Music as a Global Resource: - International Council for Caring ...

from the teacher.
To date, 1,000 Teacher's Guides have been distributed. The Guide provides teachers with six to
eight lesson ideas for each song in the songbook. The lessons are focused on improving basic
reading and writing skills. Reports are being received from teachers across Afghanistan stating
how much they appreciate having their own teaching resource material. It is something they
previously have not had access to. In Afghanistan most teachers receive little to no training. The
teachers remark that the lessons in the Teacher‘s Guide have opened new ways to think about
teaching that enhances creative thinking and problem solving skills.
The songbook, CD‘s and cassette tapes are all produced in Kabul by an Afghan-owned company,
TriVision, Kabul. This supports the Afghan economy and avoids prohibitive shipping costs. The
books are distributed by several not-for-profit Afghan, Afghan-American or Canadian
educational organizations, all of whom provide a report of where the songbooks have been
distributed and photo documentation.
There are plans, if funded, in 2012 to produce a 2nd songbook and another Teacher‘s Guide to
accompany it. An Afghan woman is helping to collect additional traditional songs to add to the
current collection.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
www.afghansongbook.org
Facebook: Afghan Children‘s Songbook
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Organization: The Folk Arts Center of New England, a nonprofit 501 (c ) (3)
Address: 25 Whitney Ave. Cambridge, MA 02139
Phone: 617-354-3182 (h), 617-759-4486 (cell), Fax: 617-349-8142
Contact Person: Louise Pascale, Project Director, Afghan Children‘s Songbook Project
Email: lpascale@lesley.edu
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