Messenger.ge, Georgia
Friday, April 1, 2005, #059 (0833)
American teachers share experience in Georgia
By Anna Arzanova
Tim Blauvelt (second from left) and
Nebraskan teachers Thomas Cardwell
and Nancy Grant-Colson listen to
Bela Tsiporia (r)
Two American teachers from the state of Nebraska, Nancy Grant-Colson and
Thomas Cardwell, are currently in Georgia for two weeks within the framework
of the Partnership in Education program (PiE), a teacher and pupil exchange
program which ends this summer.
The two teachers, both of whom are winners of a national civic education
outstanding specialists competition, have so far visited schools in Rustavi,
Kakheti, Sagarejo, Zugdidi and other Georgian regions to observe the work of
schools and meet with teachers and school management.
Speaking at a press conference on March 31, representatives of American
Councils said that the Partnership in Education program, together with a
Development of Civic Education program, is helping to promote a long-term
partnership between American and Georgian schools and teachers.
Within the framework of the program, Georgian teachers visit American
schools, while American teachers like Grant-Colson and Cardwell travel to
Georgia to share their experience.
“We have several programs organizing the exchange of school teachers and
directors, as well as children in grades 9, 10 and 11,” the coordinator of
the PiE program Nana Bilashvili told The Messenger.
“Four competition-winning directors, including one who is the director of a
school in Gudauta, Abkhazia, will visit the United States in the near
future,” she said, adding that they would be joined by teachers from other
parts of the Caucasus, including from Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“This program is interesting for us because when directors or teachers or
children go to the United States for education reasons, they bring back new
education approaches and methods to Georgia,” she stated.
Bilashvili said that the impact of a visit to the U.S. was particularly
noticeable on students, who, she said, after traveling to the United States
“as a rule return absolutely changed – they are disciplined and what is most
important they have the ability to make decisions.”
Commenting on student exchanges, Coordinator of the Future Leader Exchange
Program (FLEX) Irina Rekhviashvili explained to The Messenger that her
program, which is financed by the Culture and Education bureau of the U.S.
State Department, provides one year’s education for Georgian pupils
absolutely free of charge.
“The winner pays nothing except for their passport and visa,” she stated.
Bilashvili thinks that “this provides great stimulus for everybody, and
especially for those who work in this sphere, because when we visit schools
in Georgian regions, we see that the U.S. government is doing a lot to
improve the Georgian school system.”
“Of course, this is great assistance for educational reform. As a result of
this reform, we see that the attitude [in society] toward education and
teachers has significantly changed,” she said, adding that as well as the
U.S. government, volunteers from the U.S. Peace Corps also render
assistance.
Bilashvili hopes that this will give Georgia the possibility to resolve all
of the problems in the education system in the near future and that the
current reforms in education will be decisive in raising the level of
education to international standards.
Deputy Minister of Education Bela Tsipuria told The Messenger that “Reform
envisages the establishment of various educational possibilities in the
country. Reform is not focused on any one method and principle,”
Tsipuria told The Messenger that these programs, which are financed by the
U.S. government and administered by American Councils, are a great and very
important source for the professional development of Georgian teachers and
pupils alike.
“These programs are interesting because they give specialists of any age the
possibility to develop their professionalism,” Tsipuria stated.
Commenting on Grant-Colson and Cardwell, the deputy minister said they were
in Georgia to share their experience with Georgian teachers. She thinks that
such meetings are very important.
At the press conference Tsipuria expressed her happiness regarding the
arrival of these teachers in Georgia. “We highly appreciate your activities
in our country and our schools. I am really proud to be a kind of
representative and connection between American Councils and the Georgian
educational system,” Tsipuria said, adding that such activities can have
very important results.
She expressed her hope that as a result of the cooperation a new and diverse
atmosphere would be created in Georgian schools. “This is a very important,
necessary and urgent task for everybody,” she added.
Country Director of American Councils Timothy Blauvelt stated that over the
past few years a number of teachers and school directors from Georgia have
participated in such programs.
“They have gone to the United States for seven weeks and they have come back
to Georgia and participated as trainers or teachers for other teachers.
Unfortunately, this program is coming to an end,” he said, explaining that
the final stage of this program will be the summer PiE workshop.
Teacher Nancy Grant-Colson stated this was her first trip outside her own
country and she was very pleased that last fall she had an opportunity to
host teachers from Georgia. “My family as well as my colleagues were very
excited for me to have such an opportunity,” she said. According to her, the
teachers have not only visited schools; they have also visited cultural and
historic places in Georgia.
“I am very appreciative to American Councils for providing me with the
opportunity to really grow as a person and as an educator. After being in
the classrooms, and meeting with teachers, professionals and educators and
principals, I am excited to get back to my students,” she stated.
Thomas Cardwell also thanked American Councils for the opportunities and
said that he was a little nervous about coming in Georgia because it is over
six thousand miles from Nebraska. “I am not a secondary school educator, I
am an administrator of the university and I am married and have three
children that have also passed through secondary school. So, I am very
interested in the state of public education,” he said.
According to him, it is very important to have good education for children
so that “they can become productive adults. In terms of people, I have been
very impressed by the dedication of teachers and administrators in schools,
sometimes working under adverse condition with limited supplies.”
He said that he was very impressed by those schools they had visited and
thought that they should continue cooperation in the future as well.
American Councils for International Education is an international
not-for-profit organization leading the development and exchange of
knowledge between the U.S. and Eastern Europe/Eurasia. Its mission is to
foster independence and democratic development by advancing education and
research, cultivating leadership, and empowering individuals and
institutions through learning.