Jordan Times
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
US official participates in My Arabic Library program
AMMAN (JT) — US Undersecretary of State Karen
Hughes joined Minister of Education Khalid Touqan at the Petra School in Amman
on Tuesday to participate in the successful My Arabic Library programme and to
discuss how educational reforms expand opportunities for children.
“Arab experts have talked about a ‘knowledge deficit’ in the region, and we want
to do all we can to help eliminate that,” Hughes said.
“The first step is to prepare children for the future by helping them develop a
love for reading, which is why we’re so pleased to bring My Arabic Library to
Jordanian children right in their classrooms,” she added.
My Arabic Library, which is supported by the US Department of State’s Middle
East Partnership Initiative, is the first major effort in the region to provide
classroom libraries to accelerate the development of children’s independent
reading, critical thinking and analytical skills, according to a statement
released by the American embassy in Amman.
In addition to providing 210 American children’s book titles in Arabic, the
programme also provides intensive training so teachers learn how to incorporate
books into the classroom, build independent reading time into the school day,
and promote interactive learning after reading time.
Touqan said programmes such as My Arabic Library are important and urgent.
“We are pursuing education reform because the children of Jordan deserve quality
education — education that gives them all the opportunities they want in life.
Reform cannot wait for another generation,” the minister said.
During her visit to the Petra School yesterday, Hughes spoke at a small
assembly, spent time in classrooms where she heard children read their favourite
stories from My Arabic Library and visited with teachers who are on the front
lines of educational reform.
The programme has provided more than seven million books to 6,200 primary
schools and 12,000 classrooms in Jordan, Bahrain, Lebanon, and Morocco, with
plans to expand to Libya, the statement said.
In Jordan, all of the country’s 2,300 public schools benefit, with more than two
million books in 10,000 classroom libraries, and with almost 6,000 teachers and
870 principals trained.