Director's News

COVID Update
Over the last few weeks, we have received several e-mails from parents inquiring about AISL’s current travel quarantine protocols set up last year. Some excellent and valid points were raised, thank you. The COVID Task Force will be meeting tomorrow to review these as we realize that, as our fluid times continue, we must adapt and respond. We will be sending the update to the community as soon as it is complete.
Here in Lusaka, our community has, for the most part, been fortunate with on-campus learning functioning smoothly. This is due to the measures that were put in place, with safety and prevention remains a #1 focus.
Let us not forget there have been over 233 million COVID cases worldwide, with around 350,000 daily occurrences, and over 5 million deaths to date – the COVID pandemic is not over.
Use of AISL  Facilities during the Weekends Following on from the above, we have revised our guidelines for use of the pool, tennis courts and track. 
The Future of Education Next and Now 21 – Many Topics to Consider
Last week, some teachers from the AISL community participated in an online conversation around the Future of Education Next and Now. We would be naive not to realize that we need to adapt and change our current systems in order to survive as we head into the future. The opening session focused on the importance of the environment, play and movement in learning, not only for children, but for all ages including adults.
Given the nature of the AISL campus and the ability to be outside much of the year, our unique situation lends itself to having a positive impact on how our learners feel, move, interact and collaborate with each other. Sitting for long periods of time is not something we are not supposed to do as humans. Our physical environment at AISL allows us to maximize our learning and development potential.
A powerful quote from the opening session: “We have a very uncertain future and we are observing an exponential change in our society. While we can’t prepare our children for something specific, what we can give them and they can take with them are abilities and skills. They are incorporated and become part of you and they are learned in an active way. A skill or an ability is something you can take with you, with which you can learn whatever you need to learn or embrace whatever challenge might come your way and is an active skill”.
Another very impressive keynote speaker was Dr. Sugata Mitra. He has been impactful in giving access to education to the poorest of the poor in India. His approach was simple. He put laptops in rural villages in holes in the wall and let the children simply inquire. He posed more questions than giving answers.
Questions such as:
What should we teach people?
What should you know?
One that stands out for me was his comment for all teachers. “Do not teach learners what they can learn for themselves”. He also spoke of all schools asking what learners need to know and when to know it. His final comments were centered around three key aspects of learning that need to be assessed: Computing, Comprehension and Communication. These are certainly some very thought-provoking points raised, which will lead to dynamic conversations through the year at AISL as we continually strive to make learning relevant, current, meaningful and engaging. For those of you who are interested, here is his most recent book entitled, Virus v The Internet:  A practical handbook for schooling during and after the pandemic.
With kind regards
Dr. Oli Tooher-Hancock
Director
American International School of Lusaka

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