INSPIRING OTHERS

Rashmi Agnihotri has been in the teaching profession for six years and is the Sociology ‘Head of Department’ in a sixth form college in Hampshire. Hazel Roberts asks Rashmi about the challenges that teachers are faced with today.

Why did you decide to go into teaching?
After my degree I went on to do a postgraduate degree in Law thinking that I might want to become a lawyer. After the year, however, I changed my mind and could not afford the Legal Practice Course anyway. Teaching was the easiest option and with my academic background I knew I wouldn’t have any problems securing a good teaching post.

What form of teacher training did you take and what did it involve?
I did a PGCE in Social Sciences at the Institute of Education, University of London. There were quite a few different parts to the PGCE. It included study of theory, psychology and child development in relation to education – and also what it is that makes a good teacher. Then there was practical teaching practise based in two different schools or sixth forms – actually preparing and teaching lessons. I also wrote a dissertation on an area of education I was interested in – I studied the learning experiences of ethnic minority girls.

How much preparation goes into each class?
Frankly, a lot, especially as a new teacher. It can take as much as two hours per class. As a newly qualified teacher I would spend sometimes up to six hours a night after work preparing classes! I am an old hand now though – half an hour per class is sufficient unless the focus is going to be on a tricky topic, then it’s still about one or two hours.

How much room is there for you to be creative and decide what is going to be taught and how?
There is a lot of room to be creative and in fact it’s quite necessary. You have to be entertainer, judge, actor and more in order to keep a class engaged and on task. To be blunt a lot does depend on your personality – if you are a people person you will most probably be a good teacher. Keeping up to date with young people is a must - knowledge of your audience allows you to be a creative teacher.

How much work do you have to do in the holidays?
More than you think! During most half terms I have to work around two to four hours per day. The only real holiday is the summer six-week break. In the evenings after work I also have to spend about two hours [working].

How long did it take you to become head of department?
Four very hard years!

What sort of pressures did you experience?
There is a good amount of pressure due to a number of factors. You have to be available 24/7 for students and staff. You have to produce good results to get performance related pay. Parents obviously can also be tricky – especially if their child is not performing well, they want someone to blame and it’s usually you!

Poor management can also cause pressures. If teachers go off sick someone has to cover the lessons, and if it’s you the stress of this can be considerable.

Bullying can also be a problem - it is rife within teaching. There are a lot of teachers on power trips that can make life miserable for their peers and those beneath them in the hierarchy.

What is your favourite thing about teaching?
I really enjoy student contact and seeing someone fulfil their potential – that’s extremely satisfying. In fact that’s probably one of the most satisfying feelings an individual can experience. The best thing though is boosting a student’s self esteem.

What is your least favourite thing about teaching?
Definitely the paperwork and the way schools are now run like a business. Teachers are blamed for poor results without taking into account any other outside factors that may have affected a student’s performance.

How important do you think it is to get more ethnic minority teachers into schools?
Extremely. There are few role models, especially for young black males. I do think teaching is a predominantly ‘white’ profession – in the college where I teach at, out of a hundred teachers there are about five who are from ethnic minority backgrounds. This is worrying when the percentage of students from ethnic minorities is exponentially higher.

Do you think that ethnic minority students particularly appreciate having ethnic minority teachers?
I think so. I know I often bring their cultures into class discussions and try to use that as a platform to educate those who know very little about the way of life of these students. I feel it is more important than ever at the moment with the current Islamophobic environment. Many Asians, whether Muslim or otherwise, are looked at with suspicion and I think the education system has a responsibility to inform others of reality and not allow stereotypes to be accepted.