Bridge Liberia joins the world to celebrate the annual World Teachers Day under the global theme “Teachers at the heart of education recovery”.
Teachers are at the heart of a society determining the kind of future that a country will have through the education of a nation’s youth. Their importance was always central to the fabric of Liberian society but as a result of the impact COVID had on learning their role has never been more critical.
In Liberia, teachers had a hard task during COVID and yet in all the communities supported by Bridge Liberia they were out ensuring that children were still learning; through virtual and remote means; gathering round radios or holding impromptu community classes.
As the leading partner in the Liberian Government primary education sector, Bridge Liberia acknowledges the work and contributions of teachers across the country. It believes that teachers deserve to be supported so that they can excel and help the students in their care excel. The organisation currently supports over one thousand teachers in 11 of the country’s countries thanks to the Ministry of Education LEAP programme; that benefits from Presidential support.
Bridge Liberia teachers are supported daily by a team of supervisors and empowered with a technological device which aids lesson planning and teaching.
The teaching tablets are used by Bridge Liberia supported teachers where daily lessons are uploaded to support teachers in the classrooms.
Miatta Sorsor, a teacher at Intouch Public School, a Bridge Liberia supported School in Careysburg describes the teaching tablet as a device that makes lesson planning fun and easier.
According to her, teaching at a Bridge Liberia supported school makes her more passionate to teach, because of the support she receives from her team members.
Madam Sorsor furthered, “The tablets are important but they are only a part of the way we now work.
We have learned new teaching styles and classroom management techniques, helping our students grasp the material that we are teaching. “
Bridge Liberia supported teachers also receive regular coaching and mentoring on various classroom techniques throughout the school year to keep them abreast with the new learning and teaching techniques.
Following Covid-19, many in the international community are talking about the importance of professional development for teachers; but Liberia was leading the way. A strong support system through the LEAP programme before COVID means that now teachers are in a stronger place than in many to help students recover from the learning loss that happened during the pandemic.
Nelson Kofa, a teacher at J. W.Pearson School,a Bridge Liberia supported school, shares his experience as a teacher at the school.
“We learnt new tactics for engaging students who are struggling, helping to ensure that they don’t fall behind and we have already seen the impact of increased class time on our students’ performance.
Now the schools will open again and our students will have a strong foundation thanks to our strength as teachers and the ongoing support we receive due to the Ministry of Education’s wisdom.”
Bridge Liberia’s Managing Director, GG Gbovadeh Gbilia,weighing in on this year’s World Teachers Day explained how important the role of teachers are in the society, appreciating their role in the development of students who are the future leaders.“We appreciate every contribution teachers give to society because they are the bedrock of learning, and without them, a school is just a building”.
As Liberia looks to build back after covid county education officials and the Ministry will be looking to teachers to play a core part in the recovery. Luckily the country already has some strong education innovations in place such as the partnership with Bridge Liberia; but building on that and growing the programming so that all teachers have the opportunity to benefit from the direct support offered by the organisation will be key.
In 1994, October 5 was declared as the World Teachers’ Day, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and since then it is celebrated globally on 5th October.
World Teachers’ Day also throws light on the efforts of teachers all across the world and is important in order to promote quality education for a better future and a more stable future.
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