In Ghana, an innovative educator is teaching students core subjects using the art of dance. Who wouldn't want to be a student at his school and enjoy such a fun-filled learning experience?
Category
๐
NewsTranscript
00:00In rural Ghana, where dropout rates are a major concern, what's the secret behind this
00:06teacher's ability to keep students eager to learn?
00:10I'm entertaining them to come to school and building their self-confidence, their relationship,
00:19so that people can feel free to communicate with teachers.
00:23Persisaki, simply known as the dancing schoolteacher, is convinced that learning maths can be as
00:29fun as dancing.
00:31How can movement and rhythm unlock the academic potential of young minds?
00:36Let's find out.
00:42Persisaki brings joy and energy to the local Presbyterian school in Obon Kwewu, a rural
00:48town in the eastern region of Ghana.
00:51His creative teaching methods and innovative practices have earned him international acclaim.
00:57Organizations such as UNICEF appreciate his approach to education.
01:02However, implementing his own conventional teaching methods in the rather conservative
01:07rural Ghana was not exactly easy.
01:11What were the biggest concerns against it?
01:13Some parents thought we are playing, their kids come to school and they don't learn,
01:18it's only about dance.
01:19But here lies the case, without this entertainment, people will not come to school.
01:24Parents who are not having interest in paying their fees or paying their bills in school.
01:29But as I started my methodology, pupils are coming to school and it forces parents to
01:34also make their payment or their responsibility in their school.
01:39Many children in rural Ghana come from low-income families where the priority is survival.
01:45They may be needed at home to help with farming or other household chores and these take precedence
01:50over education.
01:52However, basic education in Ghana is compulsory and music and dance are part of the curriculum.
01:59Music and dance is part of the GES curriculum, it's in the creative arts and the performing
02:05arts.
02:06So we normally do it as a subject on its own, but little did we know that we could infuse
02:11this music and dance into teaching other subjects until Sir Percy came in and we realized that
02:18wow, the integration of music and dance into teaching English language, mathematics and
02:23science is really helping the students, is helping them in retention and is helping them
02:29to engage themselves much more in the activities we do apart from music and dance in other
02:34subjects also.
02:35Percy is committed to using creativity as a teaching tool.
02:40But how does it look like to integrate dancing into teaching subjects like maths, English
02:45or science?
02:47The lesson or the topics that we treat, because we lack materials, I mean in terms of the
02:56TLM, teaching and learning materials, when I find that people are having challenges,
03:00I'll go back a little, practice it with a dance, then I'll come back to class, fuse
03:06in with the lesson, then I will demonstrate it first for people to know how to go about
03:13it.
03:14After I practice with the peoples, then after practicing it together, I ask people to come
03:19in front, demonstrate for their friends to also see it.
03:22After we are done practicing and you ask them questions, you give them exercises, they will
03:28come out brilliantly with excellent marks.
03:31By now, everybody here has accepted Percy's teaching methods, inventing new learning methods
03:39that think of the students first and teaches them the subject matter with joy, while at
03:44the same time convincing parents that their children have a right to education.
03:49Has that always been Percy's calling?
03:52My mother being a teacher motivated me a lot because I remember when I was in Physics 6,
03:59sometimes she gives me the chance of writing on the board, writing an assignment on the
04:04board, and it boosted me to become a teacher.
04:07I was good at playing football as well.
04:10But it got to a time when some peoples were in awe, not because of anything, but how teachers
04:16go about selecting their players.
04:18And I thought wisely that I should also come to the teaching field, help people that got
04:24talent, then make them one of the best.
04:26All these peoples that they are talented in my school, when it comes to quizzes, like
04:32let's say my school is going to represent a quiz, they are the peoples that are being
04:38selected to represent my school.
04:40These people that are talented are making good results in academics.
04:45However, if labour is more important than academic results, why should Dance of All
04:50Things change this view?
04:52I believe creative art can change not only Ghana, even the world.
04:57If the youth are not getting jobs, they complete school and they are not getting jobs, it's
05:01a big issue and a big challenge for the country.
05:04This is why we have the conflict here and there.
05:06But at the end of the day, when we build up the creative art solidly from school or from
05:11scratch, it will be able to reduce unemployment in the world, not only in Ghana.
05:15Under Percy's guidance, the students no longer simply walk to school.
05:20They dance their way towards a brighter future with every step filled with enthusiasm and
05:26hope.