(Hayal Köksal & Carol A. Dahir)
Dear Colleagues,
I have had very productive and interesting days recently. After meeting with the Advisory Board members of the NGO for Physically disabled (
http://www.bedd.org.tr/), we made a radio program with Mr. Ahmet Bağbekleyen, who is a disabled member of the above-mentioned NGO and a program-maker of Cem Radio. I have been impressed a lot with the power of his will.
On the other hand, I was invited as one of the keynote speakers of the Bogazici Educational Conferences which was held for the second time with the collaboration of the Education and Research Student Club of Bogazici University (EREC), New York Institute of Technology, University of North Florida and American School Couselor Association. It was very fruitful and we have improved new projects with an İmece spirit. We compared the couselor training programs in USA and in Turkey. We conducted 2 workshops concerning the educational problems of both countries. I would like to congratulate the president of EREC who was my ex-student, Abdullah, other EREC members and especially Olcay. It was a good meeting as a student club activity. It was fascinating to be able to collect such large number of participants on the very warm days of the Summer. Talks focused mainly on "Counseling" teachers, their training and also their working problems. 2 fruitful workshops and their outcomes will be formed as a paper soon by the speakers, I believe.
Prof.Dr. Carol A. Dahir, from the School of Education, New York Institute of Technology, along with her 10 student teachers and also Prof.Dr. Carolyn B. Stone from the University of North Florida-past president of the American School Counselor Association, conducted a workshop on their wonderful book; "Measure". Dear Assoc. Prof.Dr.Deniz Albayrak Kaymak from the Counseling Department of Boğaziçi University presented the curriculum of counseling departments in Turkey. I shared my experiences with a paper titled; "In Teacher Training; from theory to practice".
The temperatures will decrease from then on, I hope, and thus, we will be able to collect the necessary energy to work. Our main issues from then on will be:
- the preparation of my books for their 2nd editions and
- our preparations related to the 12. ICSQCC in Lucknow, India.
Those would like to go and observe the educational system and SQCCs movement in City Montessori School and also to present a paper there should get in touch with me_the director general of the WCTQEE and a member of the Organizing Committee of the event. We should finalize the list asap_the deadline is 15th August. Those who want to present a paper there should obey those dates.
However, due to the holiday issue we will be able to inform CMS concerning the İmece Circles of the schools during the first days of September. School leaders must determine the participating student-parent-principal and teacher lists until the first days of September. They should also determine who will participate in, to which stream (Case study, Collage, Poster, Debate, Drama,...). Those who would like to participate in the Turkish Delegation as an observer should also contact us until September.
It will be an unforgattable experience for you to be visiting a great Convention on a UNESCO Peace Awarded school which has been applying Montessori system with 35 thousand students on the way of training TQPs. It is incredible! I will inform all the participating people to the Convention in the Turkish delegation with a large meeting and share the rules and regulations to represent our country in a perfect manner. I believe you will manage your time of the way of applying the Convention (
http://www.cmseducation.org/). As being the Past Convener and a member of the Organizing Committee of this year's event, I know 2 issues will be of a great importance for Turkish delegation:
1. Our world-wide known artist Ms. Su Yücel will come with us and she will open an Art Exhibition there with her 14 pieces of art. As you knmow, she is the granddaughter of Mr. Hasan Ali Yücel who was the father of Village Institutions. And those schools were opened with the instruction of Atatürk, but lasted only 10 years.
2. The International Award Ceremony ıf the 6th ICT Seagulls Competition will be hosted by CMS.
I am thankful to Mr. Jagdish Gandhi and Dr. Vineeta Kamran for these wonderful decisions. THANK YOU!
I believe very excited and fruitful days have been looking forward to meeting us. :) Our target number for the Turkish delegation is 30. Please call me. My cellular is: +90 532 373 84 87.
With love and peace...
Hayal Köksal
Dear all,
