But then I delighted at the brilliance of Richard Appiah Akoto, a middle school teacher in rural Ghana. He is surely a master of priceless skills such as improvisation and creative thinking.
Why, you might ask, would you bother teaching computer skills to students with no computers? The answer is, in order to advance to high school the pupils must pass an exam that includes Information and Communication Technology.
My business partner, Mark Robilliard, has always reminded me not to get too caught up in our shiny teaching props, designed as they are by a top U.S. design agency and manufactured on high tech equipment.
Channeling the spirit that Mr Akoto would endorse, Mark keeps me grounded when he says, “We have to be able to teach the principles of finance with a stick in a paddock.”
Do what it takes. Keep it simple. Make it all about the learner.
That’s what I take from those wonderful photos of the indomitable Mr Akoto.
Peter