Awareness: The Real Game Changer in a Teacher’s Journey
A teacher’s path is full of successes and challenges. In the field of teaching Arabic to non-native speakers, I believe that a passionate, conscious teacher never falls into routine or boredom — there is always something new to learn and a skill to refine.
True growth, however, stems from awareness — not just basic understanding, but deep, attentive awareness of oneself and the surrounding environment.
While unconscious learning can occur over time, without awareness, we often fail to recognize the strengths that led to success or the weaknesses that caused failure. Awareness acts as the true game changer, opening new personal and professional horizons.
How can we cultivate this awareness?
First, we must slow down and reflect on our behaviors, habits, and emotions. Some prefer silent reflection, others journaling or discussing their experiences. Personally, I find writing particularly effective to organize insights and plan next steps.
Second, seeking constructive feedback is essential. Trusted colleagues, friends, or academic evaluations can offer valuable perspectives we might miss on our own.
Third, knowledge alone is not enough. True change happens through consistent, practical actions based on our reflections and feedback.
I am still at the beginning of this journey myself, learning and stumbling along the way. In future newsletters, I hope to share the results of my ongoing experience.
We invite you to share your own journey towards deeper awareness:
What steps have you taken? How has awareness impacted your personal and professional life?
Enas Arrayyes
Teacher & Certified ACTFL Examiner.
The Goals Journey: Review, Growth, and a New Beginning
At “Faseeh,” we believe that setting goals and working to achieve them is not a short-term or temporary process, but a continuous journey that requires constant experimentation and ongoing training.
For this reason, we have transformed this mindset into an annual program, where we pause at the end of each third of the year to review our successes and setbacks on the personal, professional, and academic levels.
In our latest review, we discussed the reasons that might hinder the achievement of some goals, such as lack of clarity, unrealistic size, or poor measurability. Based on this reflection, we restructured our goals with a clearer and more practical vision.
As for the achievements we completed, we celebrated them by planting colorful sticks into a glass bottle, as shown in the picture — a symbol of our pride in what we have accomplished and a motivation to keep moving forward.
It is a continuous learning journey: we make mistakes, we correct, and we try again — with passion and determination.
Goals are crafted through reflection and achieved through perseverance.
Development Workshops at Faseeh: Assessment and Critical Thinking
As part of our annual plan to enhance academic and professional performance at “Faseeh,” we organized two distinguished training workshops during the first third of the year.
Dr. Asmaa Hammad delivered a workshop titled “Toward Effective Assessment that Supports Learning,” focusing on the importance of clear goals, diversified assessment tools, constructive feedback, and involving students in understanding assessment criteria.
Dr. Sajeda Salem also presented a workshop titled “Critical Thinking for Better Decision-Making,” which addressed analytical thinking skills, distinguishing between fast and slow thinking, recognizing cognitive biases, and using practical tools to analyze situations and make well-considered decisions.
These workshops are part of an ongoing series that will continue throughout the year, aiming to build a learning environment rooted in conscious assessment and critical thinking, contributing to the professional and academic growth of both teachers and students.
