The Principal of British International School, Franklin Adjetey, believes that the failure of students, especially in subjects such as Mathematics and English Language, is due to poor teaching methods by teachers.
He noted that there are various teaching methods that have not been explored by teachers.
According to him, the big problem in education is that teachers don’t put teaching and learning in the context which makes it difficult for students to understand abstract concepts, resulting in mass failures.
Responding to a question as to why the majority of students fail in core subjects such as Mathematics and English, he stated that “[the teachers] didn’t teach them well.”
The principal added that he was struggling as a student in Ghana but when he studied abroad, the teachers incorporated one-on-one teaching methods among others which helped him to pass.
To buttress his point, he explained that Ghanaians ran to Ukraine and other countries for tertiary education because they get quality education there compared to Ghana.
Mr. Franklin Adjetey expressed concerns that students who are poorly taught grow up to become bad teachers too and this cyclical event is killing teaching, innovation and creativity among children.
Using himself as an example he said “my learning style is different so if you don’t know me and how to teach me, I’m not going to do well.”
He suggested that teachers must be proactive and adapt to innovative teaching methods by involving the students in the process.
“My learning style is not to listen to you and get it and understand it…I must be involved, I must know the endpoint but they didn’t teach me like that.”
Advocating innovation in teaching, he said “for me, I can teach you Maths using music, dancing, videos because Maths is abstract. If I ask you to show me 2, you will show me two fingers because 2 can’t be seen anywhere since it’s abstract and the children can’t relate to it…”
