No Excuses!

Administrators from eight schools were invited to special sessions on improving schools.  Our goals was to get school administrators to think in innovative ways and begin to make systemic changes in the ways that students learn and achieve. 







Martha presented the administrators with ideas on changing their management styles.  In Liberia the power structure in any organization is very rigid.  The person in charge tells others what to do and usually doesn't listen to suggestions or ideas from those working for him/her. The special session for administrators focused on collaboration with other administrators, the teachers and even the students in addition to learner centered education.  Martha's mantra was "No Excuses!" for anyone involved in the learning process.  It was 7 days of learning how to listen, use data and develop a plan for each school to improving student achievement. Martha also spoke on being involved and being a leader in the community and not just in their schools.  She is the president of the Rotary Club back home in Borrego Springs.

 

Teachers in the Wetlands Project present
what they are learning to the administrators.

The administrators spent time visiting the other workshops so that they would have an understanding of the new ways to teach Science, Geography, English, Reading and using the libraries.  They were often quite surprised at some of the ways in which learning could occur using hands on activities and higher level thinking.

Environmental Activism – Wetlands

One of our most exciting workshops presented during our time in Liberia centered around the wetlands.  Liberia has five wetlands recognized by the Liberian government.  The Liberian Environmental Protection Agency is working to get these wetlands protected, but with economic and health issues at the forefront of building the nation up, the environment often gets ignored.  Most Liberians are in a day to day struggle to put food on the table for their families and do not know the important role the wetlands play in providing sustainable protein in their diets in the form of fish.

Teachers Testing the Water

Kristy, Jooyoung and Jenny collaborated on the project teaching methods designed to engage learners and bring thinking to a higher level.  We invited secondary Biology, Chemistry, Geography and English teachers and many attended the seven sessions.

Peter Fahn
 Journalist/Environmentalist

On the first day a Liberian journalist, Peter Fahn, came to speak to our teachers on the Liberian wetlands and their importance for food and clean water. 

Then for three days Kristy, Jooyoung and Jenny presented the teachers with strategies such as KWLA, graphic organizers and questions stems.  They would teach the strategy and then use it as it pertained the teachers’ subject matter.  Learning then focused on planning lessons on the wetlands for Liberian students.  On the 4^th and 5^th day students came to participate in the project.  The Liberian teachers got to practice their new strategies and taught the students about wetlands and the connections that wetlands have to their lives. 

On Wednesday afternoon the students took all their learning and held a Wetlands Festival for the community.  The students presented songs, drawings, dramas, wetland tours, community clean ups and water testing for the community.  The most surprising event was when the results came back on the water testing showing e coli and other bacteria in the neighborhood estuary.

On the last day the teachers spent the day reflecting on their experience and planning lessons for the upcoming year.  Many of the teachers and students say that they are looking at their environment in a new way and will continue to learn more about it and find ways to protect it.