Twenty-five Buddhist teachers attended the Facilitators Training Workshop on the Learning to Live Together (LTLT) Programme that took place in Thimphu, Bhutan from 27 to 30 October 2017. The teachers came from all levels of the grade school from pre-primary to the 12th grade, and from all subjects.
The workshop was organized by Pakshikha Central School with the support of Ms. Namgay Wangmo, official LTLT Trainer, in collaboration with the Arigatou International Geneva office.
In the Bhutanese context, students spend around 9 months per year in these central schools, living as they would at home, with teachers playing the role of community members, family, and parents.
During the first two days of the workshop, the teachers got the chance to explore and get acquainted with the key concepts of the Ethics Education Approach and how it responds to the issues affecting children and youth in Bhutan. The third day was dedicated to learn to design a session and a program based on the LTLT. During the last day, participants were introduced to the Monitoring and Evaluation tools, designed their actions plans and defined ways to continue working together.
Training teachers at central schools – who, have to spend a lot of time with youth – can foster the creation of a network of facilitators and caregivers who understand the LTLT Programme and are in a good position to implement it with youth. This is a necessary step to ensure a sustainable implementation.
After the workshop, most participants stated that they were confident in their ability to “apply the concepts, principles, and the educational approach of the Learning to the Live Together programme in [their] social, professional, and educational settings.” More importantly, a hundred percent of the participants said that they were confident they could plan an ethics education program based on the Ethics Education Approach for their students.
All the participants are committed to implement the Programme systematically in their subjects. They showed a high level of enthusiasm about starting to nurture the right values in children, hoping these would guide them to live a good life.
Ms. Namgay Wangmo, who coordinated the development and organization of the training workshop, will support the follow-up and the newly formed Community of Practice.
We would like to warmly thank the trainers’ team Ms. Namgay Wangmo and Ms. Karma Choida for their enthusiasm and commitment and to Mr. Udhim Subba for his support and openness. Our appreciation goes to all the teachers for their commitment to implement the Learning to Live Together in their school and subjects.
