Transparency

All the senior members of the office staff have safely returned from their week long training course in Accra. By all accounts it was pretty full on all week and they didn't see daylight! I learned that the course focused on "Transparency in Management", interestingly. The work I have been doing since I arrived in the office has been all about transparency and team building and it is nice when people suddenly say......."That large calendar in the corridor helps us to know what is happening." Maybe now that transparency has been identified as a need from another source, I shall start to get somewhere! With a few carefully placed words I will have folks realising why we need Job Descriptions too. If I am lucky, some of my ideas will be picked up by somebody and developed as their own.........then we will be really motoring.

Today, I addressed the issue of Teacher Motivation with the Director. There is a system of Appraisal but clearly nobody has seen the link between Appraisal and Motivation. As I have said before, teachers get a bad press here and therefore perform poorly. At this stage of the term, some have been moved due to poor performance and usually away from the town schools. Those who have been identified as good teachers are promoted and brought nearer the town. Some will have high morale and some even lower than before. I am addressing this issue of motivating teachers and the careful use of praise with all the office staff on Monday.

I have been working with two highly motivated new headteachers this week and it is so refreshing to find some educators who don't put "money" before all other priorities in their day.

There is such a long way to go, but as they say here.........."small small"..........easy does it!


I'll find a few photos for the next posting. Been too busy this week!