Why I treasure my role as a School Support Officer so much...

This week’s email comes from Isabelle Hürst, our Education Development Advisor based in Zambia.

“Anything is possible when you have the right people to support you.“ (Misty Copeland)

Have you ever wondered why some students disengage from learning while others do perfectly well? Have you ever asked a student who became disinterested with school for some reason? Janet Blaauw, the Deputy Principal of the Te Ranga School in New Zealand, reminds us of the importance of raising this question, “I doubt if many of these frustrated students are asked why they respond in these ways, or what measures they feel could be taken to further support their learning. I feel that as educators we need to address any issues that may cause these children to be disenchanted with learning so that children at primary school do not move into their future schooling lives with engrained patterns of frustration and silence.”

Not too long ago, Impact Network followed this advice and created the position of School Support Officer, whose main role is to support struggling students at each of our schools. In small group lessons adapted to the students' level of achievement, the learners are able to engage light-heartedly, make learning progress and build positive relationships with each other. For individual challenges, students can ask for one-to-one counselling. If the student is absent for a longer period of time, the School Support Officer will visit the student and inquire about the student's reasons and needs. All of this reinforces our guiding principle: all children count at Impact Network.

Charles Phiri, who serves at the School Support Officer at Kachewele Community School in Petauke recently shared with me his experiences and his range of responsibilities.

“An inspiring teacher sparked my interest in the teaching profession. There is nothing better than getting children excited about learning. But sometimes they need a little more support - be it scholastic or emotional. As a School Support Officer, I can provide both. I support children who struggle with reading and writing in small groups. At a moderate pace and in a playful way, we deepen the basics and lo and behold, after six weeks of lessons, a 5th grader who could not name a single letter at the beginning of the school year manages to use some of the letters actively. I am very happy about such learning progress because it enables the child to succeed academically and proves the importance of my work.”

“However, it must not be overlooked that the children have to deal with much more. Life in the village demands more from a child than life in town. They bear a greater portion of responsibility and carry out more chores. If the community then prefers other aspects of life to education, it is not surprising that my efforts are needed to provide barrier-free access to education. For this, I visit the villages and sensitize the community. This work suits me very well too. The diversity of the profession is why I treasure my role as a School Support Officer so much.”

-Isabelle