By Okechukwu Onuegbu
Two United States based International organisations, Life Care Coalition Outreach (LCCO) and Igwe Davison Okafor and Mercy Ikeanyi Foundation Incorporation (iDOMi), Wednesday, concluded a two training for 66 guidance and counsellors in Anambra State on social emotional learning.
The two days train the trainers events held in Awka, the Anambra State capital, under the theme, envisioning an Ecological classroom to enhance knowledge in social emotional learning, was geared towards enhancing and addressing the overall needs of students, for improved learning and societal development.
Speaking at the occasion, the Coordinator, iDOMi, Dr Chinedu Ikeanyi, explained that it was parts of their desire to fulfil the continuous calls from the successive State governments for repatriation of their knowledge to enrich the society.
According to him, with social emotional learning, all the students would learn equally in diverse ways to impact positively in society because only those emotionally sound could adapt to learning easily.
Ikeanyi, while noting that the programme would be sustained in the same way they sustained their free medical programmes and scholarships, hinted that they would study the impact to see how to improve on it in subsequent years for overall good of Anambra State residents.
Contributing, the LCCO Coordinator, Mrs Victoria Oby Anago, explained that the programme would also empower counsellors to act as social workers in their respective schools while improving the education system.
Anago added that the programme would instill in the teachers knowledge of improving in their subject teaching competence, while reaching out to all the students and enable them access all the general education, improve their skills and capacities to become useful to society.
The Visiting speaker, Dr Sevaughn Banks, professor of social Work, California state University, Stanislaus,Thurrock,California, argued that ecological classroom was among the many educational modal useful for addressing students learning and educational needs, while customising the school resources.
In a vote of thank you, the Director, Education Services, Anambra State Post-Primary School Service Commission, Mrs Onwuka Ogonna, commended the organisers, assuring that the State would sustain the partnership, as well as monitor the counselors for optimum implementation of what they have learnt for improved education.
Earlier, Chairman of the occasion and Southeast zonal Vice Chairman, Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Dr Churchill Okonkwo, hailed the initiative, noting that it would help teachers to improve in their teaching and learning in the changing world for impactful development.
Okonkwo, who argued that there was no need of doing the same thing same way and expecting a better result, urged teachers to invest on research to gather more knowledge of new technologies and methods of teaching so as to be fit in transferring same in the evolving world.