#GH4STEM TOP 100 Teacher: Mohammed Mahama – Tamale International School
An Educator's Role In Creating Future Leaders. ''When I see the students I've trained in higher places, it motivates me a lot.'' -- Mohammed Mahama.
Meet Mohammed Mahama from Tamale International School, who has been teaching for the past twenty years and handles about one hundred and twenty students. Mr. Mahama’s childhood hero was Amitach Bachchan, an Indian actor, whose films he really enjoyed. Mohammed also loves football. His favourite celebrity player is Lionel Messi.
When Mr. Mahama was younger he wanted to become a businessman. As he grew this changed, and he hoped to be a scientist. What happened in the end, however, was that he studied Agricultural Science in secondary school, after which he enrolled in teacher training college and subsequently became a professional teacher.
Mr. Mahama draws inspiration from the fact that his students achieve greater heights by learning STEM, and he is encouraged when his students get good results in their examinations. Mr. Mahama explains that one of the benefits of being a STEM educator is that it makes him feel important in the society especially because he identifies each student and guides them through the learning process. Being a STEM educator also makes him keep abreast with new developments in the field. Mr. Mahama is currently a member of the Ghana Association of Science Teachers (GAST). He explains that being with people in the same profession educates and motivates him.
Mr. Mahama was told about the JUNEOS Challenge by his colleague. He then acquired the apparatus he needed and proceeded to prepare his students for the challenge. Their experiment involved the inflation of a balloon using carbon dioxide produced from a reaction of caustic soda. Mr. Mahama describes his participation in the challenge as a beneficial one. It has given him new teaching methods he can apply to ensure that his lessons are practicals-oriented.
He hopes that the JUNEOS Challenge will be held annually because it is interesting and educative, and hopes that the JUNEOS Team are able to continue in their endeavor to grow the interest of students in science.
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Kofi Konadu Berko is passionate about education and youth development. He holds a B.A in Adult Education and Human Resource Studies from the University Of Ghana. His works have been published in the historic Afroyoung Adult anthology titled Waterbirds On the Lakeshore, Adabraka: Stories From the Center Of the World, Tampered Press and the Kalahari Review. He blogs at obolokofi.wordpress.com
