|
Make a comment
We Have Come a Long Way
Maria Kovacs (Romania)
This year, we are celebrating the anniversary of the Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking (RWCT) program. Ten years ago, groups of International Reading Association members under the leadership of Scott Walter, Charles Temple, Jeannie Steele, and Kurt Meredith, supported by the Open Society Institute, set off to countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia to provide RWCT workshops. For the vast majority of the participants, these workshops marked the beginning of genuine professional and personal development. No wonder they met with huge success: The volunteers’ approach was collegial, they generously shared what they knew, and they invited the local teachers to do the same. Today, RWCT is known on five continents. We are celebrating its accomplishments in over 30 countries. And there are more interested in learning from and with us.
RWCT trainers are busy leading workshops in their own countries and abroad. RWCT has inspired new projects with diverse target groups, from parents and caregivers to youth organizations. We are helping students read and write better, debate confidently, reflect deeply, and make sense of the world around them. We are making it our business to see that schools equip their students to deal with the complex social issues they will confront as adults. To this end, for instance, in our project Anti-Corruption Education in Schools, we help students understand corruption: what it is, how it works, and most of all, how to fight it.
In several countries, RWCT groups have started teachers’ journals, and have written about their professional experiences in books. They have established partnerships with local, regional, and national educational authorities. In brief, it is safe to say that RWCT has been a tremendous benefit to ongoing education reforms, especially east of the former Iron Curtain.
RWCT teachers, trainers, and certifiers value opportunities to come together. In March 2004, we met in Vilnius and contemplated the possibility of starting an organized network. We weighed the pros and cons, outlined plans, and started projects; we created a website, and we took on responsibility for continuing to publish Thinking Classroom/Peremena. In March 2006, we met again, in Kiev, and this time the question was: Should we register as a legal entity? The unanimous answer was yes, and so we did. The RWCT International Consortium (RWCT IC) was born in October 2006. Our mission is to promote quality education, critical thinking and active learning, civic literacy, international collaboration, and continuing professional development among educators all over the world.
RWCT IC brings together strong national organizations that are key players in the educational realm of their countries. In addition to reading and writing for critical thinking, we have built expertise in school development, anti-corruption education, curriculum development, education for minority-language students, literacy assessment, remedial teaching, multicultural and rural education, inclusive education, critical thinking in higher education, student government, textbook writing, civic literacy, and staff development. We aim to become a significant actor in the international education arena. In preparation for that, we have identified a pool of over 60 outstanding RWCT trainers and certifiers with skills in various languages. We proudly agree to share what we’ve learned and what we’re doing, both among ourselves and in new partnerships, from Poland to Pakistan, and from South America to Africa.
We have come a long way, and we have a long way to go. When managing a wide network like ours, we never stop learning. We are grateful to all the invaluable helpers we have had in this process. With their continuing support, our journey will not only be easier, but also even more enjoyable.
Maria Kovacs, Executive Director, RWCT International Consortium
Make a comment
|
Ten Years Together