Siberia: Teachers Inspired at Retreat
This year, the teachers’ community in Siberia hosted a retreat for Christian teachers. They discussed innovative teaching methods and listened to inspirational speakers who gave them strategies to overcome difficulties they have faced during the pandemic. They saw how their faith and their presence in the classroom could make a difference in their students’ lives.
One elementary school teacher, Yuliya, had been a member of the teachers’ community for three years. She prayed and invited two of her friends. One friend immediately said yes, she would like to come. The other teacher declined. Yuliya continued to pray for her colleague, and the teacher changed her mind.
At the retreat, Yuliya’s colleague gained a renewed passion for teaching, and she was impressed with the teaching methods they learned.
She joined 32 educators, pre-school teachers to college professors, plus a principal and vice-principal, from 15 locations. Together, they learned new teaching methods. Teachers role-played, practicing some of the new ideas they had learned.
After the retreat, teachers used the Singapore method in their classroom and shared their experiences in a group chat using social media.
Yuliya’s friend told the other teachers at their school all about the retreat. Later, one of the teachers approached Yuliya and asked if Yuliya could invite her next year’s retreat. She wanted to learn more about teaching, and she wanted to meet the pleasant Christian teachers who attended the retreat.
A non-Christian prinicpal who came said it was the best conference she had ever been to.
This event strengthened relationships within the teachers’ community, and it gave teachers a chance to invite their friends to join the community and learn more about their faith.
