Support Teachers to Educate 200 Children Monthly

Dear friends and partners,

This September I would like to share real teacher stories about their experiences at Acres of Mercy Learning Centre.  I do this as a way of preparing to celebrate our teachers and teachers in general in the next two weeks when we celebrate World Teachers Day on October 5th.

Reflective Teachers, Growing Teachers, Growing Students

Teacher M "In the past three years, i have been with Pre-school children. In my first year, I had  a challenge. I was expecting to deliver the perfect lesson as I planned it. As the days went by I learnt the importance of accepting and learning from my own mistakes...It made me create room for mistakes where learners amke mistakes and learn from their mistakes rather than let the mistakes demoralize them... Through being honest about my mistakes and imperfections, I can noow form a stronger connection with the learners and form strong strong relationships with mystudents in order to create a better learning environment"

Teacher E "Many are the times I feel so encouraged...I look at the way the students do their work independently, compared to the times I used to push them...Teachers , [sic] colleagues,  also encourage me through their support, correction and words of encouragement...Whatever I do, I do because I believe that all learners can learn no matter what through all support.."

Teacher L "I have learnt a lot through the learning meetings we have been having...The new Competency Based Curriculumn has made learning and teaching in Pre-School so enjoyable.."

These and more are stories being told through committed practice of our teachers. They are not without challenges, but through consistent practice and teamwork they are being overcome. Below is one such story re-told.

We admitted him in the middle of last term. He was a troubled teenage boy, bearing the scars of a brutal period in the Kenyan public schools. Our public schools are violent places for differently abled children. This boy had a chip on his shoulder and soon after joining the school he was out to prove himself...he wanted so much to be respected, to be valued, to be loved.

His first infraction was to declare that he could beat all the teachers (female) within the school. We called in the parent, thankfully the father came. What emerged was a student disrepectful to women, in constant conflict with the mother as he sought to be loved, to be respected. Perhaps he had been projecting and needed a little careful intervention.

There has been marked change in the boys' level of discipline, thanks to the efforts of a caring and understanding teacher.

Friends, your investment in these teachers are yielding results one day at a time. Thank you for your continued support. Acres of Mercy has an 11 team teaching team, three volunteers.

Our goal in the next 12 months is to retain 12 teachers at an average monthly salary of $220 a month per teacher. We are  also working on different ways to motivate our staff, in the words we speak, in the trainings, in finding ways they can progress in their careers as mentioned by facilitating increments in remuneration and other teacher benefits so they can continue to invest in our children for a better society whilst living too. To this end our Board is aconsidering a strategy to provide these in a sustainable way.

Your ideas on how to do this in sustainable ways are needed and are welcome.

Get in touch via email- acresofmercy@gmail.com 

Visit our facebook page www.facebook.com/acresofmercy

Consider increasing recurrent giving for this project through involving friends, colleagues and families.

Once again, I celebrate your partnership, friendship and trust. Thank you!

Dear friends and partners,

Hear from one of our teachers.

"My name is Teacher Steve. I have been part of the teaching team at Acres of Mercy Learning Centre for the past one year. I started my teaching profession here and this has presented me with various opportunities to practice my teaching professionally.

 I believe that teaching is not just about doing well academically but also involves growth in other areas. Doing this has seen his classes improve holistically over the last one year. The fruits I am seeing today have come about through teacher trainings, research over the internet as well as seeking help from colleagues to come up with solutions.

Being a teacher at Acres of Mercy has changed my view on  discipline and learning. I have come to believe that a student does not have to be disciplined using the cane in order to learn. I have also come to embrace the importance of involving students in decision making (student engagement).

I have seen that settling issues of discipline by dialoguing with the students to come up with solutions is a good opportunity for teaching them life skills such as critical thinking. I have to model right character for them to grow. I also ensure that at the end of every lesson i encourage the students.

By doing this we see the students believing in themselves and stop seeing teachers as deities in the education world. Instead, it has made them open up and become more willing to ask for help in areas where they face challenges."

The support we are receiving is evidently yielding results and impacting the people who have the the power to impact our children positively, the teacher. In Acres of Mercy,a teacher like Steve on average earns $110 a month. Thank you.

Still this is way below what Public School teachers earn at an average $280 a month.

We would like to keep teachers like Steve by offering a better working environment, better training, and better wages so they do not have to leave when the Government's employment window opens. I would like to encourage you to invite frriends, other family to support our teachers so we d not lose them.

Thank you.