Educators’ Network to spearhead teachers’ course

The Educators’ Network (TEN) has been established with a call on the nation to improve educational standards in Ghana by providing innovative yet affordable professional development courses to teachers, locally. The TEN is an association of highly-experienced Ghanaian teachers who share a deep-rooted passion for the profession. Founded and led by Naami Oddoye -- a renowned educator and literacy advocate -- in late 2011, TEN currently comprises three additional experienced educators with specialisations in various fields. “Literacy is the foundation for emotional and physical well-being, intellectual growth and economic security. The right to read, write and comprehend is a fundamental human right that belongs to all people. “In Ghana, we currently face an unprecedented social and economic crisis because a large percentage of our children are not being taught in a way that guarantees them this fundamental right,” Oddoye said She explained that the Network believes a solution to this crisis can only come out of education -- but it must be quality education and available to all, not just to a privileged few! “With our education system in dire need of a systemic change, nothing short of full-scale adoption of modern research-based teaching methods in our classrooms is required. “If all Ghanaian teachers could have access to professional development in current educational trends, the clear benefit would be a continual and visible rise in the academic achievement of students. “The final outcome would be a highly-skilled workforce that adds to the value and growth of our economy in future.” TEN works with simple, effective teaching methodologies to transform the standard of classroom delivery in Ghana and ultimately heighten student achievement at all grade levels. The Educators’ Network also engages with teachers, parents, community members and children to cultivate and develop positive literacy experiences as the basis for sustainable improvement in academic achievement through their Reading Clubs. Since their maiden Teachers’ Conference in March 2012, TEN has run a number of workshops for teachers in Accra, which have been very well-received. Feedback received from the participants and their respective institutions overwhelmingly credits TEN for the positive impact of these training courses.