World Teachers’ Day 2022
Published: Oct 5, 2022 Reading time: 3 minutes
Staying true to its mission in making the world a better place to live, People in Need took an initiative to provide on-the-job training to teachers who are displaced because of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Within the EU-funded “REACT: Relief and Early Recovery for People Affected by Conflict in Armenia” project, around 40 teachers have received training courses so far․
To mark World Teachers’ Day on October 5th, we have interviewed three beneficiary teachers from different regions of Armenia as examples of powerful people who, regardless of displacement and other difficulties, have continued their mission in life and taken up a responsibility to help others. In response to the question “what is the role of education?”, they all responded quite similarly. For them, education is the power to change society for the better and a pledge to create a more powerful country.
Tatev Hakobyan is from the city of Kapan, in the Syunik region of Armenia. However, before she lived there, she taught Mathematics and Computer Science for 11 years in the Kashatagh Province, Nagorno-Karabakh. After being displaced she started teaching again in Kapan. Her choice to become a Mathematics teacher was influenced by the fact that there were a lack of teachers in Karabakh back then and T․ Hakobyan felt responsible to do her part. After settling in Armenia she continued her mission to contribute to the well-being of future generations, and her participation in the training enabled her to enrich her knowledge with modern skills. Using herself as an example, she hopes to motivate the children she teaches to learn and work hard, despite all the ups and downs they would inevitably face. For T. Hakobyan, the idea of a powerful country lies in an educated and mindful society, a sustainable economy and a strong army.
Tatev Hakobyan: Kapan, Syunik region
Marine Sahakyan fled the Martakert Province, Nagorno-Karabakh and settled in the city of Vayk, in the Vayots Dzor region of Armenia. She has been a History and Social Sciences teacher for about six years. M. Sahakyan specialized in these subjects in order to transfer Armenian history to younger generations and teach them to love it. She believes that people should always keep learning, as this is the only way to keep up with current trends and create a better society. Thanks to the training, M. Sahakyan has started using different forms of modern technology during her classes to keep the children engaged and motivated. After one year of working in Armenia, she applied for a voluntary teacher certification and passed it. This is a great achievement for her after so much hardship.
Marine Sahakyan: Vayk, Vayots Dzor region
Narine Mamikonyan is our final beneficiary teacher. She moved to the Armavir region, Armenia from the Shahumyan Province, Nagorno-Karabakh. She is also a History and Social Sciences teacher and her choice was based on the fact that there were no History teachers in her province at that time and N. Mamikonyan was among the first students to major in it. While teaching in Karabakh, she worked with only 50 pupils. To her surprise, upon her transfer to Armenia, she started working with five hundred pupils. This is an encouraging number for N. Mamikonyan, as she believes that educated people guarantee a strong country.
Narine Mamikonyan: Parakar, Armavir region
October 5th was proclaimed to be World Teachers’ Day by UNESCO in 1994. The focus of this day is to appreciate the vital role that teachers play in children’s development process, as well as to underscore the huge impact that teachers play in modern society’s continually developing worldview. The theme for this year is “the transformation of education begins with teachers”. This is a very appropriate theme as teachers are the change makers who really shape children as citizens with civil consciousness and are responsible for preparing them to cope throughout various stages of their lives.