The Centre For Teaching and Learning (CTL), yesterday, held its 5th annual edible book fair in Abuja.
The founder and head of the school, Dr Agodi Alagbe, in an exclusive interview with Leadership, said, “The Edible Book Fair is a celebration of literacy and food where everybody is encouraged to create an edible expression of a piece of literature.”
She said that the CTL is an American school offering programmes from two years to secondary school, and speaking on the unique features of the school, the founder said, “We have small sizes, rigorous curriculum, and a balanced and fun learning environment where children can be themselves, learn by doing/experiences and are project based.”
“Though the Nigerian educational system has challenges of quality and students’ outcomes, the CTL has been a fulfilling journey because “our goal is to make sure that our children can compete with their peers anywhere in the world. We do everything that we can to ensure that our children learn materials that are relevant, they don’t learn by memorisation but learn and understand the concept.
“In about a month we will have an authors’ contest and Stem Fair, which celebrates science technology, engineering, and mathematics.” she added.
Also speaking, Ene Ameh who teaches first graders and is also the advanced placement (AP) co-ordinator, said, “What sets the CTL apart from other schools is their approach to individualised focus in teaching and learning as well as the project styles. With every class teachers are encouraged to differentiate their lessons and to cater for different learning styles for children such as kinesthetic, musica,l and spatial learners among others. All are catered for in lesson planning, in the product, and the pupils are not all expected to have the same kind of feedback, noting that some give feedback in writing, some orally, and others through projects.”
She added that the children are equipped with tools that will help them fit globally, stating that “the school has been growing despite that they have a transient community.”
On affordability, Ameh said that it was relative, even as she opined that good quality education doesn’t come cheap.
A grade 5 teacher of English, Marian Koda, said, “A unique feature of the school is that kids are given a hands on experience in every stage of learning as they provide projects that would allow them to experience what they are learning as opposed to just passively hearing it.”