As you may notice from the latest entries, the LOEP Training Team has been very busy and there is a lot to tell those of you who follow the blog and watch our work. The next few blog posts will be an effort to bring all up to date on the 2010 LOEP Teacher Training slated for February, 2010 at Lott Carey Mission School in Brewerville, Liberia.
Introducing the LOEP Training Team 2010
Karen Darner - is retired from Arlington County Schools where she was a Speech Pathologist and taught Special Education. Karen's experience is so valuable and such an asset to LOEP that even on the plane from Liberia last winter, we began plotting how to persuade her to join this year's team. It did not take much convincing. A former Peace Corps Volunteer (Jamaica), Karen took one look at our pictures of Liberian kids and she was on board! Working with Emmalee, Beth and Phylis, Karen developed the special needs component of the 2010 Training. Karen lives in Arlington, VA and is a member of Clarendon Methodist Church.
Emmalee Iden – develops and manages education programs for the Atlanta Opera and spends her spare time working on developing networking and funding opportunities for LOEP. She was a middle school teacher and while she was a graduate student she developed the Mobile Classroom concept (roots of LOEP). She was able to see that concept fully developed with the training last year which was based on principles and concepts using materials in the Mobile Classroom units for Pre-K through third grade. Emmalee lives in Atlanta, GA and maintains her life-long connection to Browntown Baptist Church in VA.
Brenda Bush-Weeks –A founding member of LOEP, Brenda's Liberian heritage and her commitment to orphans and vulnerable children in Liberia are an invaluable asset to LOEP's board of directors. She accompanied the Training Team last year and hosted team members there with family and friends – strengthening LOEP's valuable relationships in Liberia. Brenda, a life-long Methodist, is the mother of five children, is a writer for CNN, and lives in Atlanta, GA.
Jacob Madehdou- Executive Director of the Liberia Education Project, Inc. (LEP) brings unique and valuable perspective to the LOEP Training Team and he will have a special role in the LOEP 2010 training. Jacob will work as a training coach in small-group format with LOEP Teacher Trainers, helping them prepare to conduct supplemental LOEP trainings (professional development) throughout the year with their colleagues at Lott Carey, AAMOM and CRM schools. Jacob is a member of Somerton United Methodist Church and lives in Philadelphia, PA.
Phylis Benner – a founding member of LOEP and Senior Trainer, Phylis develops training materials and coordinates training with LOEP Teacher Trainers in Liberia. Her expertise in teacher training and her solid background in Early Childhood Education is the foundation of LOEP's Teacher Training programs. Phylis was the Lead Trainer on last year's team. This year her LOEP role will be U.S.-based. She will coordinate post-training observations (using follow-up video and U.S.-based trainers) and teacher trainer coaching. Phylis lives in Richmond, VA where she is a member of Ridge Baptist Church.
Beth Iden – As a founder of LOEP and LOEP Training Team Leader, Beth's job is to keep all the many loose ends of a LOEP training tied neatly. Beth and Gary (a U.S.-based LOEP team member) live in Browntown, VA and are members of Browntown Baptist Church.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
My how time flies!
I can’t believe that it’s been almost a year since I first saw the green, lush countryside of Liberia. Never have I anticipated anything as much as I did that landing on Liberian soil last February. I will never forget the feeling I had landing at Robertsfield Airport. The sight, the sound, the smell… it’s something I will always remember.
The weeks that I spent in Liberia flew by entirely too quickly and it was so terribly difficult to leave when the time came! As I held back tears on the plane leaving Monrovia (ok, so I was trying to hold them back and not doing such a good job at it!) Mom and I reminded each other that we would be returning in 2010 and that there was plenty of LOEP work to keep us busy and connected in the US.
It has been a busy 10 months – we were right, there was a lot to do to prepare for the next round of training! Now here we are, nearing the end of 2009 and it’s almost time to go back. I have been thinking about my friends in Liberia so much and can’t wait to get back there! The administration at Lott Carey has been working so hard these past 10 months to implement the techniques and strategies we introduced in the training last year. The teachers have been working hard to engage their students in the learning process. I can’t wait to see the progress that has been made and help take them to the next level!
I am certainly looking forward to enjoying time with family and friends this Christmas season, but a large part of my mind has already fast forwarded to the time I will soon spend with the LOEP family in that beautiful, irrepressible and hopeful country in a much less materialistic part of the world. In the meantime, pictures and emails will suffice until our February departure!
The weeks that I spent in Liberia flew by entirely too quickly and it was so terribly difficult to leave when the time came! As I held back tears on the plane leaving Monrovia (ok, so I was trying to hold them back and not doing such a good job at it!) Mom and I reminded each other that we would be returning in 2010 and that there was plenty of LOEP work to keep us busy and connected in the US.
It has been a busy 10 months – we were right, there was a lot to do to prepare for the next round of training! Now here we are, nearing the end of 2009 and it’s almost time to go back. I have been thinking about my friends in Liberia so much and can’t wait to get back there! The administration at Lott Carey has been working so hard these past 10 months to implement the techniques and strategies we introduced in the training last year. The teachers have been working hard to engage their students in the learning process. I can’t wait to see the progress that has been made and help take them to the next level!
I am certainly looking forward to enjoying time with family and friends this Christmas season, but a large part of my mind has already fast forwarded to the time I will soon spend with the LOEP family in that beautiful, irrepressible and hopeful country in a much less materialistic part of the world. In the meantime, pictures and emails will suffice until our February departure!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Commitment and Focus
As the folks in New Orleans can attest, re-building from complete devastation is a daunting task that takes an extraordinary level of commitment and focus. Our Liberian partners are re-building their nation from the ground up with limited resources and LOEP exists to help that effort in a very specific way. LOEP offers assistance to our Liberian partners in their effort to "build a community of learners" within the broader national context of re-building.
LOEP also works with very limited resources. To keep focus on our purpose of providing educational support as cost-efficiently as possible, LOEP is constantly evaluating, reviewing and assessing our own programs and how our partners make use of the assistance we can offer in building their own community of learners within their institutions. Part of the 2009 training program included an evaluation process that helps us answer key questions about how institutions use LOEP training. Is LOEP training effective for teachers? Are teachers using new techniques in the classroom? Are the new concepts understood and embraced by teachers who receive training? Are LOEP-trained teachers encouraged to introduce their colleagues to new concepts and new techniques? Are school administrators engaged in the training process? Are school administrators actively supportive of new techniques and concepts in their institutions?
We work with schools whose teachers and administrators are committed to building a community of learners within their own institutions. Teacher by teacher, student by student, school by school – setting the building blocks to build a community of learners in Liberia requires focus and commitment at every level.
LOEP also works with very limited resources. To keep focus on our purpose of providing educational support as cost-efficiently as possible, LOEP is constantly evaluating, reviewing and assessing our own programs and how our partners make use of the assistance we can offer in building their own community of learners within their institutions. Part of the 2009 training program included an evaluation process that helps us answer key questions about how institutions use LOEP training. Is LOEP training effective for teachers? Are teachers using new techniques in the classroom? Are the new concepts understood and embraced by teachers who receive training? Are LOEP-trained teachers encouraged to introduce their colleagues to new concepts and new techniques? Are school administrators engaged in the training process? Are school administrators actively supportive of new techniques and concepts in their institutions?
We work with schools whose teachers and administrators are committed to building a community of learners within their own institutions. Teacher by teacher, student by student, school by school – setting the building blocks to build a community of learners in Liberia requires focus and commitment at every level.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
A New Generation
In a recent post, we highlighted the Kindergarten graduation at CRM's school. The pictures of the little ones in their graduation attire are adorable, of course. Yet, there is another interesting aspect to this event that makes it important to a broader audience than families and friends of the graduates.
These children are the leading edge of a post-war generation – they represent the first children in a generation to go to school in peace in Liberia and they are the first children in Liberia whose leader looks like a mother, not a father. It will be interesting to watch how the influence of peace and women's empowerment will change the lives of these children as the nation pulls out of its long period of strife, chaos and war.
Already there are clear signs of major positive changes in the culture. The CRM graduation picture shows a nearly 50-50 ratio of boys to girls- evidence of the newly embraced issue of equal educational opportunity for girls and boys. Under the leadership of President Johnson-Sirleaf and the influence of international emphasis on improved opportunity for women, there is a conscious national effort to educate girls. Educational institutions and educators are committed to educating the entire nation (not just the male half), and cultural values are changing also. Lott Carey Mission School, where LOEP will be training teachers in February, 2010, is a progressive institution whose web site proudly claims a 48-50 girl-boy ratio.
The CRM graduation indicates far more than a personal milestone for those little graduates - it represents a national milestone for Liberia raising a generation of children in peace who accept equal opportunity for both genders.
These children are the leading edge of a post-war generation – they represent the first children in a generation to go to school in peace in Liberia and they are the first children in Liberia whose leader looks like a mother, not a father. It will be interesting to watch how the influence of peace and women's empowerment will change the lives of these children as the nation pulls out of its long period of strife, chaos and war.
Already there are clear signs of major positive changes in the culture. The CRM graduation picture shows a nearly 50-50 ratio of boys to girls- evidence of the newly embraced issue of equal educational opportunity for girls and boys. Under the leadership of President Johnson-Sirleaf and the influence of international emphasis on improved opportunity for women, there is a conscious national effort to educate girls. Educational institutions and educators are committed to educating the entire nation (not just the male half), and cultural values are changing also. Lott Carey Mission School, where LOEP will be training teachers in February, 2010, is a progressive institution whose web site proudly claims a 48-50 girl-boy ratio.
The CRM graduation indicates far more than a personal milestone for those little graduates - it represents a national milestone for Liberia raising a generation of children in peace who accept equal opportunity for both genders.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Your Christmas Card List!
Char Turner has unveiled her new series of cards for this year's holiday greetings and they are really stunning! Beautiful paper with original designs that bring the seasonal message of Peace and Love perfectly!
Her orders are coming in quickly so if you want a very meaningful, very unique gift, place your order soon. She can only produce so many of these beautiful, original-art-suitable-for-gift-giving items. Link to her web site in the previous post.
Her orders are coming in quickly so if you want a very meaningful, very unique gift, place your order soon. She can only produce so many of these beautiful, original-art-suitable-for-gift-giving items. Link to her web site in the previous post.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Handmade Art for Orphans
Paper artist, Char Turner, has dedicated all sales of her beautiful Christmas and Holiday art work to the LOEP 2010 Teacher Training trip. Char's work is so unique - the organic nature of handmade paper with petroglyph style prints is evocative of the natural, earthiness of Africa itself. Her art work is totally committed to the improvement life for Liberian orphans and has supported the construction of bunk beds, the development of vocational and agricultural programs and has provided for shipments of seeds for orphanages, among other projects.
Go to her web site and check out the beautiful cards for all ocassions, Christmas cards (proceeds will all go to LOEP teacher training) and the other handmade paper items she makes. Send a special holiday greeting this year - a beautiful piece of original art that will also help teachers train to teach Liberian orphans!
Her web site: http://causeforcreation.wordpress.com/
Go to her web site and check out the beautiful cards for all ocassions, Christmas cards (proceeds will all go to LOEP teacher training) and the other handmade paper items she makes. Send a special holiday greeting this year - a beautiful piece of original art that will also help teachers train to teach Liberian orphans!
Her web site: http://causeforcreation.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Graduation and on to College!
CRM Director Sam Kargbo sent these wonderful pictures of children graduating from the CRM elementary school that serves orphans at CRM and children in the surrounding community. The children pictured in their graduation garb will continue their schooling at a community high school in Paynesville, a suburb of Monrovia where CRM is located.
The great pictures also held good news from a CRM alum who has been introduced in previous entries on this blog. Hawa, a war orphan who was raised at the CRM orphanage, is the lovely young woman pictured with one of the gowned graduates. She has served as a role model, big sister and best friend to other children at CRM since she arrived as an orphaned toddler. Hawa enters University of Liberia in December to begin pre-nursing studies to eventually reach her career goal of resident health care professional for CRM. Graduation at CRM was really a great event for all!
The pictures were accompanied by the following message from CRM Director Sam Kargbo:
"Greetings and best wishes to you all. Please find attached photos of the July, 2009 graduation at CRM. This is all because you care."
Sniff, sniff - sentimental and touching - just like in-person graduations!
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