“Pax Populi Tutoring Services†is Pax Populi’s peace through education initiative focused above all on English language tutoring in which native English speakers engage in conversational English classes with Afghan students via video conferencing and electronic communications. (This was discussed in the June 2011 post.)
Screenshot from a Pax Populi English Tutoring session.
This educational initiative provides several benefits to both the Afghan learners and the English speaking tutors, including the following:
• English proficiency opens the doors to educational and economic development opportunities for Afghans
• The conversational exchanges provide an excellent means for both tutors and students to learn about each other’s culture
• Afghans develop a greater sense of awareness and connectedness to the international community
• We are helping to advance peace by supporting the development of friendship in a spirit of respect, kindness, and understanding
• Our program aims at the development of civil society through education
Methods
By drawing on tools like Skype, email, instant messaging, and electronic documents, Pax Populi has developed a person-to-person online English tutoring program, which until recently would have been impossible in Afghanistan. After a screening process, volunteer tutors are provided with a brief orientation. They are then matched with one or two Afghan students who are studying at participating partner schools. The tutors and students will schedule sessions at agreed times, typically for one and a half hours or more. Our tutors have been located in many countries around the world, each tutor and tutee must adapt to the time zone differences between their locations.Sessions are usually held during Afghan working hours, which may be during the night or morning for the tutors. The curriculum is flexible, but usually draws on materials supplied by Pax Populi. Through the use of electronic documents tutors and students are able to refer to the same materials in real time.
Students and Tutors
Afghan participants may be teachers seeking to improve their English language abilities or students attending participating Pax Populi partner schools. Currently, our program is operating in two provinces, Kabul and Bamiyan. We are planning to expand to other locations.
Prospective tutors must be fluent in English and committed to working for peace through education in a way that is caring and respectful of the Afghan student’s culture. Typically, tutors are either ESL teachers or university students. Tutors use their own computers, which should have a webcam and a high-speed internet connection. Our tutors are located in Our tutors have been located in many countries including South Korea, Australia, Greece, France, England, and various states in the United States. Location is not critical — commitment and capabilities are. Tutors should be willing to commit a minimum of 1.5 hours/week for at least 3-months.
The Pax Populi English Tutoring program falls under our Pax Populi Tutoring Services. In the future, we expect to provide other educational services in addition to English. For now, however, our our focus is above all on developing basic English proficiency.
If you are interested in Education for Peace or simply want more information please contact us at: info@appliedethics.org, use our contact page, or contact us through our Pax Populi Facebook Page.
Be a Peacemaker: Pax Populi wants you!