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10
I
t was a new concept even to
her. Yet, it was just what she
was looking for. Already in
the years that Randa
Khoury, the preschool director,
had been at IC, she was itching
to change things. And so it was
when the school president at
the time approached her and
other directors to attend a
workshop in Frankfurt about
the Primary Years Program
(PYP), Khoury jumped at the
chance.
The program was still new, bare-
ly two years old when the IC
team started on its quest in 1999.
There was a lot to learn. And a lot
to change. For until then, the
school was using a rather tradi-
tional way of teaching using text-
books and instructions.
“At the level of KGII, they were
using first grade books,”
recalled Khoury. “The teacher
taught from them and later test-
ed the students.”
There were many changes that
had to be done and those had to
be done gradually. Teachers
resisted. Parents protested. How
can they teach without books?
How can parents tutor them at
home? But Khoury and other
colleagues pursued.
First, textbooks were gradually
banned and teacher training
began. Classes would no longer
be taught as one entity. Instead,
they were divided into ‘centers’
- groups of students who work
on their own.
By 2000, 186 preschool and ele-
NO MORE TEXTBOOKS
!
THINK, ANALYZE BUT DON’T
MEMORIZE
!