Our TALENT Program offers weekly art, sports, music, and dance classes for migrant students, as well as teacher training for migrant and rural teachers. We believe that talent lies within every child, and these classes are designed to bring out that talent. These extracurriculars not only aid in the development of positive self-images, but they also challenge students to work with each other and to hone their communication skills.
In the TALENT Program, ABC focuses on instilling life values through these extracurricular classes. The four values that we focus on are called the 4 C's; they are Confidence, Courage, Commitment and Care.
- Confidence: "I can do anything."
- Courage: "I am not afraid to try."
- Commitment: "I will keep trying."
- Care: "I respect others, and I respect myself."
Teaching 4C's in the classroom
Art
Goals for art students:
-To communicate and express themselves through their own art
-To build self-confidence and problem-solving skills
-To inspire creativity and imagination
Students use many different mediums to create their pieces. During each session, students will also play team-building games and write reflective journal entries. Students also have the opportunity to showcase their pieces in exhibitions as well as meet famous artists, such as Michele Koltz, a Luxembourgian painter.
Music
Goals for music students:
-To teach discipline and persistence
-To instill confidence and self-esteem
-To enhance self-expression
-To learn how to work in harmony with others
Along with basic music theory and music performance, students learn the importance of communication – between the conductor as well as with the other students in the performance group. Each student must balance their attention between the music that they are playing, staying in sync with their classmates, and the cues that the teacher is giving them.
Girls' Basketball
Goals for basketball students:
-To improve leadership and negotiations skills
-To enhance self-image
-To promote mental, emotional, and physical development
-To learn how to work as a team and to negotiate conflicts
The sports program uses basketball as a platform to teach integrity, loyalty and morals. The gender inequality that pervades our world is felt even more acutely by underprivileged groups. For this reason, our basketball program focuses on empowering female migrant children and giving them the tools they need to overcome the hurdles that society has created.
In addition to learning the basics of the sport, the students also play team-building games, write reflective journal entries and participate in an end of the year inter-school competition with the other migrant schools' students. The program has even featured a visit from the Brazilian/Japanese/Korean fusion percussion and dance group SambAsia, which was an opportunity to inspire students on the infinite opportunities that arise from physical activities.
Dance
Goals for dance students:
-To learn how to cooperate and coordinate with others
-To raise self-confidence and self-image
-To encourage health education and fitness
-To spark creativity and imagination
The culmination of this course is a dance performance choreographed by both the teachers and the students. This choreography helps the students to develop their creativity. ABC hopes the students will strengthen their physical and mental health over the course of these lessons.
Teacher Training
The Need
Rural and migrant teachers often lack experience and degrees in the field that they are teaching. They are often overwhelmed by the number of students they have and struggle with controlling the classroom and disciplining students. Teacher training is necessary to support these teachers with few to no other resources.
Program Goal and Objectives
Through TALENT's teacher training programs, we seek to build capacity in rural and migrant schools, thereby maximizing the impact on migrant children and children in rural areas. Training topics often include: Interdisciplinary & Inquiry Learning, Discipline and Special Needs Level, Phonemic awareness in Language, Multiple Intelligences and Character Development and Teaching Curriculum through Games.
Feedback
Most recently, feedback revealed that the majority of teachers found the training useful. Furthermore, the large majority of teachers said that they wanted to attend further training and that the trainers were extremely organized and prepared.