Mesbah is a prestigious educational institution in Tehran known for its state-of-the-art programs in the field of education and related activities. Since 1992, Mesbah Educational Institute has established six schools for the students from 12 to 18 years old; Secondary School, High School and Pre-university Centre for girls and boys. A total number of one thousand students study at these schools each year and the applicants are selected through a competitive entrance exam hold among numerous candidates. The educational system in the Institute is designed based on the Iranian national curriculum _ already known to be rigorous _ to which Mesbah adds extra value of a developed private educational system. The Institute offers short-term courses beyond the main programs, designed to meet the needs of students and their family members (including continuing parental education courses

●   Moral Learning

●   Honors of the Institute

●   Family programs

●   Managing Board

●   Facilities

● History

●  Mesbah Education

●   Mesbah Pedagogy

●   Mesbah Principles

●   Pedagogic Activities

●   Extracurricular Activities

  History

In 1992, Mesbah started as a small school with 5 classes in Gheitarieh, Tehran. Since the founders had a good reputation in the neighborhood, due to past activities in public schools, the number of students increased very soon and we had to move to a new building for the next academic year. In 1995 we expanded the system to cover high school students as well. 1997 marked a milestone in the evolution of the Institute, with its transfer to a large campus in Vali-e Asr Ave. and its development in both quantitative and qualitative aspects.

Due to problems associated with housing and high land prices in Tehran, each school had to move a couple of times to adjust the environment to the growing needs of the educational system. Finally in 2003, the Girls compound situated in its current location and in 2005 our modern building in Gheitarieh hosted the Boys compound.

As part of its experience, Mesbah Educational Institute managed the public national schools in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok for a total five years.

  Mesbah Education

1. Emphasis on providing a secure educational and ethical environment and selecting students and colleagues accordingly;

2. Creating diversity and enthusiasm by holding competitions, celebrations, exhibitions and national and spiritual ceremonies with the help of the students themselves;

3. Coordination of the triangle of teacher, student and parents with the central role of the “consultant teacher”;

4. Active participation of parents in monitoring and promoting the programs of the school;

5. Constant knowledge increasing programs for parents, school staff and instructors to achieve the best educational result.

  Mesbah Pedagogy

1. Special emphasis on specific courses and preparation for the National University Entrance Exam;

2. Taking regular comprehensive exams between Mesbah and other successful schools of the city

3. English language teaching program

4. Selecting the best teachers for general and specific courses

5. Giving regular status reports on the students’ educational progress to their parents

6. Following-up and solving the students’ problems individually and in coordination with their parents

7. Performing extracurricular activities in a wide range such as Olympiad classes, workshops environment recognition, robotics and nanotechnology, computer sciences, handicrafts and artworks, and tens of scientific explorations under the innovative programs of “Kavosh” (exploration) and “Takapoo” (endeavor);

8. Educational and recreational expeditions, students’ scientific forums and publishing student magazines are among optional activities

  Mesbah Principles

1. Strengthening the intellectual bases, humane sentiments and moral principles of the students;

2. Fortification of individual capabilities of the students, fostering their creativity and detecting talents among them;

3. Reinforcing the spirit of cooperation, group work, taking responsibilities, self-reliance, decision making, determination and teaching them “life”;

4. Instructing the content of the official educational program and study skills with the aim of passing exams successfully;

5. Making the students familiar with the modern living devices such as computer,   languages, and new technologies.

  Pedagogic Activities

According to nearly three decades of experience in educational activities, and with the help of its creative and experienced staff, Mesbah believes that reaching the best standards in education involves some methods which are:

1.      Absorbing the best teachers and coordinating them through departments and general council of the teachers;

2.      Emphasis on lesson planning to make the education more objective;

3.      Using a consultant teacher for each level (three levels in each school) with the key role of coordinating and following each student’s educational and training activities and consulting with his/her family;

4.      Giving a key role to the students in the process of teaching and attracting them via group work;

5.      Reinforcing the student’s scientific knowledge to become aware of their talents and to pass different exams and the National University Entrance Exam;

6.      Linking between theoretical studies and practical experiences of the students in laboratories;

7.      Designing and performing extracurricular programs (see: Extracurricular section);

8.      Preparing a comprehensive educational calendar in which all the activities of the following year, such as educational, training and extracurricular programs and even parents meetings has been precisely scheduled;

9.      Holding regular weekly, monthly and seasonal examinations and presenting the results to the parents;

10.  Holding harmonious examinations in cooperation with other schools of the district and the city of Tehran to compare the students with their competitors in the Final exam and also in the National University Entrance Exam;

11.  Statistical analysis of different tests to improve educational trends and to inform both the students and their parents;

12.  Holding different educational and consulting sessions for the students (individually, collaboratively or accompanied by their parents) to increase their educational success;

13.  Supervising the preparation and presentation of pamphlets and sample exams where necessary;

14.  Constant supervision of the teaching quality of the teachers and the educational performance of each student;

15.  Preparing statistics and tables on evaluating the method of testing and the amount of success in achieving educational goals through controlling the methodology of teaching/ testing and the correction style;

16.  Establishing a regular relationship between parents and the teachers in the form of individual or group meeting sessions;

17.  Preparing and updating educational aids to equip the classes and laboratories;

18.  Performing compensatory and back up classes for the weak students;

19.  Organizing advanced classes and Olympiad courses for the talented and strong students;

20.  Supervising the study program of the students at home and to pay special attention if needed;

21.  Introducing and admiring the successful and active students

22.  Making the students familiar with different academic fields and also different jobs and professions

  Extracurricular Activities

Mesbah Educational Institute provides the students with exotic opportunities for extracurricular educational activities out of working hours. It is because the official educational framework does not satisfy excellent students and some knowledge and skills are not offered at all. Thus, the improvement of the talented students’ abilities makes us to create opportunities more expansive than their official program. Extracurricular activities help in creating a purposeful scientific atmosphere which motivates the students to study more.

After many years of experience and examining different methods of English language teaching, Mesbah has designed its special language teaching methodology in the schools of the Institute. The methodology is an eclectic one which is mainly based on the principles of the CLT and Content-based language teaching. These classes are held in a specific time during the daily program and in a separate location which is especially designed for this purpose. The students, based on a placement test, are divided into different levels.

Concerning the growing importance of information and communications technologies, computer classes are held for all the students in different levels from basic to advanced ones. The content of these courses are much more expansive than those of official books. Internet facilities are also provided for research purposes.

Mesbah students participate in different scientific competitions such as student seminars and regional and country-wide competitions. They even take part in Kharazmi Scientific Festival (the most reliable scientific competition nationwide) and when necessary, preparation courses are held for these competitions.

Group educational activities from studying and problem-solving workshops to university preparation camps maximize the student’s motivation and performance.

The newest creative plans presented recently to complete students educational experiences have been introduced as Kavosh and Takapoo.

Kavosh (exploration) is an acronym composed of Farsi equivalents of: Curiosity, Learning, Practice, and jubilation. It is to relate the students’ theoretical learning to their scientific and laborious experiences. In this program the students work in small-sized workshops on subjects such as electronics, photography, biology and taxidermy, filmmaking, robotics, pottery, sculpture, astronomy, etc.

Takapoo (endeavor) is an acronym composed of Farsi equivalents of: Variety, Striving, Learning, Questioning and Practice. It is a program to diversify the place and the time of education and training which will make the students’ hearts full of gusto and their minds full of questions. The place of these activities from factories and forests to scientific and cultural centers, give the instructors the opportunity to create active, free and three-sided relations between themselves, their students and the nature or society. This plan opens new horizons of work and knowledge for the students.

Moj-e-no (new wave): The creative and talented minds of adolescents need a suitable environment to conceive. Taking this into consideration, the girls’ complex has held research courses in the fields of Nanotechnology, optics, solar cells, biology, etc. At the end of the educational year, a 3-day exhibition will be held to exhibit the students projects.

  Moral Learning

Moral upbringing is a great common concern in the Iranian society, so a first priority in Mesbah. Thus, we are committed to provide an ethically rich environment. Besides spirituality, Mesbah endeavors to help students explore their own talents and to choose their best way through life and education. This is done by means of introducing moral values, fostering their creativity and choosing innovative approaches to this end.

Self-respect, self-reliance, problem-solving ability, resoluteness, cooperative spirit, hard work and idealism are among the characteristics which are tried to be cultivated. Different expeditions to all parts of the country, holding different cultural, artistic and book-reading competitions and ceremonies are among the activities performed regularly to pave the way to the above goals.

Mesbah students have also the opportunity to participate in different group projects where they learn collective life, as in class groups and student councils. Finally, the most influential factor is the role of our teachers and staff who serve as models before students. This is the reason why Mesbah is fastidious to choose the best colleagues.

  Honors of the Institute

Student Competitions:

 1^st award of “Porsesh-e Mehr” writing competition

 1^st and 2^nd awards of “English Language Olympiad” at the district level

 1^st place in the district volleyball match

 1^st place in the province volleyball match

  2^nd and 3rd place award in the district’s Koranic competitions (recitation and interpretation)

  2^nd place award in “Robocup” competition in the province level

  3^rd place award in theatre competition for costume design

  3^rd place award in recital competition at the district level

  Family programs

Mesbah believes that, family has the key role in children’s upbringing and encouraging them to educational and cultural activities. Therefore, a lot of opportunities are created to maintain its continuous relation with the parents at different levels and topics. Some of these are related to reporting the Institute’s different activities; others are dedicated to parent-teacher association, an elected organ with effective role in the School’s policies.

Mesbah knows that children’s upbringing is a common work of parents and the school. Hence, continuing education for parents is known as the most useful and indispensable in upbringing process in every educational year. These sessions not only transfer the Institute’s viewpoints to parents, but also they allow parents to communicate their opinions to the School during the discussion sessions.

Continuing education programs are not limited to the students’ problems and suggested solutions; they also aim to reinforce the parents’ abilities and even other members of the family in fields such as English, computer, etc. Some other courses are conducted on cultural, literary, and religious subjects which is an opportunity to make the participants more familiar with Iranian noble culture. Such meetings are the opportunity for parents to know one another and make Mesbah a grand family. The history of Mesbah shows that families are the most important and considerate supporters of the institute. That’s the reason why the parents have a high position in institutes’ plans and policies.

  Managing Board

Mesbah Educational Institute is managed by a Board of Trustees consisting of three members: Mr. Hajizadeh, Mr. Shapourian and Mr. Salehi. Mr. Hajizadeh is also the Managing Director. The Girls schools (Mesbah-e Nour compound) is directed by Mrs. Malekmadani. Each separate school (secondary, high school and pre-university center for girls and boys) has its own principal. The two compounds have pedagogic assistants who plans and coordinates the complicated pedagogic activities. In addition to that, the regulating officer in each school has the duty to maintain the school’s discipline in daily activities and to observe the students’ social behaviors. The consulting advisors work as a coordinator among students, their parents and the whole educational program. Finally it comes to the key educational executives who are our precious teachers and instructors.

Teachers are the Mesbah’s main asset and the Institute believes that the main investment must be done in this area. Mesbah selects his colleagues from numerous applicants for the job and invites experienced and famed teachers regularly. Since education is a progressive phenomenon, the teachers’ capabilities don’t prevent them from participating in mid-career courses which are followed-up tirelessly. Advisory sessions of educational departments are held in the presence of university professors as senior advisors. In summer, some special programs are planned for the teachers and instructors. Most recently, a research tour to Malaysia was performed in summer 2005.

Meeting with the teachers is scheduled for parents during working hours with the coordination of consultant advisors. In addition to pre-planned meetings, parents can meet the teachers in “report card distribution” sessions. In these sessions, parents and teachers share their understandings of the student’s weak and strong points and try to find the best approaches to her/his success.

  Facilities

Mesbah Educational Institute has had the opportunity to be located in the best districts of the capital, where the best schools create a highly competitive and active environment. This has stimulated the Institute’s development. Today, we are proud to provide one of the best educational facilities for boys and girls in Tehran.

Mesbah has a computer lab equipped with modern computer sets and internet access. The library is a cozy and growing in size and quality. Different kinds of technical workshops, chemistry, biology and physics laboratories are available. A publishing division is at the service of students and educators. English language department and different studying and assignments workshops have their own room to create a good diversity in educational spaces.

In addition to separate praying halls, amphitheaters are also established to provide suitable spaces for seminars, parent gatherings, celebrations, examinations, etc. Mesbah has its sports fields. A fully equipped kitchen and canteen provide hygienic meal for the students. Small snack stall is located outdoors to meet the needs of active ever hungry students! Mesbah website is www.mesbahschools.org that provides the students and parents with all the updated information and services.