nuraly, Grade 3″A” student’s mother.
– We, as parents, want to know what our children’s lives are like, how they study, so I would like to express our gratitude to the administration of our school, which inducts us to the life of our children. It is very important to be on the same wavelength as the child. We entered the school of leaders – one of the best schools in our city and country. Here such qualities are fostered that children become broad-minded, thinkers, inquirers and so on. We pin too many hopes on the school, but a significant role in the child’s upbringing belongs to us, since this is a two-way process. Only joint efforts will lead us to effective results much quicker. I encourage mothers to listen to their children and take into account what they say, as the teachers of our school do the same. We saw how the lessons were being conducted – it was very interesting. Thank you very much. I have gained a lot of experience, – added 2 “D” Grade student’s mother Assel Alibek.
Timur Boskin in his closing speech addressed the parents with the following words:
– This is not the end. We plan to continue the work of the School for Parents next year, only by slightly changing the format of this project. In addition, summing up the results of all our seminars, we would like to ask you to talk about the ideas and values considered during our classes through different discussion platforms so that you can deliver them to other parents, since with your assistance these ideas can gain a better understanding. PYP schools around the world have always been a driving force that promotes positive change. But any progressive initiative comes across obstacles, and we are ready to overcome them with your help.
It is noteworthy that such an unusual event marked the end of the academic year. The entire school community is now anticipating the beginning of the next year. At the closing ceremony parents admitted that they looked forward to the next academic year to continue with this course.
