Teacher Spotlight #2
Think back to the teachers that have made a real difference in your life. Without their intervention, your life might have turned out differently. Teaching is one of the most important jobs in the world, and teachers need to be recognised for their individual contributions.
This is the second blog post in our Teacher Spotlight series, sharing the stories and views of teachers working in the secondary sector across the United Kingdom. Want to share your story? Get in touch at support@stairwaylearning.com
Name: Linda Yooyai
School: Woodside High School
How did you get into teaching?
I originally studied Mechanical Engineering at Brunel University and had got married in my final year. After I got married, I had my son just over a year later. I then had my daughter a few years after and then I had twin girls. So really, I had my family quite early on and didn’t actually get to begin a career in engineering. When I looked at getting back into work, I felt that with my family being so young, I wanted a career that would fit in with my family life and I wasn’t confident that I would be able to do that with a full time job in engineering. I wanted to be with my children during the holidays.
I looked into teacher training, and I was deciding from a few subjects. My course at university had been very mathematical, and I felt confident with this side of things. I looked into doing a PGCE fairly casually, with a view to getting into it in the future once my children were older.
What actually ended up happening, when I enquired, was that the teacher development agency kept getting in touch, asking questions and giving support. That really helped me make up my mind. So I ended up starting my PGCE in 2008. I had originally planned to do my PGCE in 2010 and was a bit apprehensive in starting so early. However, after all the support, I figured that it was right to take the next step.
I found it really, really tough. At that point, the twins were two years old, my daughter was five and my son was seven. So all very young and in nursery or primary school, and I was juggling taking them to school with learning and working at school myself. I took one day at a time and my husband gave me encouragement and support. He took on more responsibility around the home so that I could plan lessons, mark and write assignments. The PGCE was extremely hard and it did take its toll on the family but for one year and what I have gained since, it was definitely worth it.
What were some of your motivations for getting into teaching? Were there any experiences in particular which led you into it?
My parents are from Thailand, though I was born in this country. When I first went to nursery, I couldn’t speak English all that well; I would speak some Thai and some English because my parents only spoke to me in Thai at home. And I’d be confused as to why the other kids didn’t understand me? At that young age, I didn’t understand that I was speaking a mixture of Thai and English.
My parents have a cafe in Stratford, and their work has always been really tough. They’ve always worked hard, and I feel that they worked in that field simply because that’s what they felt that they were able to do, particularly with a limited educational background. Back in Thailand, their background was in the hotel business, but they chose to leave their country to come here to the UK and to start a new life mainly to make a better future for me and my brothers.
I grew up in Stratford, and one of my first placements was in Beckton. There are lots of similarities between these areas. In some senses, they are quite tough and the schools can be challenging. Children that I grew up with, and those I worked with in my placements, were affected by many of the same issues. I consider myself fortunate that my parents worked so hard, and enabled me to get to where I am.
As a result of these experiences, I wanted to give something back. Even if students are challenging, I don’t take it personally. I feel that if I’m persistent, eventually they’ll come around! It wasn’t always this way, however, and when I first started teaching, it was hard and I lacked confidence in my own ability but I never gave up.
When I was at school and was having a tough time, I always think back to the teachers that inspired me and encouraged me to keep going. I used to go to them for help with my work and also other problems that I had as a teenager. They were always there to help and I used to think that they would give me the answer to my problems. Only after did I realise that they had spurred me on to think for myself, to find my own solutions to my questions and my problems. This has stayed with me constantly. If a student comes to me for help with their problems, or difficulties in their learning, I feel that I can help develop the skills they need to achieve and reach the next stage of their life, just as my teachers did for me.
I would like to say just how much I admire you for beginning your teaching career while having 4 young children! I can only imagine the challenges that came along with this. How much do you think being a mother, around the same time you started to get into teaching, played into your motivations?
Having children at the same time made me very empathetic to students in school. It was easy for me to imagine that, one day, my children would also be that age. I think it was beneficial that I was already a parent as this allowed me to be more patient going into school.
So to an extent, it definitely played into my motivations. I’d always look at students in school and think to myself: how would I want my children to grow up when they’re in school? What would I be expecting for them? What would I want to teach them to be able to do? In the end, my students are someone’s son, someone’s daughter, and they’re going to want them to grow up to be productive human beings in society; having a happy life. I think some of the issues that we are seeing right now are because some children don’t have that supportive home environment. I want to give those children the message that they can use their education to build a better life for themselves.
For those students who perhaps don’t have the supportive environment at home, how much do you feel that you have to take on the role of being their supporter and mentor?
I don’t know if it’s me in myself, or if it’s the same for every teacher, but I feel that there is an obligation to provide this, though perhaps it’s just the person that I am. I actually think teachers have a hard time if they don’t feel that they have a responsibility for giving students and pupils that extra element of help and support. However, not everybody is able to do that easily or naturally, and this can cause them to struggle. For me, I feel that it’s part of who I am, but I’m aware that this is not how everyone feels. It’s not always about the subject knowledge, but helping them look towards their futures and understand what they want for themselves and how to get there.
What do you feel are the key challenges for those students who don’t have access to all the tools, or the environment, they need?
Sometimes, there are things going on in the local area. I know that some of our students have to go home very early, as it can become quite dangerous. I have had a student say to me that they have to go home at a particular time, because there are gangs in the area that they live which need to be avoided. These are challenges that not everyone sees. But for students in certain areas, keeping themselves safe is, unfortunately, a priority which isn’t completely guaranteed.
I also think part of the issue is support from home. Sometimes, what the family wants for the student is not in line with what the student wants for their future. If a student wants to work hard, and go into a particular career, the whole family may not be on board. This is usually not because they don’t want to, but because there are other issues within the family, or externally.
If families are thinking about meeting rent or paying the mortgage, putting food on the table, paying bills, and all those kinds of things, the main priority might not be to support their children in their studies. In Maths, there are many times where parents have a negative view because they themselves find it difficult. This negative view from home can prevent students from having the right support or encouragement.
At Stairway, we believe that technology has a part to play in helping students who don’t currently have access to the right tools or support. We want to help students learn independently, alongside a support network which can help them to understand the world of careers open to them, and what steps they can take in order to reach them.
Where do you think technology has the greatest potential for impact, either in the classroom or outside?
In more privileged areas, a lot of students will be getting private tuition. This costs a lot of money, and many students can’t afford to be paying for a tutor to keep up. So this puts them at another disadvantage.
I think almost everyone has technology at their fingertips. Everyone has a phone, or a laptop, or some kind of technology where they can go on the internet. Most students are on social media; I think the majority of young people are doing that. So we should be able to use the technology to our advantage, where it puts the progress in the hands of the students. By enabling students to independently work through things at their own pace, it could be so beneficial for those students who want to work and don’t currently have access to the right tools. It’s just a case of having those tools available for them to use.
With most technology products at the moment, if students have an issue, they have to come into school to get help. “I couldn’t do this one. I couldn’t do that one.” I think there is potential for something which can intervene directly for the specific issues of each student, without the need to consult a teacher or tutor.
Yes, I completely agree with you, and this is quite core to our thinking too. Personal tuition can be so effective, but unfortunately the cost only seems to exacerbate the gap between students from different backgrounds.
I can imagine that your children are very lucky to have a Maths teacher in the house. It must be an interesting perspective from your side watching your children going through their GCSEs while you are teaching, particularly as they are spread across a few years. How do you approach learning with your children, and has anything changed between each child?
To give some context, I have twin girls who are 12, and a daughter who is 15. My son is now 17, and is in year 13.
My thinking has changed with each child, as I’ve learned more about their needs. With my eldest I felt that I tried to help him the most but this often ended up with us arguing as he viewed it as me nagging or controlling him. As time goes by I’ve learned to let go a little more. I want to let them find their own feet, and give them help when they come to me.
Now my youngest girls don’t ask for much help. I feel that part of this is because they have older siblings who keep telling them to work hard. They’ve become independent and self-motivated that I don’t actually have to say as much as a parent now!
Particularly with your children in mind, what are your thoughts on the new curriculum at GCSE level?
I do understand the changes in curriculum. I know that there’s an issue in terms of the level of Mathematics for those students taking more technical degrees. In those fields where there is a need, I completely understand that the calibre needs to be raised, and I don’t feel there is too much of an issue in the way this has been done in the new curriculum by increasing the challenge.
With regards to some of the higher topics moving into foundation now, I don’t actually have a fundamental issue. I feel that if you want to raise the standard of Mathematics, you have to be willing to expose students to more. I think that, in time, by surrounding students with the new curriculum, it can raise everyone’s level of Mathematics.
I think in terms of the level of challenge, I’ve seen them change from one end to the other. The very first 2017 paper was really challenging and the grade boundaries were really low. They’ve made amendments since to account for this, and I think we’re at a happy medium at the moment. We haven’t got too long to the summer exams and we will see what happens there. But I’m hoping there won’t be too much change.
Do you feel that there are any particular challenges, from the teacher’s perspective, in the curriculum as it stands?
In our school, we’re working hard on looking at the transition from Primary school, and making sure that we cover everything, but also that we don’t duplicate things that students have already done. Something that happens quite often, at KS3, is to repeat what we assume they haven’t done or leave out what we think students should already know. However, sometimes things are missed by assuming that students are already competent, when a topic seems basic.
For example, I remember in a previous school there was a year 11 student, in Set 1, who wasn’t able to divide with larger numbers. But up to that point, it hadn’t been picked up. This will be a skill that they will always need in daily life but it also appears in the non-calculator paper, so why hasn’t it been picked up?
I think that being in higher sets can lead teachers to assume that students already know the simpler ideas. In these cases, it’s really important to pick up these gaps and misconceptions and make sure to go through them from start to finish. For the student I mentioned, it wasn’t hard for him to pick it up, and once I’d gone through it, he knew it. But if this hadn’t been done, he would have carried this through to his exam and probably even further. It is our job as teachers to find these gaps and not rely on students telling us, in this example this student may have felt embarrassed to ask previously and may have hidden it all along for fear of ridicule.
Another challenge is in providing training for our teachers. And that can sometimes be a little difficult if you want to bring in new topics. Some teachers don’t have the right subject knowledge for a new topic, but might not be comfortable saying so. So that’s one thing to look at, how do we provide the right support and training to ensure that all teachers are in the best place?
It takes a bit of time, but I think we are heading in the right direction. For us, it’s about trying new things, and I think it is worth the time.
