Running Head: MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

My Journey towards becoming a teacher

Jeva nce Benjamin

MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

I remember always saying I want to be a scientist, I wanted to find the cure for all the
diseases affecting the world. I recall catching lizards and cutting them open, never did becoming
a teacher cross my thought. Reflecting back I have many memories of instances where I did
show the possibilities of being a teacher, assisting students in primary school and secondary
school. My fondest being assisting a neighbours daughter in POA after they learnt I was good at
the subject having passed the subjects at C.X.C
On completing C.X.C my mother took me to the Ministry of Education where we paid
the five dollar registration fee signed the relevant documents and registered to become a teacher.
It was 2005 and I received a call from the Ministry of Education offering me a temporary at St,
Augustine Senior Secondary to hold on a as a teacher that was proceeding on maternity leave. I
was surprised but happy and said yes. The day finally arrived April and I entered the principal
office to assume my duties. She was pleasant and took me through the process, I remember her
saying that I was lucky to be sent during term three. The form fives were preparing for exams so
I would be mainly teaching the form fours and revision with the fives.
Introductions done, timetable in hand my teaching baptism was about to begin.
Intimidated? Yes, slightly. I had the experiences of different school cultures in my corner. My
secondary school life passed me through Mucurapo Junior Secondary for three years, then two
years at St James Secondary where I did and passed seven C.X.C subjects. Finally St. Anthonys
college where I studied for two years and completed my A Level subjects. This various school

MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

systems equipped me with the knowledge and understanding to deal with the various students
groups. I could relate to them all in some manner, those that grew up like me not privileged but
pushing to better themselves through education. For those that showed little interest in education
I could relate to them also having sat in classrooms with peers of the same thinking. As a new
teacher I drew on the memories of the various teachers I encountered at my various schools
recalling the classroom management techniques they used that assisted in and of course not using
those techniques that never made a difference to classroom behaviour. I recall using the exam
techniques taught to me by my POA teacher to assist the form five students who were about to sit
exams. I taught them the various formats and the importance of knowing the formats as it made it
easier to full in the blanks. As faith would have it after three months a second teacher was set to
proceed on maternity leave and my appointment date was extended further and I stayed there
until the end of that term.
Over a seven year period from my first appointment I visited the Ministrys office at St
Clair on numerous occasions seeking placement especially after I received a letter stating that my
name was placed on a high priority list for placement. I was informed that the field of accounts
was saturated hence the reason no vacancy existed at the time but my name was on the merit list
and would be contacted should a vacancy arise. This desire and journey to become a teacher was
one of frustration and endurance but after my first appointment I knew that I wanted to be a
teacher and would not give up easily ensuring it materialized. As the years went by one of the
placement officers informed me that my name would be removed from the merit list because of
the ministrys policy that if you are not placed after three years of being interviewed you must be

MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

re-interviewed. This news was devastating but I wrote a letter to be re-interviewed and made
several phone calls to the ministry until it happened. So here I was again being re-interviewed, I
passed the first so why not a second. I continued my visits to the ministry after being reinterviewed having gone through at least three different placements officers responsible for my
district as they moved to different post within the ministry.
In early 2012 I was contacted by the Ministry offering me a post at either Mucurapo
Senior or St James Secondary. I choose the latter and collected my documents at the ministrys
office, but it seemed life my patience was about to be tested yet again. A mere week or so before
the date of my assumption of duties the ministry contacted me to let me know that the post was
no longer vacant as a teacher involved had decided not to take early retirement again. This sent
me into a state of disbelief and led to a chain of events to long to discuss at this point. This new
development ended in a heated conversation amongst the placement officer her supervisor and
me, at the end it was agreed that my name be given priority for placement base on the
unfortunate situation that occurred. But God is good and I was contacted in late April early May
and offered a vacant post at my assessed level at Diego Martin North Secondary. Not wanting a
re-occurrence I asked the relevant questions and found out the teacher I was set to replace
resigned and his letter was officially accepted by the ministry. My friends asked me why I
accepted that bad school that was formerly a Junior secondary, I said after seven years of waiting
why say no especially when I am the product of the Junior secondary system.
My second teaching appointment started exactly one week from my 31st birthday and one
of my nieces birthday making it impossible to forget. My mother told me she believes I could

MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

reach the students of the school having walked a similar road and coming from similar socioeconomic background. This is true, I know about walking home after school, shoes with hole in
the sole and a mother pinching where she could to ensure my siblings and I got extra lessons
where it was needed. My father was not formally educated so it was hard I guess for him to see
the importance of education, but my mother taught Montessori and had the privilege of schooling
and education. So to her education was the key to success and she wanted that for all children to
only hers.
I have not detail my journey through the education system to my students but I do use
examples from my journey from pupil to former banker to accounts and now secondary school
teacher to motivate them to try and not give up. It is important that we use what we have learnt
over the various journeys to empower our students to rise above the challenges they face daily. If
we could rise from similar conditions so too can they with the right motivators, guidance and
dedicated teachers. I attribute my love for accounting to both my POA and Account teachers,
more so the latter. I would often use her style in my classes, she would teach a topic ensure we
all understood and then we did questions together. When she was satisfied we understood the
topic she would un announced give class assessments, this meant you had to always be revising
what was done in class it promoted continuous learning. In our current classrooms students tend
to study or revise when it is announced that the teacher is giving a test.

So enclosing I must reflect and say although teaching was not my first choice in career it
has certainly become the career that allows me to make a difference in some way to our society

MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

through the students I teach. I do not teach a subject only but teach students what is expected
from them in society.