Our mission...

The mission of the Teacher to Teacher Team is to provide access to age-appropriate books for primary school children and to provide assistance to teachers and administrators in methodology and techniques in curriculum.

The Teacher to Teacher Team is sponsored by the Sierra Leone Health Partners.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Teacher to Teacher....Back Home

"Back Home Again in Indiana", that song always seems to lifts one's spirits. Thank you all for your prayers. God was with us. Even Sawyer, who's flight was delayed, is now home safely in FL and John & Pat joined their daughter in Maine! And now time to reflect on all that the Lord has done using our hands and voices and your contributions!. Praise His Name!  Amy

Monday, July 8, 2013

Teacher to Teacher...Coming home

This morning is our final Freetown morning for this trip.  We will make our way into the city for some final shopping and lunch, then it is on to the ferry for the trip to the airport.  We are rejoicing together over the two weeks we have had here to do what God put in front of us to do.  We've traveled through some big potholes, experienced some rain showers, worked with a lot of teachers, seen some beautiful and some not so beautiful sights...but all in all it has been  good.

Last night we traveled to the beach for a bit of relaxation and a good dinner.  It was a delightful way to end the time together.  We will see you soon.  Thank you for praying for us.  Sharon



Teacher to Teacher....from Linda

The first week, at Makeni,  I was able to spend time reading to the children.  So many wanted to hear the story that Leonard had to come and do crowd control.

During one session I asked the 2A teacher to send 20 children over to the resource center.  We were able to show the teachers how they could do stations.  The class size is 70 students but they felt they could make it work.  One group read for fluency.  We had a basket of books to read from, one group did spelling practice, and one group read with the teacher.

Later that week we used the resource center to bring in all 73 4A students.  Reading textbooks had been donated.  They each had a book.  We read a poem several times and talked about it.  Three students volunteered to read the poem to the class.  They did an awesome job.  The teachers felt this was very workable for their classroom.

I arranged and organized the books that were already in the resource center.  The student books, teachers manual and supplemental materials are now all in one spot.  Sally, the head teacher and librarian, and I worked on the "how to read" and teacher's books.

The second week were were separated from the primary school.  I did read to the preschool, 3, 4, and 5 year olds.  There were 60 altogether.  They were so precious.  They would repeat what I said.  Dr. Seuss never sounded so good.  This is a very new concept for Sierra Leone, working with children before Class I. The teachers are doing an amazing job.  Several do not get any pay, they just volunteer.

I am so moved by the dedication these teacher have for the children of their country.  They feel deeply that the only way our of poverty is through education.      ...Linda


Sunday, July 7, 2013

Pictures


The three classroom pictures are all from the same class at Kenema Primary School.


One teacher with 76 students.



Carrying the classroom supply of water for the day.



One of the head teachers teaching a hands-on science class on leaves to the rest of the teachers.


Teachers taking a look at the new Kenema Primary School library.


The parsonage kitchen where the ladies of the church cooked for us every day.

Teacher to Teacher...from Freetown

Good Morning from Freetown.  We arrived here late yesterday afternoon and are staying at the Kona Lodge.  We will stay here again tonight before we head to the airport for departure tomorrow evening.  We have good internet here so I'll try to get another blog and some pictures on this afternoon.  Thanks for your prayers - this has been a great week of ministry....actually it has been two great weeks of ministry....but we are all ready to get home to family and friends.   Sharon

Here's a blog from Marti that was written a few days ago...Teacher Salaries in Sierra Leone

Teachers were very receptive today.  Linda and I asked about their teaching situations.  all of our Pre-School, Class One and  Class Two teacher have several years experience, yet were not paid a salary.

I cannot imagine teaching for YEARS with no salary.  They shared how much they love teaching and how they keep staying because they love the children.  Leonard Gbloh, director of the UMC Primary Schools, says sometimes families will give teachers a bag of rice or other food for preparation, but for the most part, promised government subsidies don't get paid. Yet the teachers tell how respected they are in the communities.  Leonard does say getting teachers to stay is difficult.  DUH!!!  Often their attendance is inconsistent with little repercussions, since they are essentially volunteers.

The teachers have 70 to 98 students in sparsely furnished classrooms, but they are absolutely delighted with any little teaching resource our team has given them.   Marti H.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Teacher to Teacher Friday morning in Kenema


Two of the the Sierra Leonean teachers gave demonstration lessons yesterday.  Mohamed Koroma first organized the teachers into 3 groups and started a model lesson in environmental science by sending the participants outdoors to collect a variety of leaves.  He dictated six questions to guide group discussion and had each group choose a secretary to record group responses.  After adequate time to complete the activity, the secretary of each group reported the group's findings.  Mohamed reminded participants that each group was reporting on its own leaves, not everyone else's and to listen and not dispute findings.  He then went through again and guided the whole group in reaching consensus. He commended each group's responses as valid, with no wrong answers.  He also validated individuals' use of local names for the plants. He gave a follow-up assignment that allowed use of familiar names for the plants.  Also, he had started with a focusing activity and inserted a kinesthetic activity during the lesson.  It was an excellent lesson and required no materials other than the leaves and the pencil and paper the participants used.
 Friday morning we will finish with two more sessions, lunch, and a closing celebration.
Then we will head for NJala University and Taiama before going on to Freetown on Saturday.  Pat

Each morning we open the workshop with singing & prayers. We usually listen in awe as the teachers sing with so much vigor and joy! This morning after their singing, I told them about our Independence Day Celebrations each year on July 4. Since both of our countries were colonized by Great Britain and they celebrate Indpendence Day later in the year, we were able to highlight the similarities in our history. Marti then read God of All the Nations from the hymnal and our team sang America the Beautiful! Although we normally avoid highlighting things from our society, this was an opportunity to demonstrate that we love our country as they do theirs.  Amy

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Teacher to Teacher.....from Sawyer

Yesterday and today I got in a few good interviews that highlight the hopeful and grateful nature of the Sierra Leoneans. I was thinking today it was a shame the trip has been so smooth so far (with exception to the roads) that I won’t have any drama to add too my feature. Of course the country itself is dramatic in its landscape, poverty and beautiful people. It was good to hear from the head teacher how much he believed in the child centered teaching methods that we are suggesting, as opposed to the common “chalk” method which is probably the easier method in the overcrowded classrooms, but which is rote and ineffective. It is no surprise that the education level here is substandard when the limited children who can go to school learn through chalkboard lectures. It can be amusing to watch the teachers go through the workshops which go a lot like an elementary school, they sit in groups, they learn basic math and go out to collect different types of leaves for science. But just as hands on learning help children, it also shows the teachers the benefits of modern educational techniques. Even though the workshops are coming to a close, we still have a long way to get home so please continue to pray for the teams safety, and that our work will become a deep-rooted foundation for the Sierra Leone teachers to build a stronger education.  Sawyer



Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Pictures


Sierra Leone


Certificates were given at the end of first week.


Reading in the new library


Amy presents new soccer ball to the head teacher.


Teacher bags - they were a hit.


Trainee Head Teacher giving a talk.


Amy teaching.

from Kenema ..... by Lisa

The roads in Kenema are horrible!  Never seen anything like it,  Our library is in a separate building on the grounds of the elementary.  Our workshops are about a mile away on the grounds of the church and preschool. Our supplies have to be stored each night in a locked area of the parsonage next door.

Today we ferried small groups of our teachers over to see the completed library and learn from Sharon how they can use a library.

I thought a math session for the Class III, IV teachers.  We talked about the use of the number line, number boxes, dice, and forms of bingo to augment and enhance math.

A double session of science with the V, VI teachers followed.  We talked about such topics as the solar system and mosquitoes as disease carriers.We completed an adapted version of the science unit Mystery Powders.  We tested 5 powders (sugar, salt, baking soda, cornstarch and plaster of paris with water, vinegar, iodine, and heat. Participants enjoyed finding out the identity of their myster powder.  A highlight of the session was creting a scale model of the solar system using some rocks and a tape measure.  In our model Earth was 1 foot from the sun while Pluto was 39 feet away! They loved the elegance of taking the huge distances in space and making them understandable to their students.

I had a very satisfying day, sharing teaching "nuggets with such interested teachers.  So rewarding!  Lisa


Lisa teaching math games.

Teacher to Teacher .... from Marti

Packing up to leave Makeni for the weekend to rest in Bo then driving on to Kenema's workshops, our suitcases are getting lighter.  The participants in the Makeni workshops went back with many teaching supplies to make their job more effective.  It was amazing how many creative items that our team brought to share.

We purchased or had donated items which lit-up participants faces.  Pens, high-lighters, notepads, notebooks, rubber bands, erasers, staplers, story books, charts,  flashcards, game pieces, etc....the list goes on and on.  We are so grateful for those back home who are supporting the project.  Even our own families have helped us tremendously.

Before another team comes to work with more teachers here in Sierra Leone we need to create a wish list based on the most effective teacher gifts for the teachers.  The participants go home excited about teaching. Praise be to God!   Marti H.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Kenema...Teacher to Teacher

Hello from Kenema! We arrived here Sunday afternoon, but to this point we have had no Internet service. Everything is going well. We have had two days of workshops and the library is set up! The library had already been organized by one of the teachers and he did a wonderful job.  We just had to add some more books and put up lots of posters.

Tomorrow is another opportunity to train some teachers! Off to bed for some much needed rest. Please continue to pray for us!  Will post more tomorrow as Internet access allows.  Sharon