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| The Price of Freedom is Eternal Vigilance - John F. Kennedy |
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Virtues Project Excite ALHCS Teachers |
| Publishing date: 13.01.2006 10:42 |
Ministry and Education Department officials thought a Virtues Workshop was so important that they postponed the re-opening of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School by a week to allow its teachers to attend the training sessions conducted by two visiting facilitators. Next time, a similar workshop will be held for teachers at the primary schools.
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Teachers discussing Virtues Programme
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The workshop, last week, was conducted by Master Facilitator of Virtues Project International, Donna Wheatcroft of Canada, and Linda Brooke who is based in St. Lucia. They were overwhelmed not only by the positive response of the education officials, but also by the excitement, absorbing interest and participation of the teachers as well. The workshop was described as refreshing and uplifting and providing a new dimension to work in the classrooms.
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Teachers discussing Virtues Programme
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Chief Education Officer, Verna Fahie, said her department thought it critical in light of experiences to begin the workshop at the Comprehensive School. She was grateful for the opportunity provided to teachers and for the work of the facilitators.
Facilitator Linda Brooke said the Virtues Project was a programme designed to help persons adopt five simple strategies that would help them bring the virtues into practice in their day to day life. They are based on fifty-two characteristics and the top three chosen by the teachers in Anguilla as the strongest virtues they wanted in the school were commitment, honesty and love.
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Teachers discussing Virtues Programme
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“I am happy to say that from what I have seen demonstrated, the level of commitment that those teachers have, it surely proves the love that they have for their students and the courage that they had to share openly and honestly their experiences. They worked hard,” Ms. Brooke said.
“For the best practices in education we know of now, we have recognised that the strongest influence in childrens’ learning is the model of having important people in their lives,” she stated. “The better that we are able to model the virtues ourselves, and then use these strategies to teach them to the students, the response will be incredible everywhere it is being tried. It is a project that is in eighty-five countries throughout the world.”
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Teachers discussing Virtues Programme
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She said the project was helpful in breaking down barriers in every culture. It was providing experiential learning for teachers and other persons, giving them the commitment to find their own strengths and creative ideas as to how they could carry the programme forward.
Principal of the Comprehensive School, Darwin Hazel, said the Virtues Project was not a new aspect to be added to the curriculum. “It is simply a matter of implementing these new strategies in what we have been doing in the classroom,” he added. “I think what the Virtues Project has done is to add a new dimension to the professional development of the teachers, giving us an alternative way of modeling the students.”
The Virtues Project offers personal and professional development programmes, training and materials. It was founded in 1991 by three concerned persons who felt called to do something to counteract rising violence among youth and families. These individuals were Linda Kavelin Popov, a psychotherapist, her husband, Dr. Dan Popov, a clinical pediatric psychologist and her brother, John Kavelin, an art director with Walt Disney Imagineering. They discovered that “at the heart of all spiritual traditions are virtues, described as the essence of the human spirit and the content of character. A guide containing fifty-two of these universal virtues was published to help parents bring out the best in their children and themselves.
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Teachers discussing Virtues Programme
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Teachers discussing Virtues Programme
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Five strategies were developed to help persons live more reverent, purposeful lives, to raise children of integrity and compassion, develop a culture of character in schools and inspire excellence and service in the workplace. These strategies, which help to build foundations for safe and caring communities, are: Speak the Language of the Virtues; Recognise Teachable Moments, Set Clear Boundaries, Honour the Spirit and Offer Spiritual Companioning.
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