Hello John Martin!

It was very pleasant to receive a mail from you. Being among the fortunate to attend the summer programme offered by the PSU- PELI 2008, I would like to tell you just a little about myself.

At 30, I am a well settled Teacher Educator, a wife and a full time mother. My husband and I have been happily married for four and a half years now. Chantelle Venetia Faria, our daughter who will turn four come October is our pride and joy.

I am representing the Aga Khan University- Institute for Educational Development, Karachi where I am working as a Professional Development Teacher in the Citizenship, Rights and Responsibilities Pakistan (CRRP) Programme. Here I am currently involved in teacher development, conducting research, workshops and training, curriculum development at the national level, teaching and learning material development and advocacy in the area of citizenship, human rights and peace education.

As a teacher, I see myself as a knowledge seeker, who is always striving to acquire new knowledge to update myself and bring change in my classroom teaching in order to facilitate the learning process of my students. Today, therefore, I am a part of the PEHLI because of my continuous aspiration for professional development.

I am eager to attend the PSU Pakistani Teachers Summer Institute as I feel attending the course will help to develop my conceptual understanding of the concepts of cultural heritage and preservation in relation to active citizenship and its implementation by integrating it through the teaching of Science, Mathematics, English and Social Studies.

I am looking forward to a rich learning experience from PSU-PELI by interacting with the people and wish to promote the same on my return to Pakistan.

It was really great to learn the exciting and amazing good news by your side that I am one of the lucky ones who are being blessed to be at PSU to become skilled at educational leadership for Pakistan.

As, you want to know “Who am I and where I came form”

I was born in a Christian family, on 29th Nov. 1979, in Lahore, brought up in a small Christian well known village “Clarkabad” District “Kasur” Punjab.
Parents are teachers. At present my father Mr. Robin Griffin is retired and unluckily a bedridden patient of paralyses and mother Mrs. Ishrat Robin is still serving in a missionary school of Lahore diocese. Both had served in Peshawar Diocesan schools for two decades.
I am the only son of my parents and have two sisters too. Both the sisters are married, as I am. God has blessed me with two daughters “Jennifer” and “Jemima”. Jennifer is school going, studies in class prep while the other is of a year and nine months.

As far as my education is concerned, after passing grade three from the native school i.e. St. Monica’s High school, Clarkabad. I completed rest of my schooling from Mardan (N.W.F.P) the northern state of Pakistan, and earned graduation and B.Ed. degrees form Peshawar University.
The grounds behind was that my parents got a teaching job at Peshawar Diocesan schools in 1989 and had to migrate with family to N.W.F.P.

My teaching journey started after doing my F.Sc. Circumstances compelled me to teach tuitions and teaching in different Missionary schools. Later, a year awhile I got a good job in St. Joseph High School, Risalpur as a secondary school teacher (under the management and control of Convent Sisters). There along with service I earned my graduation degree as well as professional degree (B.Ed.). I served there more than four years.

Then again twist of time, paved my way back to Lahore, as my mother-in-law and aunt ( my father’s sister) got serious, since was a heart patient, her trauma dragged me again to my home back (Lahore).
Fortunately, within a month I got a teaching job at Christ Church School, Youhanna Abad, Lahore. as a secondary school teacher taught English and Social-Studies to elementary classes. Here, I served for a year and half and then in July 2005 in stepped in as a subject teacher in Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust School.
The reason to join SNPET was, it is one of the best and leading schools of not only in our locality but I can proudly say that it is the best one of the best schools of the city, which is well equipped and above all it is for the deprived families and here students of every religion are welcomed and treated equally without any discrimination.
Now, I am taking English and Social-Studies and Science in junior and elementary classes.

Today, I am living happy and joyous life with my family in Christ’s grace.

With regards,
Saimon Robin.

Well, I am Rakshanda, a female teacher educator at one of the community institutes in Karachi, Pakistan. My job is to provide professional support to teachers for the improvement of classroom teaching and learning. My focused areas are English and Social Studies, besides I facilitate teachers in class management , reflective practice, curriculum development, lesson planning, classroom research etc.

Well, to answer your question Where I came from? —— My parents belong to the Punjab, which is situated in the North of Pakistan). They migrated to Karachi (South of Pakistan) in 1960 and since then have settled here. I was born and brought up in Karachi and therefore have a mixed cultural background. I can speak languages of both the provinces fluently that is Urdu and Panjabi, which makes me very comfortable in both the cultures. Interestingly I got married into a family which migrated from Hyderabad, India, having different cultural back ground. In the beginning I faced difficulties to adapt to different style of living, but soon got adjusted . So you can see that how different situations helped me adapt and appreciate cultural diversity. Similarly, when
I did my Bachelors of Education from Notredame Institute of Education- Karachi, Pakistan, an institute which is run by Australian faculty, I got a wonderful opportunity to understand an altogether different culture. We used to celebrate our religious festivals such as Eid-ul-fitar or Christmas together which helped us respect and value each others beliefs and practices. Now that i have been given a chance to visit USA, I am very excited to interact with Americans, to share our experiences and to learn from each other.

I would also like to mention here that last year, I did an online course about teaching of Foreign and Second Languages, from (iEARN), International Education and Resource Network. iEARN, is an American, non profit network which encourages online collaboration between teachers and students around the globe. I deeply enjoyed my online interaction with teachers. I learnt about their practices and their school context. The course broadened my educational and cultural horizon. I learnt that although we live in differnt parts of the world, most of the time our classroom issues are quite similar. The course helped me look at educational issues from various perspectives.

I am now anxiously waiting to visit America and to actually see and observe the things personally. I am looking forward to a rich learning experience from PSU-PELI, and wish to promote the same on my return to Pakistan.

Rakshanda