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Teachers' Resource Center in honour of Nadia Kasyanchuk |
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The goals and objectives of "Nadiya Kasianchuk Resource Center", are to improve the quality of teaching and therefore, of education in Ukraine. The future of our country as it enters a new era of independence relies on those who will lead, who will need to be mindful of recent history and the importance of human rights, who will work toward a thriving economy and strong international relationships, and who will require a thorough, well rounded, humane education. By sharing with teachers the inspiration and material resources they need in order to teach well, we help them to provide such an education; we aspire to encourage the growth of such leaders for the Ukraine of the 21st century. Brief History The Resource Center “Nadia” was established in 1997. It was named for Nadia Kasyanchuk, who donated money to purchase equipment and materials for the center. It came about through the collaboration of Americans for a Democratic Ukraine and the professional staff at Siena College in Albany, New York. Especially instrumental were Professor Lydia Tarnowsky, Professor Taras Shepelyavy, and Professor Maria Kasyanchuk. We network with Teacher Resource Centers functioning in Okhtyrke, Chernihiv, Myrhorod, Odessa, Uzhgorod, and Donetsk. We have also benefited greatly from our collaboration with the resource centers at American Councils, the American Embassy, Kiev Mohyla Academy, and as members of TESOL Ukraine. We first established our center in a small room in Kovel City Gymnasium, in the city of Kovel, Ukraine. Our purpose was to provide help by sharing our ideas and knowledge with teachers of English in the region, which includes all of Volynska Oblast. The kind of assistance that was and still is needed is better methodology and modern technology - concentrating on the communicative approach to language teaching - better materials, including textbooks and all related resources, workshops, model lessons, seminars, and visiting teacher trainers. As our resources grew, we moved to a somewhat larger room in the Gymnasium, and now we have outgrown that as well. Our plans for the immediate future include a move to new, larger quarters outside the Gymnasium, in a location more centrally located to all the schools we serve. |