Teachers are the core of the educational development process — Queen Rania

DEAD SEA — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Saturday described teachers as the core of the educational development process, without whom the entire process would cease to exist.

In her opening address at the Teachers Skills Forum, the Queen said teachers need to constantly broaden their knowledge, adopt new techniques that are better suited for this day and age, and be fully aware of what influences their students. 

The two-day event, held by the Queen Rania Teacher Academy (QRTA), gathers more than 700 educators from Jordan and the Arab world and is the first regional forum of its kind that aims to address the most pressing needs of the educational sector in the Arab world, according to a statement from Her Majesty’s office.

Queen Rania talked about the important role teachers play today, noting that it has changed from merely being conveyers of information to being experts and mentors.

“In light of globalisation, openness and social media networks’ impact on shaping the characters of this generation, your responsibilities are immense. You are the ones closest to our children and the ones who can influence them the most,” Queen Rania said, referring to the external factors that affect young people today.

“Students need a role model to admire because they learn by observing and copying their role models, the same way they learn from books,” she said at the opening, attended by UAE Education Minister Hussein Ibrahim Al Hammadi and Minister of Education Mohammad Thneibat. 

Addressing teachers, the Queen said: “You are the best role models for our children. With your love and trust, you can strongly influence their learning process and benefit them the most.”

Her Majesty also explained that when teachers are closer to their students and understand their psychological needs, they can best protect them from any harm external influences might cause.

“You teach them to select what is beneficial, give them access to technologies for their self-development and show them how to benefit from sciences,” she noted.

Queen Rania highlighted the huge effect teachers can have on their students as opposed to the effect of the characters they meet through the Internet. “Online, characters are two-dimensional or three-dimensional at best, and their influence is superficial when compared to a real person who is constantly in contact with them personally. A person who listens to them and spends a third of their day with them, winning their trust with honesty, fulfilling promises, and showing commitment and courage.”

“Teachers should be courageous and ambitious. Aspire to create a generation of distinguished graduates and become role models that mentor students and help them develop their skills,” the Queen added, urging educators to motivate and raise expectations of their students so they strive to meet them.

The Queen also emphasised the urgent need for the Arab world to become ambitious and strongly believe in the capabilities of its generations, adding that education must be viewed as an opportunity rather than being blamed for the different challenges it faces, such as ignorance, unemployment, sectarianism and extremism.

“Education might not be the only solution to all of our problems, but I believe that if there is one thing that can help address most of them, it is education. If there was ever a time when we desperately needed an education renaissance to empower our youth, it is now. If there is a profession that can advance our future and the quality of our children’s lives, it is teaching.”

Her Majesty reiterated the pivotal role of teachers. “You play a great role in raising generations that respect life and its sacredness; raising them on the values of coexistence and dialogue; developing a well-rounded, innovative and entrepreneurial Arab character and nurturing a generation that is capable of competing within the developed global market. Your responsibility is tremendous and we have so much faith in you.”

Also during the opening session, attendees watched a short video about the forum and the goals it aims to achieve, the statement said.

In his address at the opening, QRTA CEO Haif Bannayan said the forum aims to promote experience and knowledge exchange between peers to empower teachers and expose them to rich educational knowledge they can use inside and outside their classrooms.

He added that it is designed to emphasise the importance of a teacher’s role in student achievement.

“Since the launch of QRTA five years ago in collaboration with Teachers College at Columbia University, over 20,000 teachers from all over the Kingdom have partaken in QRTA’s myriad programmes that helped build their capacities in areas specialising in science, math, English and Arabic literacy, as well as education pedagogies.”

Noting that several Arab countries count on QRTA to relay its rich experience to their teachers, Bannayan said the academy works hard to build fruitful partnerships with donor entities like USAID and the Canadian Government, in addition to other international organisations like UNESCO and International Baccalaureate (IB), as well as a number of Arab and foreign universities.

Her Majesty also attended a panel discussion on the role of teachers and how it can be improved so they become role models and mentors rather than just conveyers of information.

The panellists included IB Director General Siva Kumari, Harvard University Professor Kay Merseth, MIT Mitsui Professor in Engineering Systems Richard Larson and QRTA Chairman Tayseer Al Nueimi.