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IT HAS NEVER BEEN EASY, HAS IT?

Teaching in a public school in Ghana is arduous . The challenges are significant and often overwhelming. Teachers have become so accustomed to the difficulties that they rarely discuss them . This situation has become the accepted norm, so to speak. In this write-up , I will try to identify some of the problems that I believe need urgent attention. INADEQUATE CAPITATION GRANTS The government of Ghana provides grants to support the operation of basic schools across the country. These grants are referred to as capitation grants. It is an open secret that these funds are grossly inadequate and usually hit the accounts very late. It is very obvious that running a basic school is a serious undertaking that requires substantial funding. Many headteachers are sometimes compelled to find ways to fund the urgent needs of the schools. In some cases, headteachers are compelled to use their personal funds to address pressing issues due to a lack of operational...

5 WAYS TO HELP STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF ANGLES IN MATHEMATICS

For some teachers, the concept of angles can be very difficult to impart especially at the elementary level. There is a difficulty in relating angular values and concrete objects. For instance while it is not difficult to represent 90 degrees using concrete objects, it could be very daunting doing same for 135 degrees or 207 degrees. The topic ‘Angles’ in mathematics is just an aspect of plane geometry and in this article we’ll talk about 5 ways teachers can help students understand the concept of angles. USE VISUAL AIDS AND CONCRETE OBJECTS In lesson delivery, it is very important to introduce visual representations such as charts and diagrams very early to assist students to visualize angles and their properties. This can enhance their understanding and make the concept more tangible. Provide concrete objects like cut-out shapes, straws or straight edges to form different shapes and angles. Students can be given the opportunity to manipulate these concrete object...

RURAL TEACHERS - WITNESSES OF NAKED POVERTY

T eaching in rural communities in Ghana comes with its own problems. The common worry of most teachers in rural communities are the lack of electricity, network connectivity, bad roads, hospitals and many more. The sad truth is that most teachers in rural communities have grown thick skin to these challenges and they do not complain as much. It is as though living without these vital social amenities is not that serious. There is another problem that teachers usually do not talk about but it’s very worrying just as those mentioned earlier. Most people in rural communities live in abject poverty and it can be very serious to the extent that parents are not able to afford the basic necessities of life. Parents are mostly not able to afford basic items such as pen, pencils, erasers and books that is needed by their wards. How teachers are able to teach without these basic classroom items remains a miracle. The level of poverty I have seen in some rural communities is one that I ...

TEACHER EXODUS LOOMING?

Within the past five years or so many nurses and doctors have left Ghana for the United Kingdom to work. This is mainly due to obvious reasons – poor working conditions in Ghana. The effects of this exodus could be very serious if not tackled with the urgency it requires. Nurses and doctors are human and would always want better working conditions especially when their current condition and remuneration is nothing to write home about. Another group of people with very poor working conditions if not the poorest is teachers. Many teachers I know have been looking for ways to leave the country just like the nurses and doctors. Even though some few Ghanaian teachers have been able to migrate to teach in countries like China and Vietnam, the UK has always been the ideal destination for most Ghanaians. One barrier blocking most teachers from migrating to the UK to teach is how to acquire a QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) right here in Ghana. The QTS is the license a teacher needs to...

Musicians Should be Doing this in our Schools

Entertainment is very important in our schools as it provides the avenue for our future leaders to release stress and take some time off the usual rigourous academic routines. It is very common to see musicians putting up spectacular performances in senior high schools and the universities to the joy of students. These shows doesn't come cheap especially at the university level. Entertainment is not bad in it self but must it be always entertainment when these musicians visit our schools? This article will look at other areas musicians can explore when they visit our schools. Mentoring sessions Mentoring sessions are very important especially at the senior high school level where students are mostly in their youth. Musicians can liase with school authorities to organize mentoring sessions in schools to assist students in diverse ways. This will benefit students who dream of a career in the music industry. These all-important mentoring sessions will expose young ones to the realitie...

Passion or survival

I can recall vividly a day when my ICT (Information Communication Technology) lecturer asked "how many of you would like to become teachers after school?" Initially, I thought that was a silly question because everyone in to study if you want to teach in a basic school. So why would we be here in the first place if we do not want to be teachers? I quizzed silently. One might presume that all the students in the lecture hall were aspiring to be teachers but don't be misled. In a class of over 100 students only less than 10 said they wanted be teachers in future. So why do people who do not want to be teachers get themselves trained as professional teachers? That question would be best answered by the students themselves. As a teacher myself, I have had the privilege to interact with a lot of teachers and 'teachers'. Teachers here means those who are trained and want to be teachers. Whereas 'teachers' means those who are trained as teachers but do not wan...