CTI is dedicated to the service of the education of youth, through the academic, spiritual, and cultural wellbeing of its students. CTI offers students a challenging curriculum to meet the demands of society. CTI students are prepared to excel, develop leadership skills, and eventually become active, responsible citizens. CTI emphasizes academic excellence, character building, cultural awareness, and critical thinking.
The CTI vision is for students to leave school with profound spiritual values, a solid academic foundation, wide cultural knowledge, and noteworthy leadership skills. CTI fosters a high level of education, creativity, critical thinking, self-esteem, and Godliness. CTI aims to produce men and women with high goals, and a sense of civic and moral responsibility.
The Christian Teaching Institute (CTI) is a private educational organization that was founded by Mr. Emile Moacdieh in 1960. Mr. Moacdieh had a vision of a school that offers a solid education in mathematics, the sciences, the languages, and the humanities, but that is also strongly grounded in the Christian faith. His vision was to provide students excellence in moral upbringing, culture, and the liberal arts.
Our Kindergarten program is a hands-on program with a focus on discovery, awareness, language instruction, mathematical concepts, and social skills. The students study three languages, English French and Arabic. The curriculum is eclectic, based on American, French, and local Lebanese. Science is offered in English, with American - curricula. Currently, we are using ebooks in most of our elementary programs. Science is supplemented by lab sessions. Mathematics is also offered in English and it tends to be advanced American and/or Lebanese programs. French is in coordination with the French Cultural Center, and we prepare our students for the DELF in the intermediate classes. The Arabic language follows what we believe to be the best offered locally, with special Arabic provisions for non-Lebanese students. Our curriculum also includes Bible, drama, art, music, and more.
These classes prepare students for college and the official terminal exams. The program is accelerated Lebanese, with emphasis on mathematics, the sciences, and the three languages. There are also lots of co-curricular subjects, involving cultural studies, drama, lab, Bible, philosophy, and more. There are special HS programs for non– Lebanese students. Our students sit for the official governmental exams (Lebanese students only), the SAT exams, and special DELF French exams in coordination with the French Cultural Center.
Most activities at the CTI are included in the mainstream curriculum. Thus students get to act in drama productions, or work in the lab, or get involved in sports tournaments, or use the computers, or peruse books in the library, or join competitions, or give free rein to creative output. There are also clubs and teams that students can join.
Extracurricular activities are many, involving sports, scouts, artistic activities, special projects, and more. We even organize yearly school trips for our students to Europe. At the beginning of the school year, parents will be informed of the offerings currently available for the year. Students have the choice of many activities after school hours.
By the 1970s the school had outgrown its premises. In 1970 a new school was built in Horsh Tabet, Sin el Fil, in what was then a completely woodland area. At that time, the school consisted of two inter-connecting blocks. The third block was built in the 1980s. The second half of the 1970’s decade witnessed the beginning of a difficult time for the Lebanese, due to a painful civil war. By God’s grace, the school went on with its mission.
In the second decade of the twenty-first century, we are happy that our students practically all pass the official exams, they get excellent grades in SATs and the DELF, and they are accepted to their universities of choice. The school is “a busy school”, as one visiting professor commented, and there are always educational activities, events, and projects accompanying learning.
Do not let disappointment lead to failure. Our great Gibran Khalil Gibran once prepared for four years for a major painting exhibition. He rented a special gallery for that purpose and displayed his four years of work there. Before the opening, there was a fire in the gallery. It burned down and Gibran’s paintings were all gone. Instead of dejection and loss of hope, Gibran declared that he would paint other paintings that were even better. A few years later his exhibition was held.
Faith. Patience. Persistence. Keep these in mind and victory will be yours. “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen practice these things and the God of peace shall be with you.
