I have been a teacher of Mathematics in the UK for four years and am passionate about the power of education in helping young people lead happy, healthy lives. My choice to pursue a career in teaching was because I have always wanted to help other people as I find this extremely rewarding. Teaching gives me the opportunity to affect so many different lives in a positive way and I feel extremely privileged to be able to do this. I am currently working in an academy in one of the most disadvantages areas in Stoke – on – Trent because this is where I can make the biggest impact.
This summer I will be working in Uganda for four weeks on to amazing project which helps hundreds of less fortunate teachers and in turn students in other countries. The organisation that I will be working with is called LRTT (Limited Resource Teacher Training).
A third of teachers in countries such as Uganda, Tanzania and Cambodia just to name a few are untrained or have received very little training. Not only this but their contining professional development is very rare and as a result the young students of these countries receive very low quality teaching. This is part of the reason why there are 250 million children worldwide who can’t read or write, 60 million children are not in school partly due to a deficit of 1.6 million teachers and 190 million children are in school but still can’t read or write due to low quality education. In service teacher training is very rare and nearly always externally run rather than being integrated into school life. The result is didactic low quality teaching.
“If nothing changed 29 countries with chronic shortages still won’t have enough primary or lower secondary teachers in 2030” – UNESCO
To change this LRTT take a team of 20 teachers from the UK every summer to these countries who spend a month in schools mentoring/coaching these teachers as well as running workshops for them. I will also be observing lessons, trying different strategies on classes to see which work best before training the teachers to use them. Not only this but LRTT have on going online training for these teachers after we have gone so that their profession developed is continued and students experience a far better education.
LRTT equips a teacher to deliver engaging, challenging lessons, which develop thinking skills and problem-solving skills for all students. In turn, these students grow up to lead development within their own communities and nations: equipped to drive forward locally owned, sustainable development to change and improve lives. The developing world needs scientists, engineers, doctors, teachers, politicians. The leaders of 2050 are the children of 2015 – and every single one of their journeys will start with the same step, education. LRTT equips teachers to make sure that first step delivers the key skills needed for education to change those lives and outcomes.
This project will give me an opportunity to contribute towards improving the education for some of the most deprived learners in the world for what I hope will be many years to come helping them to be successful individuals.
I have chosen the project in Uganda because this is where both my parents were born. My grandparents moved there from India until they were forced to leave by the then president Idi Amin and so I feel a strong connection to this country.
However, although I will be working for the majority of the time that I will be in Uganda for a very good cause, LRTT do not pay the teachers like myself who volunteer. This is going to be completely self funded where I will paying for flights, accommodation, food and transport hence the reason for this fundraising page. I would be extremely grateful for any donation that you could make towards this be it big or small. It will be going towards a fantastic cause and your donation will help teachers and students for many years to come.