Nicholas is the proprietor at the Blessed Life Academy that we visited a few days ago. We went back to spend some intense time with Nicholas and his teachers yesterday. Nicholas has a really fascinating story. He is Ghanaian, however he spent many years in Nigeria seeking out a more stable life financially. He began his time in Nigeria making luggage and doing leatherwork. He was then hired to teach in a school under a master teacher. During this time Nicholas was informally trained on how to teach and a gifted and intuitive educator was born. He is passionate about early childhood education and literacy. Nicholas returned to a economically depressed area in the Kasoa area just outside of Accra. He is determined to build a school here that gives hope to the families who live in bleak and desolate environment.
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| The road to Nicholas's school |
One of the things that immediately stands out when you enter Blessed Life Academy is that students are extremely engaged in learning. They are also joyful. Here, more than any other school we have visited, children smile and play. Nicholas explained to us that he believes that learning through playing is very important. In some of the other schools we have visited, teaching practice is centered around lecture and note-taking. Nicholas and the teachers at Blessed Life seem like they are ripe and ready to learn from td he inquiry-based teaching professional development we have prepared.
Nicholas also believes in having recess to motivate and invigorate his students during the long morning of learning. Children roll tires and play on a small play structure he has found. They laugh and play and although the materials are quite different than those found on a playground in the U.S., the sounds of the children are the same. Having seen many other schools this trip, I can say that this is not the usual picture.
Teachers at Blessed Life also seem more connected with children. Part of this is because Nicholas models this. He is very connected with the community. Children and adults in the neighborhood know and love him, even if they are not part of the school community. He is known and belovedly called "Big Daddy." Teachers like Justice (see above) have learned to connect with students from Nicholas. I was very moved when I saw Justice comforting this student with such compassion.
If the spirit of the school is different, there are also differences in pedagogy. Rather than teaching children the alphabet (A = aay, B = bee, C = see), Nicholas uses a rich phonics program beginning with 2-3 year olds that uses 46 different sounds, much like we see in US early literacy programs. He learned this in Nigeria. We have observed that this is not a practice widely used in the schools we have visited. He also recognizes the individuality of children and that they require differentiated instruction. Nicholas described using "a little of this and a little of that" in order to meet the needs of a student.
[I want to write more about Nicholas and will, but must go to bed. Stay tuned for "One remarkable man Part II, tomorrow]
Hello Jennifer, I'm enjoying reading your blog. Thank you. I miss Ghana and I feel I am there again. Please send my warm greetings to Nicholas. I, too, really enjoyed meeting him and visiting his school. Dean Cordeiro
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