Welcome to the Lincoln Community School, Accra, Ghana.
Like the students we serve, life at Lincoln is dynamic and ever changing. We would not have it any other way for in change there is growth, in growth there is development, and in development there is lifelong learning, all of which we believe are the hallmarks of an excellent school.
Schools are fun places in which to work but they can sometimes be difficult places to try to describe. Over the years and by many sources schools have been described in a wide variety of ways. For me, there is one particular description that stands apart from all the rest that is, the description of a school as a Community of Learners. This particular metaphor resonated with me the very first time I heard it many years ago and it continues to resonate with me even more fully today.
This description of a school as a Community of Learners was developed by Roland Barth, former dean of the Harvard School of Education, noted author and learner. Barth uses his metaphor to describe his vision for how schools should be in the world. He espouses that schools should not be viewed as places where, "…Big people who are learned teach little people who are learners" but rather "…a good school is a place in which everyone is teaching and everyone is learning – simultaneously under the same roof."
In this concept of a community of learners all members of the school community, not just the students but also the teachers, administrators, staff and yes, parents too, should engage in learning together. Central to in his concept of a community of learners, Barth embraces the need for collaboration. He writes, "Individuals usually enter collaborative relationships only after they come to realize that they cannot achieve their goals by acting alone."
In a similar fashion, the Ashanti culture has developed a series of Adinkra symbols one of which is named “funtunfunefu”.The symbol depicts geckos overladen in the form of a circle.It is embossed on a variety of objects in native arts and crafts.If you ask for an explanation of this symbol you will be told that it represents the theme of unity in diversity.Funtunfunefu symbolizes the importance of achieving common objectives despite divergent views and opinions of life.
At Lincoln Community School, we embrace both concepts, the native symbol of funtunfunefu, unity through diversity, and the emphasis on collaboration in a learning community, both of which are so essential in the international school environment.We believe that inherent in the concept of a learning community is the notion of striving together, supporting each other and, throughout our community, maintaining our commitment to be learners each and every one. Roland Barth states it this way, "Principals, teachers, staff, students, and parents learning together can create within their schools an ecology of reflection, growth, and refinement of practice: in short, a community of learners." At LCS, this is our goal, to realize our individual and collective potential by becoming a community of learners for each other.
We believe that when you decide to enroll at the Lincoln Community School, you join our Community of Learners. We are proud of our school, but more importantly we are proud of you.........the parents and students who join us in our common endeavors as a learning community.
On behalf of the LCS Board of Trustees, faculty and staff, I extend to all of our families a warm welcome to the Lincoln Community School. I look forward to meeting you and working with you each and every day.
