Community Service and Action are elements of the
IB curriculum; all students are expected to participate and in
the process widen their perceptions of the needs in the world
and their responsibility to be part of positive improvements in
that world. However a school which is committed to developing in
its students all aspects of the IB learner profile does so
through developing a school culture where young people are
surrounded by adults who are aware of issues and needs in the
wider world, share these with them, and are seen to ‘do
something about them’.In Ghana, LCS
represents the benefits of educational advantage, particularly
in that we offer so much training to staff in best educational
practice. One of those practices is THRASS methodology in the
Junior School. In recent months LCS has been working with the
THRASS organization to create a centre of excellence for
literacy teaching in Ghana.
The idea is that we should act as a ‘beacon’
or ‘magnet’ school developing our own practice and sharing it
with others. When we trained our own staff recently we also
organized a Lincoln-sponsored THRASS training for local
educators from all levels of education from nursery schools,
through universities, to the Ghana Education Service. Local
educators have visited our classes and we have brought local and
Lincoln teachers together to support each other in implementing
this new program. We also serve as a centre through which local
schools can order THRASS materials.
The enthusiasm of our local colleagues is
inspiring, and they continue to bring more teachers and
curriculum designers into contact with our project, having just
the cascade effect that we had hoped for. Our local colleagues
tell us that for them THRASS represents not just a literacy
method, but a whole way of unlocking a creativity and analytical
thinking in children that is badly needed in their classrooms.
I have personally visited some of these
classes; it was a tremendous experience to see how through our
collaboration we had unleashed so much enthusiasm about learning
and real progress for children in local schools. If you would
like to see more of this project you may view the video THRASS
in Africa: Ghana on the THRASS website
