Team Interviews: Ani Garmiryan
Ani Garmiryan joined the Department in September 2014 and is responsible for the promotion of Western Armenian and education initiatives. Currently, one of her long term priorities is the Armenian communities school’s self-evaluation process where the Department’s grants will be contingent upon specific results-oriented initiatives and the schools’ willingness to evaluate, reflect and innovate. This process began with the Armenian schools of Lebanon and will be expanded into other countries in 2015 and 2016. Ani was also responsible for organizing the international conference, Innovation in Education: Challenges of Teaching Western Armenian in the 21st century (co-organized with Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (INALCO)) which was held on the 21st and 22nd of September 2015, in Paris, at INALCO. This event was part of the Armenian Communities Department Armenians in 2115 series.
Q.1 What made you apply for a position at the Armenian Communities Department?
After being fortunate enough to spend so many years within the school system I wanted to engage in a new positive challenge. Once I became aware of the 5 Year Programming Plan I was confident I could bring my knowledge and experience to the table. It was also very exciting to become part of a new team.
Q.2 What do you most enjoy about your current work?
I think the best part of my job is being able to take a concept for a project and then turn it into reality, to jump start programmes and have a genuine impact on the Armenian Communities. It also helps that I am part of an understanding team which is led by a very supportive Director. Everyone is always ready to hear my ideas and help me bring them to completion. It really is a dream job.
Q.3 What do you hope to accomplish with the Armenian communities school’s self-evaluation process?
We are still at the very early stages of this project. But the school self-evaluation process aims to bring schools together with their communities. This initiative invites stakeholders of the schools to work together with teachers, students, parents, staff and alumni, allowing them to take stock of their own needs and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. In a second stage, schools can reflect upon what they need to improve and create constructive projects which they can share with other schools. It’s a reinforcement of team work! I hope this initiative will foster an environment and culture of trust where schools can learn from each other’s strengths and improve their weaknesses together rather than in isolation. Given that one of our main priorities is the advancement of Western Armenian, I am also excited to see how schools along with teachers, students and parents can find new ways to modernize the teaching of Western Armenian. We have started by creating three Task-Forces, in Lebanon, Turkey and France, each composed of 7-8 local experts. In addition we have two international consults common to all Task-Forces. The long term goal is to have this initiative grow into an accreditation system.
Q.4 What is the role of the various Task-Forces?
The creation of a task-force was recommended in Dr. Hourig Attarian’s report, Schools and Education in Lebanon, commissioned by the Department and published in March 2014. I then suggested all Armenian Schools should be invited to participate in the process of self-evaluation. The Task-Forces became a great way to liaison between the various schools within each community. The Calouste Gulbenkian Armenian Education Task-Force in Lebanon contributed actively to the construction of the school self-evaluation questionnaires. In all three Task-Forces the members have showed themselves to be very pro-active, enthusiastic and have engaged directly with the schools. I hope the Task-Forces will continue to be a valuable assent in our future cooperation with the schools and Armenian communities.
Q.5 Do you feel most schools have responded positively to the idea of the Armenian communities’ self-evaluation process?
The first reactions have been quite positive! Schools in Lebanon have participated and did their best to complete and submit their evaluations on time. I am very happy to see that already schools have started to develop a new critical approach towards reassessing their needs and School Principals have begun to further cooperate with fellow co-workers, students, parents and with the Task-Force members.
Q.6 How will the Armenian communities school’s self-evaluation process benefit the students?
Anything that betters the education system benefits the students themselves. Consequently, any school reform should always be student centered. As schools start to reflect on what they can improve I am confident they will develop projects which will continue to motivate the students and engage them in innovating activities. In the school self-evaluation questionnaires we asks for the direct input of students, parents, teachers, staff, alumni and administrators to get a fair assessment of what needs to be developed and what is already working.
Q.7 What are the biggest challenges you face with your work?
I think that most challenging aspect is to be able to be constantly sensitive to all the varieties of concerns and opinions. It is important to respect the differences of individuals and communities. At the same time I try to remain aware of what is going on at the educational level and see the Armenian communities from an inside and outside perspective. On the one hand it is a hard thing to constantly try to keep everyone engaged and working together, but on the other, it is a beautiful thing to be in such a position and to be able to cooperate with so many different viewpoints.
Q.8 Why did you think it was important for the Armenian Communities Department to co-organize an international conference about education?
I believe we are in a great position to initiate projects. This conference was a great opportunity to educate ourselves and foster innovative initiatives. We are in a privileged position to bring people together in an open forum to share their knowledge and compare their experiences. Working in collaboration with Anaïd Donabédian, from INALCO, our conference program aimed at setting a different tone and encouraging a positive perspective on how to address the teaching and learning of Western Armenian in the Diaspora. For me it is important that we look constructively towards the future.
Q.9 Why did you decide upon the title Innovation in Education: Challenges of Teaching Western Armenian in the 21st century?
To highlight the assets or the deficits, that is the question. You can choose a passive, and or, pessimistic position on the current state of the Western Armenian language. Or you can develop a positive perspective by focusing on the success stories and learn from them how to better the teaching and learning process. We wanted to focus on innovation, in finding new methods and projects that overcome the challenges. The title reflects the concept of moving forward and thinking about what can we do better? What should we be doing?
Q.10 The Innovation in Education conference was held in three languages (Armenian, French, and English). Why did you feel it was important to make the conference multilingual?
We wanted to include everyone in the discussion. The fact that the conference was multilingual also reflects the situation in the Diaspora. In a daily basis Armenians of the Diaspora are confronted with the choice of speaking and understanding several languages.
Q.11 What positive outcomes came from the conference Innovation in Education?
We addressed several questions, concerns and challenges during the two intense conference days. However I think three outcomes stand out.
a) People had a chance to come together with a positive attitude and learn from each other.
b) This conference brought together both teachers and academicians, which is something that is not usually done in these settings. I consider this interaction to be very beneficial.
c) We had the presence of various young adults’ teachers and academicians who have themselves recently experienced teaching through innovative learning methods. They had the opportunity to share first hand their experiences.
Q.12 So what’s your next adventure?
I have many ideas and projects…. But the next step is continuing what was discussed in the Innovation in Education conference by bringing together a group of teachers and academicians for a week to create and jumpstart concrete projects to be practically implemented.