CWEF works with local teacher advocates each year to put together a curriculum for the REACH program to implement in schools. The teachers themselves use this retreat time to debrief, share and uplift each other as well as prepare for the new year. Here is an excerpt of things they shared as feedback from their students:
- Teamwork: ‘Before I thought group members caring for each other and helping each other was something that happened only on TV and not in real life. Now, I am so lucky to be a part of a team. I know that working as a team is very powerful; everyone has a good heart, and we can work together to solve our problems and create a miracle.’
- Emotions Management: ‘Everyone will have time to be sad and down and we have to develop a good way to manage our feelings. We have to think ‘calm down. Why do I have this unhappy emotion? Why am I stressed? How can I solve this problem? Then, we can be more effective to adjust our emotion and keep a positive attitude to face our life.’
- Communication: ‘Now I know how to make friends with others. I know how to better understand what others say. For example, during communication you should listen carefully to understand others meaning well, but we also need to make sure we totally understand—we should not just hear the words they say you should LISTEN to what they say and understand the purpose.’
- Self-Image: ‘Image can be inside and outside. We can learn and educate ourselves. Our image being good or bad should not depend on others opinions or how I feel sometimes. Now we know how we can know more about ourselves and what is a good or bad self-image so that we keep the good things in mind, and improve the bad things so they become better and better.’
For more information catch our article on REACH teachers in the coming spring newsletter.