The two-day 3rd Conference of the North American Tibetan Language Schools concluded successfully on the evening of September 29th 2013 in New York City.
The conference was hosted by the Tibetan Community of New York and New Jersey under the auspices of the Office of Tibet. It was inaugurated on the morning of September 28 by Mr. Kaydor Aukatsang, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Americas.
The delegates from 12 North American Tibetan Language Schools attended the conference along with the several lecturers who teach Tibetan language in American universities and other invited experts.
During the two-day conference, the final draft of the text books for KG to class II (level one) along with the work books as well as the initial draft of the text books for class III to V (level two) were presented and discussed thoroughly. These text books were revised based on the common curriculum set at the first Conference on the North American Tibetan Language Schools held in Michigan in 2008.
The conference also adopted a common curriculum for class VI to VIII (level three). Similarly, the 7-member text book revision committee for level three was set up under the leadership of Gen Wangyal Ritzekura of the Tibetan Association of Minnesota.
It was decided that the final draft of the text books for the level II and III would be presented at the next conference scheduled to be held in Washington DC in August 2014 (to be hosted by the Office of Tibet).
Along with the revision of text books, the conference also decided to have a common classroom syllabus which will be uniformly implemented at all schools. In the North America, since the Tibetan language schools operate only during the weekend, only 40 sessions/classes, on average, can be conducted in a year.
The conference also decided to create a common website for the North American Tibetan Language Schools, where text books, classroom syllabus, teaching resources, and other materials required for the schools can be easily available on one site.
The agenda for the present conference was drawn on the recommendations being made at the 2nd Conference of the North American Tibetan Language Schools held last year in San Francisco Bay Area, hosted by the Tibetan Association of Northern California.
The 1st Conference of the North American Tibetan Language Schools was held in Michigan in 2008, coinciding with the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It was hosted by the Office of Tibet with the logistic support provided by Jewel Heart Buddhist Centers headquartered by Ann Arbor, Michigan.
