CTL and The Gambia - Leading Change Together

Article and photos by: Janine Caffrey

At CTL, we often refer the famous quote by Margaret Meade: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

This past summer I was fortunate to have the amazing experience of traveling to The Gambia in West Africa as part of the CTL team. Our team included teacher trainers for Chemistry, Biology and Advanced Mathematics as well as “tutor” (teacher trainers) trainers for elementary English and mathematics. CTL has been working with The Gambia for several years and has achieved impressive results in this partnership with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) and The World Bank.

I was reminded of Margaret Meade’s quote over and over during our trip. The Gambia is a developing country which means electricity, Wifi and running water are precious commodities. Many of the places where we traveled and taught did not include these things. Yet somehow in this tiny country that works hard for every resource, even in the most remote villages, science and math classrooms have been outfitted with the latest technology. This was due to the work of a very small team, led by a man named Lamin Conteh. Lamin and his team found a way to install solar panels in these schools so students could learn advanced science and mathematics using PSI and PMI.

A small group of committed Gambian educators has worked for several years with a small group of CTL educators to provide training to teachers who are implementing PSI and PMI. Just a few people, from two incredibly different nations, have worked together to improve education for millions of children for years to come.

This success has been possible due to the positive attitudes of The Gambian people, their resourcefulness and openness to learning.

A Smiling Attitude

The Gambia is known as “The Smiling Coast.” This nickname is absolutely perfect. Everyone smiles all the time. We were continually greeted by warm, friendly people who sought to help us as much as possible. The culture in this tiny country is very inclusive. People from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds live and work in harmony to a degree I have never before experienced. We have much to learn from them about how to celebrate diversity and support one another.

The positive culture permeates the classrooms. The teachers who take part in CTL’s training work hard to help each other and to ultimately help their students. This positive attitude is key to their success in mastering new content and skills.

Resourceful

Every day we witnessed the resourcefulness of the teachers in our classrooms. They are able to shift gears instantly as they lose power, deal with a huge downpour, navigate poorly maintained dirt roads, carry babies on their backs (even as they teach!). They use found items for classroom supplies and make due with so much less than even the poorest schools in our country. If they don’t have paper to write out their school’s policies, they paint them on the walls of the school. If they can’t get supplies delivered to their schools, they load them onto the backs of their motorcycles and deliver them themselves. They figure out what students need to be successful and find a way to get it for them.

Open Minds

From the moment we began our training, the teachers in our classrooms were ready to learn. There was no resistance, but instead an eagerness to try new things. In my classroom we were working extensively on interactive learning strategies, featuring social constructivism. This is a place where only “chalk and talk” has been used up until now. Teachers are used to just standing in front of a chalk board and lecturing. They have never seen the teaching methods we were using...ever. Yet, within just a few days they were able to model this type of teaching.

During the third week of our trip we followed the “tutors” into their training centers and coached them as they worked with brand new teachers. They were able to utilize social constructivism as if they had been doing it for years and to teach the new teachers this technique.

These Things Happen in America Too

After I returned home and began reflecting on this amazing experience, I realized we do see some of the same things here. When I started thinking about individual teachers who truly make a difference in children’s lives, they have much in common with Gambian teachers. They have smiling attitudes, resourcefulness and open minds. But we tend not to celebrate these teachers and we sometimes push back against them. We say over and over that poverty is to blame and fail to believe our kids are capable of great things. We require professional development that we know will not really improve teacher effectiveness. We buy outdated textbooks and turn our backs on open resources that are much more current. We burden them with requirements that will not really impact learning instead of freeing them to take risks and try new things.

It is tough to be a teacher who wants to make a difference and be surrounded by others who have long since given up. In The Gambia, change has become possible because of the shared optimism that leads educators to move forward in a coordinated way. If you are that one teacher who knows things can be different, seek out just one other person who shares your views. This person may be in your school or in a school somewhere far away. Together you can be the small group of committed people who can indeed change the world.

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