Teacher Training makes a HUGE Personal Difference

When we started the early childhood school, one of the teachers that we hired was raised in an orphanage. She didn't have proper training or qualifications. Dana* only had her 10th grade certificate.
When I interviewed Dana, she cried during the interview and was clearly lacking confidence, had many gaps in teaching skills, and had no teaching experience. However, it was evident that she loved working with children and committed to working hard to learn and grow. All she was lacking was the opportunity and training.
We prayed and decided to move forward with hiring Dana. I spent much time in training with all of the staff. During our in-service training at the beginning of the year, Dana cried daily - as she learned what good teaching could look like and the values that underpinned our school, she would cry for herself, at what she missed out on as a child and for her 2 sons that were not experiencing this in their current school environment. I redirected her forward to making a difference in the lives of her students now and how God can redeem our life situations for good.
There were more tears as I introduced lesson plans, how our learning environment would value the child and learning, and how our school would be growth-focused. She would cry out of frustration because it was too hard and she felt overwhelmed. However, I took it one step at a time with her, breaking everything down into small steps.
We met daily for the first couple of months and then moved to weekly meetings and over the course of the year, I saw her confidence growing, in particular as she would implement principles and ideas and experience success. There were also less tears!
For example, we wanted the school to be a literacy-rich environment where we focused on the love of reading. I told our teachers that there would be a day when we could put a toy and a child's favorite book on a table and the child would run to the book. Dana did not believe it was possible. After implementing the lesson plans, within a month, children were running to the books! Dana told me, "Ma'am, I didn't believe that it would happen. When do children run towards books? But now I see that I can help do this for children."
When we had to close the school last year (due to external factors), Dana was heartbroken. She had grown so much as a person and as an educator. However, she was hired at another school after our recommendation and her own interview — where there was no crying!
Within one month of her working at the new school, the principal contacted us and told us he was immensely impressed by Dana. She was really good with children, gravitated towards collaborating with other teachers, and was highlighting reading as a focus!
In December 2024, we met with the former staff of the school for a Christmas fellowship and Dana came, along with another teacher who teaches at her new school. We were told how Dana is now a leader among her colleagues! Other teachers come to her for help on lesson plan development, discipline, and overall help in the classroom. There were no tears shed in the new school! She's really doing quite well there.
Afterwards, she sent me a very sweet message:
"I really enjoyed spending quality time together. You were my first professional boss who trained me as a teacher. Thank you so much for your prayers and for being so patient. Thank you for giving me wings to fly. I will always appreciate you. I will never forget your teaching."
I have been encouraging her to continue her education. In October, she plans to take her 12th grade exam test. And I'm praying she continues to get her Bachelor of Education!
*Name has been changed
Pray for TeachBeyond West Asia
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The approximately 50 Christian Heads of Schools that we help provide training for. They meet every 3-4 months. We’re meeting this July. Pray for maximum attendance and growth for these leaders.
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Pray for all the staffing needs to be met. That God would raise up workers to serve in this region of the world.