World Teacher’s Day

Today is World Teacher’s Day. That means teachers the world over get a nod from the global leaders. They get recognition that states, by definition, that they matter and that “we” are paying attention. For so many of the world’s best teachers, this day will not include a discussion, durbar, conference or workshop on what you are doing right. There will be no apples left on your desk or principals waiting to hand out yet another certificate of appreciation or achievement to you. As a home schooling educator, your day is marked everyday with hugs, kisses and smiles due to the magic that you make happen every day. When your 6 year old is doing things that you are now learning how to do; you have achieved greatness that only a few can attest to. Was your child deemed a problem in the public system and now he is out performing his peers? Award and more awards to you! Does your child lay awake with a book that he “must” finish before sleeping? The Nobel Educator Prize goes to you! Does your child use new vocabulary on a daily basis? Well, the Priz de Monde goes to you as well. So the world celebrates teachers and the conversation will not include any of the above award winners. There is something immensely wrong with this picture. In fact, few teachers will receive any awards today. The day will be spent degrading the teacher profession. By professionals, experts and research analyst who think the problem with education can be solved with building more schools. No mention will be made of enhancing the capacity of teachers, but more on the dribble that more children need to be registered into schools…into buildings that may or may not have enough quality teachers/experts/willing to teach them. Education is winning big political points in Ghana by politicians seeking reelection. One party wants to provide free high school tuition to all children. The other party wants to provide more senior high schools. They agree that you need more schools and that free will provide better access, but no one is asking where the teachers will come from. I taught leadership class for three years at Ashesi University. Only 3 (out of 160 students) will ever “consider” teaching as a profession. I wait to hear from these politicians when they are ready for a real discussion on the problems. And as a home schooler, I will demand a State award. After all, I am educating Ghana’s bright black stars.

The Ghana National Book Fair

The Ghana National Book Fair ended on Saturday, September 29. It was eventful in some respects. We got to meet the Second Lady of Ghana, a librarian who was very excited to chat on home schooling with yours truly. She was impressed and supportive of the initiative. The Fair was launched with speakers from very important Ghanaians including Ebo Whyte. He, and the others, discussed how Ghanaian publishers need to publish materials that matter to Ghana and Africa. That they need to pay attention to materials in the local languages and use information from Ghana to get people excited and eager to purchase books for leisure reading. I hear this speech each year….and each year, publishers prove that they are not listening (or convinced Ghanaians read for leisure) as well as they should. We also met publishers from other parts of the world, mainly India and Australia. One group IAD from Australia publish materials on the Aboriginal population by the people themselves. They voice the Aborigines, using their own languages and world view. IAD also gave us free materials; which was very nice of them. We also visited EPP which is always a pleasure. I was very glad to have found Sedco. They are now the only publishers carrying the Junior African Writers Series (JAWS). I was able to purchase some new titles from them. I am not particularly impressed with educational materials coming from India and the UK. I find them convoluted. I find too much happening on one page; too busy for even the adult. One page can include information on different topics, written in different fonts, colors with new characters. It’s frustrating for the adult to follow the fine print, imagine the child. They turn me off. Unfortunately, these were the highlights on this week long Fair. As always, (I’ve been attending this Fair since 2008), attendance was poor. So the publishers did not make money and as a result, the authors. The publishers also suffered from poor printing. Some materials had massive editorial mistakes; including pages being stuck to each and blank pages. In addition, the materials were often irrelevant at best. There was one publisher selling outdated books on countries, and only 2 African countries were represented in the stack. To top it off, the books, which were published in 1998, were being sold for $4 each! This is a country where the average person makes far less than that…and they have to pay for outdated materials on top of it! How insulting. It was clear that those books were also not published by African publishers but rather purchased to resell. My aim in attending this year’s Fair was to find a book on Ghanaian/African plants and trees. No luck! Imagine that. The Ghana NATIONAL Book Fair does not have any publishers focusing on educational materials using Ghanaian local materials. I was able to find what you would be able to find searching through a US library sale. This is not to say that there were no materials of relevance. There were some materials in Twi; mostly story books. We needed workbooks. There were no science materials exploring Ghanaian plants such as Neem and other plants, but there were materials catering to the curriculum. Not even a book on Ghanaian birds…water bodies, and vegetables. What information is being passed down? The problem with publishers in Ghana is that they don’t have any faith in a reading public. They think those who need books will have to be students; trying to pass the test or schools purchasing for their students. They don’t believe that there is a public out there interested in purchasing books to read for sheer pleasure and to enhance their knowledge; unless works of fiction or romance novels. You would be surprised how many romance novels there were on sale. Until the publishers have more faith and respect for the reading public, they will continue to face problems of poor sales and low attendance on such fairs.

The Pencil/sharpener Conspiracy

Is it me or are pencil manufacturers not doing a good enough job at producing pencils that last? The same goes for sharpeners that get dull quicker than I remember as a child. We have at least 100 sharpeners in the house, but only one that works! In the case of pencils, we use at least 3 pencils a week/per child. Each sharpen reduce the pencil down by a third.

I notice that they break more often and the more you sharpen the duller the sharpener becomes as well. It's also true that the erasers often finish before the pencils do as well. So you have to change pencils because you need an eraser. Those add-on erasers are not dependable either. We spend a good amount of money on pencils and sharpeners; often monthly. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but this does add up. I have at least a few hundred pencils in my house. Some are too short to continue sharpening. I give those and the dull sharpeners away; not sure what those people will think of my donation. I just do not like to throw away things that I think someone might able to use. I give away a bag full of pencils monthly. I would be interested in reading how much money pencil manufacturers make. I’m sure it’s well into the trillions. It’s not just purchasing for schools, but maintaining a useable tool to learn with is what increases their sales. Dixon, HB, MegaBrands, and Office Depot are not as different as they would like you to think. They have succeeded in manufacturing products that keep you buying more.

A Raisin in the sun

Looking back on my life and the standard of education I received, I can honestly compare myself to a raisin in the sun. I was left to desiccate in the sun without protection and aide. Like most immigrant children, I was left to maneuver and manage the new US system on my own. I went to school and instead of my parents helping me with school work; I ended up having to help them translate letters sent from the school. I knew I had a quick mind for math, but Mr. Hade ( or Hayde from Elmwood Elementary School in Monsey, NY) thought I was a Haitian girl who was probably good enough to clean his house one day…if well trained. The truth being that I had more social and financial capital in my country than Mr. Hade in his, but as an immigrant in his country; he seemed right. So when he told me in plain language that as a Haitian girl (I was the only girl in his math class) that I was not good in math, I did not know who could tell him otherwise. My parents worked 2 jobs each. And besides, they did not speak English and nor were they empowered enough to tell the teacher that he was wrong. I was still an honors level student. My classes were mostly honors and AP level, but when it came to math I was average. Mr. Hade’s ugly mind had stained my image of myself in math. But my 6 year old son has proved him wrong! Fast forward a Ph.D. and three children; I am now a home schooling mom with a 6 year old doing three-digit division and algebra. How did an average math student train a 6 year old math genius? I’m beginning to realize that I was much smarter in math than I was made to believe. I’m also realizing that I am capable of doing many things that I did not know I could.

Home schooling my children have been such an eye opener and an inspiration. I learn so many things from them. This week’s lesson is teaching me just how inept I am in the arts. We went to our favorite book depot and picked up 2 books on how to draw cars and horses. It turns out that I am a GREAT artist! Who knew? I was able to draw those horses to true form JUST by following the directions. I might be blowing my own horn here, but I realized that home schooling educates everyone in the home! My son is also interested in knowing how to make things using paper such as boats, airplanes, etc. Instead of waiting for my husband do those activities with him, I found a site and learned how. So what is my advice to you? Many of you were made to believe that you are not smart enough, especially not to home school. I learned that it is never too late to teach yourself or learn fractions or whatever else you were made to believe was too “complicated” for your “simple” brain. I also learned from last week’s lesson on the human brain and from Dr. Ben Carson, one of the world’s top brain surgeons, that there is no such thing as a simple brain. Our brains are capable of genius, all of us! He was proclaimed dummy at the age of 10. He became the director of brain surgeons at 33. What did he do? He stopped believing that he was incapable. Maybe that is what we need to stop doing as home educators; stop believing that we are incompetent. If not us, who? All we have to do is think big!

Workshop on Home schooling

There is nothing more frustrating to a parent than not being able to help their children. I meet parents all the time asking me to teach their child or just simply asking me how they can do what I do. Parents have been so disempowered that they think that someone else educating their children is more productive than they. I hear “I just cannot do it,” “he won’t listen to me,” and “I’m not smart enough.” And I think wow! Parents need more help than the children. This is why we are hosting a one day workshop on home schooling. We will touch on how to get started, where to get materials, motivation, testing and more. This workshop has been in the works for a while. Ever since appearing on Ghana television, parents approach me all the time about helping. That is why I started a list serve and a support network. I send links for good cites, worksheets, crafts ideas and I host weekly extracurricular activities to solve the socialization quagmire. However, I soon realized that was not enough. We have been planning this workshop for a long time. I thought it was sufficed to provide parents cites where they could find materials for their children. I did not realize that many parents feel overwhelmed not only with teaching, but with having to find materials as well. Others are further frustrated not knowing which materials, what levels, which subjects and which curriculum to use. I do not know why the Spirits have moved me to Ghana. Could home schooling be my calling? If so, I am more than willing to take on the badge of service. Our workshop will be held either at the end of September or early October; depending on space. We are looking for support from the community. Want to help? Just spread the word that help is on the way.

The Wonders of Ghana!

I love living in Ghana for many reasons. If you have not visited Ghana; suffice it to say that you can teach ancient and modern history with complete ease. I won’t bother to list all my favorites about living in Ghana. The main reason for this blog being the abundance of history available at my finger tips. And as a historian, I cannot stop gushing about Mother Ghana! This latest epiphany was realized after our latest field trip to the Ghana National Air Force. It was fantastic! The children learned about the history of the Force. They sat on the various aircrafts. They got to wear the equipment and the staff did everything to make sure we had a great time. Parents realized how historical this moment was and spent the entire period documenting their children’s part of it. This trip was particularly relevant for our family. My children’s great uncle was part of the Air Force. The main street at Burma Camp is named after him. He is part of G

hana’s great modern history. The “Rawlings Years” or the 1980s cannot be discussed without Robert Kotei. He is one of the martyrs of Ghana’s recent turbulent past. Having visited the Force brought them a bit closer to him and that legacy. I’m sure if he is watching that having my children take a picture on his street would bring a smile to his face. Another reason why I am crushing on Ghana today is that another mom, (www.esheabutter.com) emailed to invite us to an orchard in Akosombo. The children would learn “how to identify the trees, other species of plants and talk about composting among other things.” I wish I had these learning opportunities when I was younger. I would have finished my Ph.D. at 21! Isn’t that fantastic! Where else in the world would children have such wonders at their fingertips? So today, and I hope for many days to come, to continue crushing hard on Ghana. God bless Ghana!

Applause is in order!

As I prepare for another day of amazing home schooling with my wonderful children, I have to stop and thank the many educators who make it easier for me to educate. It’s understandable that teachers will feel insecure once in a while. We worry about not teaching the materials “properly” or fear that we don’t have enough materials. Well, that is no longer the case. It’s as though the world is united in the home schooling movement. Materials abound, all over the web and most are free, targeting home schololers and educators in general. I want to send a big virtual hug to some amazing educators who make my teaching efforts all the more rewarding. Teachers Pay Teachers ( is my latest find. I get tons of free materials from them; a network where teacher design worksheets and other materials are sold to other educators. However, they also have free materials. I am also grateful to Little Lovely Leaders (). Her site has tons of hands on craft activities that are fun and easy to do. I also want to recognize the wonderful educators on Pinterest (www.pinterest.com) who share and share wholeheartedly. And of course, I cannot forget Mrs. Lonnice Hammond, the wonderful teacher who turned me onto those sites. Good educators unite! The world is listening.