Innovative educator, Tamesh Mohabir, is a ‘Special Person’

Jan 31, 2021 News

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“Each student is unique; each student can learn, just not in the same way or at the same pace – the teaching learning process is not a one size fits all.”

 By Malisa Playter-Harry

Kaieteur News – In today’s world, professionals, who are considered the backbone of a society and its development, have learnt to adapt to the changing times, especially since a pandemic that seems to have no end unleashed its contagious tentacles on our world. People across the world were forced to change the way they go about doing things, and more importantly, they were forced to change the way they work. Among the professions on which it has had a massive impact worldwide, is teaching. This has seen teachers gravitating to educating their students online, thus students join virtual classes from the comfort of their homes. In Guyana, the Ministry of Education led by an attorney-at-law, Priya Manickchand, has opted to compile, print and distribute worksheets to every school so that it could be handed over to the parents. Teachers from the nursery level straight up to the tertiary level are finding innovative ways of teaching children, from Zoom classes, YouTube channels and live teaching on the Facebook video platform.
Today, we feature one of those teachers who has adapted so well, that he has been working around the clock from his home to keep his students educated via online portals.
Tamesh Mohabir, is a Technical Drawing teacher attached to the New Amsterdam Multilateral School. He teaches three subject areas: Technical Drawing, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Building Construction and Furniture making, all at the CSEC level and at the level of CAPE, he teaches Building and Mechanical Engineering Drawing (BMED) Unit 1 and BMED Unit 2.

EARLY LIFE
Mohabir was born on November 29, 1991 and grew up in Adelphi Village, East Canje, Berbice. At the age of 10 he re-located to Geod Bananen Land, East Canje, but a few years prior to moving, he lost his father, Robin Mohabir. At the time he was just three-years-old and his mom, Yvonne Soomaroo, was faced with the uphill task of adapting to single parent mode. Mohabir is an only child but his mother managed to send him to school so that he could sponge up all the knowledge he could.
He attended the Adelphi Nursery School, then on to the Rose Hall Estate Primary and finally the New Amsterdam Multilateral School (NAMS), where he now teaches.

PROFESSIONAL LIFE
Teaching was not always Mohabir’s first choice. It was not surprising at all when he revealed that in the initial stages of his life, he wanted to become an engineer or even an architect. But after completing studies in CSEC and CAPE, in 2008 he opted to find a job to assist financially in the home he shared with his mother.
“In order to assist with the expenses at home and to save up some money to pay for UG, I decided to get a job. So, I decided to try out teaching. After consulting with the then Principal of NAMS, Jackie Benn, along with the then Head of Department of English, Shaundel Phillips, I wrote my application letter and submitted it and was subsequently called to duty on September 7, 2009,” he recounted.
According to Mohabir, during his fourth and fifth form experience, he garnered a passion for teaching. This, he said, was “due to the amazing work that was done by my teachers, especially my engineering teacher, Mr. Romel Hughes, who to this day is my biggest role model.”
He added that while the possibility existed for him to migrate to another country and serve, he chose to stay in Guyana since he believed that the country has “great potential, and as a citizen, it is my civic duty to play a part in its development. And one impactful way to help build my country is by molding the mind of its children…the children who will be the men and women of tomorrow.”

THE PANDEMIC AND TEACHING
Ever since the Coronavirus swooped in like a whirlwind, impacting just about every aspect of our lives, Mohabir is among the hundreds of teachers who are now confined to their homes and interacting with their students virtually, rather than face to face. Mohabir revealed that when the schools were forced to close in March 2020, he felt hopeless.
“I had no idea how I would reach my students to get the work done. What made it worst, was the fact that I had CSEC and CAPE classes and all were practical based areas – Technical Drawing, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Building Technology, BMED Unit 1, BMED Unit 2,” he noted. However, Mohabir utilized his time in a meaningful way. He began researching online and began communicating with lecturers from the University of Guyana.
He said, “I discovered a host of online applications that can be used to teach. Among these were: Zoom, Microsoft teams, Edmodo, Google meet, Google classroom and YouTube. From this list though, I took a liking to Zoom and Edmodo.” Mohabir also created a YouTube channel but used the Zoom application to facilitate class sessions, while he used Edmodo for assessments. He has been uploading videos to YouTube and Google drive of himself explaining his lessons.
He explained that on the Zoom, for instance, he utilizes the virtual whiteboard to demonstrate and show illustrations, and also to create PowerPoint slides with the relevant information. By doing so, he is able to “offer explanations and graphics which I share with the students during the Zoom sessions.” Handouts are also created with all the content notes for the various subject areas he teaches.
“I am teaching in a concise and simplified form and give them to the students so that they can self-study to get ahead of the work, and with Edmodo, I can post content related to the students course of study, share pictures, videos, etc., and the students can view, comment and share. It also connects me to other educators from around the world and we can share resources, which further enhance the teaching learning process,” said Mohabir. Added to this, he said, “The Edmodo app also has an online folder/library system. So, I created a folder for each subject I am teaching and inside of it, I upload copies of all the notes.”
He said that one of the good things about being virtual and using the Zoom application, is that it allows for him to record the class session and upon conclusion that recording is uploaded to the Edmodo platform for students to access at any point in time.
“They can always download the recordings when they do have access to the internet and catch up on what they missed out on,” he said. Other apps that he has been utilizing are the Math Pad construction and Auto CAD, to teach drawing concepts and provide illustrations. And these, he said, are done “just as how it would have been done on a chalkboard in a face-to-face environment.”

NEW NORMAL
The motivated educator noted that since getting involved in teaching in the virtual world, he is allowed more time to adjust classes based on the availability of students. He said it allowed him to explore his creativity as a teacher “with regard to methodology” which he said, enhances his teaching capabilities and allows for better engagement with the learners. It has also proved to be cost efficient with more time with students afforded. He added that in a regular school setting, “you have to follow the timetable” but with the new way of teaching, “you can work however long you want, provided that the students are available.”
But with everything, there are disadvantages. For Mohabir, it’s the poor internet connection for some students, the frequent disruptions in electricity flow, lack of devices by students to assist in learning online and then there is a “sense of isolation among the students because they are not together.”
However, despite the disadvantages, it was the positives that outweighed. Mohabir noted that it gives him a sense of accomplishment knowing that he can reach out via a virtual classroom and impart his knowledge unto the students. He believes that his job is extremely important since the children are the future of the country.
“They need to attain an education. So, in trying to be innovative and fit in with the ‘new normal’ to ensure education delivery for my students, I see my work as very important. I see it as essential,” the teacher added. He credits his influence on his former Engineering teacher, Mr. Romel Hughes. He considers him his biggest role model and Mohabir stated that he has modelled his approach to teaching based on the knowledge he gained from Hughes. He also mentioned that his family has been a strong support system. “My wife, Nueza Shahbudeen, and my son, Zidane Elijah Mohabir, they are there for me; my mother and my aunts guided and supported me after the death of my father and significantly contributed to the person I am today. Without them, I will not be where I am today.”
According to Mohabir, his greatest achievement is producing “excellent pass rates” for the past 10 years and “having a family of my own.” He was able to produce the top student in the Caribbean in Mechanical Engineering at the CSEC exams in 2018, along with a string of other accomplishments under his teaching. He was influential in collaborating with Andrew Williams “to take our school team to participate in the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers International School’s Cricket Tournament in Barbados in 2011-2013 and 2016.”
He his advice to young people is to “be patient, tolerant, understanding, humble and always believe in yourself. Never give up. Never settle for mediocrity and most importantly, always be disciplined.” In fact, our ‘Special Person’s’ philosophy is that “Each student is unique; each student can learn, just not in the same way or at the same pace – the teaching learning process is not a one size fits all.”

 

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