Teacher Spotlight #4

Looking from the outside in, and sometimes from the inside out, teaching doesn’t always have the positive spin it deserves. We are sharing the individual contributions of teachers working in secondary education in the UK, presenting their experiences and helping to spread their message.

This week, we spoke to Michael, a Maths teacher based in London, about his own experiences as a teacher. Despite some challenges, he illustrates that teaching still remains an incredibly rewarding experience 15 years later.

Name: Michael Segbafah

School: Ernest Bevin College

How did you get into teaching?

I didn’t initially set out to become a teacher when I first came to UK. I had originally come to the UK to do a Master’s programme in Management, and the plan was then to join the family business in Ghana.

During the course of my programme, my family opened up a primary and secondary school back home in Ghana. As a result, I was left with a decision as to whether I should do this, or stay and learn the teaching trade in the UK, and take what I had learned to train other teachers back in Ghana in the future.

I had a debate with my parents, and we decided that it was the right move for me to learn to teach here in the UK. As a result, I started my PGCE shortly after finishing my course and joined up with a school from there, and I’ve been here for a little over 15 years now.

How difficult was it for you to make that decision not to move back to Ghana, and to do your PGCE here in the UK?

It was very lonely as I didn’t really have any family here in the UK. However, I was determined to turn our family school into an international-type school where I could teach and train other teachers. I was interested in supporting some of the local teachers to deliver the curriculum in a similar way to British schools.

I stayed here in order to learn the trade inside out, rather than to learn in the local college, which may not have exposed me to the same teaching skills that I have been able to acquire here.

What were some of your motivations driving you to want to become a teacher?

On both a personal and a professional level, I love to teach, and I particularly love to help children to learn new things.

Throughout my career, I have always supported my colleagues, by helping them with mathematical content in their lessons and in exam preparation. Some teachers, who have not studied quantitative subjects, can struggle with delivery of some of the content. I was determined to make a difference in whatever way I could, and found myself driven to support both students and adults.

I have always tutored students, from kids in school all the way up to the university level. This has helped me to have the experience to support others professionally, and ensure that I can provide support to whoever needs it, regardless of the level that they are at.

So, it wasn’t a difficult decision for me. In my family, on a general note, we have lots of teachers and other educators, so it wasn’t difficult for me on a personal level.

Also, the educational landscape in Ghana has flatlined a little bit, so I’m interested in ways that we can develop skills at the international level, and apply them to schools back at home.

What is the educational landscape in Ghana like, and how do you think it is different to the schools you have worked in in the UK?

In Ghana, it is very focused on theory, and it doesn’t bridge the gap to the application and practical aspect of what you learn.

Here, the difference is that there are programmes and apprenticeships in place, in which you can apply the knowledge you have gained in the classroom, in industry.

I love the STEM approach and I think it works brilliantly, but it is also expensive. If you want to go down that pathway, you first need to have the logistics in place to support students to apply successfully, and this requires investment from many parties. I think this is part of the reason why the situation isn’t quite the same in Ghana.

Also, there are many different types of learners in play in every classroom, like kinaesthetic, auditory, visual and SEN. You have to be able to cater to all of these groups, but in state-funded schools in Ghana, we don’t have the capacity to train teachers to account for all the different types of learners. Here in the UK, we train day in and day out, and have consistent CPD to develop our skills in teaching different types of students.

I completely agree. We would actually like to see an increase in the industry connection and application of STEM skills learned in the classroom. A lot of what we teach isn’t connected to the needs of industry, and this leads to a gap between students and what is required in the job market.

I’m interested in your thoughts on using technology in education. Where do you think technology has the most potential for impact, and thinking also about its impact in Ghana?

Technology gives us a method to reach a wider audience, while also delivering content in a different way to what is otherwise possible. All students learn in different ways, and technology can make it easier to put across more complex ideas to students, in a way that they can understand more deeply.

For me, it’s not just about making it easier for us to do our jobs, it’s that it gives you the opportunity to interact with students at whatever time or from wherever you are. When students are struggling, it gives them the ability to get help, either via an online platform or through connecting directly with a teacher, exactly when they need it.

In Ghana, this has started on a small scale. I think the pace should be a little faster, but companies and some NGOs are now starting to come in and donate equipment to schools. However, the impact of educational technology here is limited to a small number of elitist schools. Most of this equipment is supplied either by alumni or companies wishing to promote their brands. State-funded schools don’t have access to those resources per se, so they mostly use a traditional chalkboard for modelling or demonstrations to students.

As a result, there is less of a hands-on approach, compared to the UK, to improve the understanding of the ideas which they are learning. This can cause students not to achieve their full potential, because they don’t have the tools to gain a deep understanding of the concepts being put across to them.

What would you say are your biggest daily challenges in the classroom?

I would say that my greatest challenge is in motivating every single student to learn every day. It can be difficult, because some students need to be reminded of the little things everyday, like bringing in the right equipment, which can take valuable time away from learning and teaching.

Also, there are some students who can be poorly behaved, and this can add an extra challenge as they don’t have the right motivation. I have developed strategies for dealing with this over the years, but it can still provide a challenge.

One of my strategies for dealing with this is in helping students to understand the value in what they are learning. I feel that once this message sticks, it does break barriers and they are able to adopt a new mindset. Once students have this mindset, it helps me in what I am doing to a great extent, and it can also create a ripple effect on their peers.

I think that once you are through to one student, it is easy to get through to ten, by making them feel more valued in the classroom. I think some students don’t have this support from home, and providing the accepting environment for them to make mistakes goes a long way to brighten their outlook towards learning.

If you were starting it again, what would you change about the UK education system?

I would say, first and foremost, that I would remove the administrative overload that currently exists in education, especially for teachers on the frontline. The result of this is that you don’t even have the time to plan and deliver the lessons that you know are so crucial to the success of each learner.

Currently, we have to fill out so many forms, and participate in many meetings, with very little regard for lesson planning time for teachers. As a result, there just physically isn’t enough time in the day to do what you do best, which is to prepare great lessons which help students achieve their potential.

As a result, I find myself taking it home every single day, and end up getting to bed around midnight, then waking up early to make sure that I am caught up on everything for the day. Every single thing has to be evidenced, and this is time-consuming and often draining. I can understand the need, but I feel that there must be a change in this system to support teachers.

I am currently collecting data on each student for each class, and then multiplying this across five or six classes of students. Collecting these records is important for developing strategies that work to close achievement gaps. You are constantly thinking of something that works for every single child, so I completely understand the value in doing this, but I feel that the extent of it prevents me from doing the most important parts of my job.

I wanted to open up the floor and give you a chance to share any other thoughts you have.

One thing that I am an advocate for is that our assessments currently do not work for everyone; one size does not fit all. Before, we had three assessments in secondary school, but we have now reduced this to two.

For those kids who are not academic in the traditional sense, they are kind of stuck between two worlds. They are interested in following the more hands-on, vocational path, but there isn’t a path cut for them. They need certain content from certain classes, but don’t need the same broad level found in higher tier assessments.

These students deserve a path of their own in order to help them shine in the vocational subjects they choose, rather than having a two-tiered exam which everybody must sit.

In particular, I think the most recent updates to the exam marginalise some students, by forcing them to pass something which isn’t geared towards them.

Do you have a story you want to share? We would love to hear from you. Reach out via email or in the comments section below 👇