By Adama Kone, Teacher Project Coordinator

Teachers in Mali come together, have long tea-drinking sessions, and go to visit other villages as a group, but it is rare that they come together to learn from each other. Because we believe teachers are key to success for our students AND that teachers can really help each other, Mali Rising Foundation hosts Teacher Peer Meetings where we bring teacher together to learn from each other.

In late March, we hosted a teacher peer meeting in the big town of Ouelessebougou. This meeting brought together five science teachers who were all thrilled to participate.

Mr. Souleymane Koné was one of the participants.  Mr. Koné is a science teacher in the village of Fadiobougou, which is home to the Entrepreneur Organization Learn for life Academy. He teaches chemistry, physics and natural science/biology.  He is 33 years old and has three children.  He oversees more than one hundred students in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades. Mr. Koné enjoys working with students and his co-workers. He misses his students during the holidays and becomes very excited when it is time to reopen school. He likes his job so much because it allows him to support his family.

Mr. Koné likes to participate in our teacher peer meetings and to present lessons to his science teacher peers. At the March Teacher Peer Meeting, he presented a biology lesson and was helped by his peers, who provided good criticism and support.  Mr. Koné’s fellow teachers pretended to be students while he taught. He did a wonderful job presenting the urinary system. He drew very well on the chalkboard (see the photo!) and provided rich details in his lecture. His peers pretended to be stubborn students and made the discussions more interesting by asking funny and hard questions.

Mr.  Koné thinks Peer Meetings are occasions when teachers have to learn and share. With Peer Meetings, Mr. Koné thinks all teachers can improve their skills and so be more useful to students. Mr. Koné confirmed that he has improved on public speaking a lot thanks to Mali Rising Teacher Peer Meetings. He also says that he learns a lot from other teachers about how to convince or make students focus well during his classes. Mr. Koné thinks he is lucky to join these discussions, and hopes the Peer Meetings will continue.

Mr. Koné hopes to do his best for the Entrepreneur Organization Learn for Life Academy of Fadiobougou. He also said he would be open to all his colleagues if they have needs or problems now that he has participated in the Peer Meeting.