Learning the Tools To Transform Students’ Lives
REMEMBER THAT TEACHER WHO CHANGED YOUR LIFE?
Jonas is that teacher. A geography and science teacher in Karatu, Tanzania, he educates from the heart and deeply believes in the courageous spirit of his students and their ability to change the world if properly supported, encouraged, and educated. He is also a Lead Teacher in the TeachUNITED teacher training program.
When Jonas was young, he struggled in school. He didn’t feel motivated or understand the importance of learning. Not until a very important teacher, Mr. Jumas, changed his life. According to Jonas, Mr. Juma not only supported his emotional growth through love and kindness, he also helped him understand the importance of attending school, as well as to develop intrinsic motivation, set goals, and dream bigger.
Through Mr. Jumas, Jonas realized the power of one teacher in changing the trajectory of a student’s life. Jonas’ life was so changed by Mr. Juma that he decided to become a teacher, to help other kids like himself who struggle in school.
Overcoming Teaching Challenges in Rural Schools
Students from Edith Gvora Secondary
Despite Jonas’ passion for teaching and his warm approach to his students, he wasn’t the teacher he knew he could be. Jonas explains that before the TeachUNITED professional development program, he spent a lot of energy figuring out how to get students to engage and ask questions. He wished he had more tools for individualized learning, to develop customized teaching methods for each student. He longed for new methods to improve his student’s academic performance.
Jonas, like many teachers in rural settings, did not have access to high-quality teacher training. Teaching, difficult in any setting, has even greater challenges in rural communities. These schools often face additional hurdles to providing a quality education to students, such as limited resources, little to no professional development opportunities for teachers, high teacher turnover, and high poverty.
When TeachUNITED offered their program in his school, Jonas immediately knew that he wanted to join.
Learning High Impact Teaching Strategies
Group teacher workshops at Edith Gvora
Participating in the TeachUNITED program was eye-opening for Jonas. He was able to take his love of teaching and his passion for improving the lives of his students and amplify it by learning proven, research-based teaching methods. The program combines group teacher workshops with opportunities to practice skills in the classroom with feedback from a local, supportive instructional coach to help teachers like Jonas develop and refine their skills.
The content of the TeachUNITED program, which focuses on growth mindset, student engagement, effective use of student data for lesson plan design, and blended and personalized learning, helped Jonas to meet each student where he or she was at.
Now, Jonas incorporates entrepreneurship and life skills (like critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration) into his lessons because he has seen how important those skills are to his students’ future success. He does this by applying his lessons and classes to real-life scenarios so that rather than relying on memorization of facts, students understand why they are learning and how it applies to their daily life. The aim is to ensure students know how to apply the skills they learn in his class to create income and better their lives.
Jonas also teaches the importance of cooperation. He believes that by helping students learn to support each other, they will have the skills to overcome larger community and societal challenges like poverty and environmental issues.
“I now understand that one size does not fit all with students. Each student is different and learns differently. It is important to understand the level of each student and help them at the level where they are. Because of TeachUNITED, I am a better teacher
The program gave Jonas, who already had a deep care for his students and interest in engaging them, the tools to reach them in a new way.
“At TeachUNITED, we learned that if you value and appreciate students, they feel good and confident to try new things. If a teacher cooperates with the students in creating lessons, children feel like the subjects belong to them. Let us allow our students to walk in front and teachers behind them.
Students, Edith Gvora Secondary
Having teachers like Jonas who care so deeply about their students is incredibly important for educational equity and quality around the world. But it may not be enough. These teachers need the support and skills to help students reach their full potential. With the proper training, teachers and schools can transform the local communities they serve and find tangible solutions to some of the world’s most persistent challenges, including poverty, climate change, health and gender inequality.
“When I was a child, I was not interested in school. But I had a great teacher and he showed me love. It made me who I am today. You see, the objective of being a teacher is not to give the student a uniform. It is to help them one day be our ambassadors. So when they are proud and have a job in a bank, or a hospital, or the market, they will say, ‘My teacher helped me be here. My teacher helped me be who I am today in the community.’ They may have a house or car, but I want them to know how to live!