Just before the start of term, history teacher India Brown is at home, where she’s preparing to begin teaching remote lessons again. Brown began working at Fulham Cross girls’ school, in south-west London, four years ago after studying history and politics at Newcastle University and completing a PGCE at the University of Cambridge. She was a silver winner in the outstanding new teacher category at the Pearson National Teaching Award in 2019.
Dialling in to speak to Brown is Nickael Briggs, a sociology teacher at Ark Acton academy in west London, where she is also an assistant principal. She studied sociology at the University of Leicester, earned a PGCE with University College London, and has been teaching for eight years. She won the outstanding leader Jack Petchey award in 2015, and was named national teacher of the year by the charity First Give in 2017.
India Brown (IB): I don’t know if this resonates with you Nickael, but now I’m in my fourth year of teaching, I definitely feel as though I’ve found my feet. I took on responsibility for history when we went into lockdown last year, and it’s been great to have direction over the curriculum. We are adapting it all the time and I’m determined to make sure history tells women’s stories too.
Nickael Briggs (NB): I’ve been teaching for double the amount of time, but it’s so interesting you say that about your fourth year because I had the same experience. This is my third school, and my first year as an assistant principal. I also lead on school culture and the curriculum.
I’m from south London originally, and when I was at school teachers didn’t expect us to go very far because we were from deprived backgrounds. But I remember one English teacher who really pushed us. Despite all of our disadvantages, she always had high expectations of us. She sparked my love of learning and motivated me to go into the profession. I wanted to give something back.
IB: What I love about teaching is everyone you speak to has an experience of a teacher, or a class, or a subject that has stuck with them. For me, it was my history teacher – I still think about her all the time. I grew up on the south coast, near Eastbourne, and I went to a girl’s school down there, which is a similar setting to the school I’m in now.
I didn’t know what I wanted to do after finishing my degree, and it was my mum who suggested I think about sharing my passion for history. I liked the idea of going into a career where I could motivate and inspire people. But the PGCE was a challenge! Teaching is such a complex skill – I’m still learning and improving all the time. I love it so much more than I thought I would.
NB: It’s so nice to hear teachers talk passionately about the profession because at the moment it’s easy to lose sight of how rewarding it is. The more experience I have, the more I’ve realised how important it is not only to teach my lessons, but also to help young people understand that if they engage, they can have the future of their choosing.
I love being able to give young people extracurricular opportunities and I’m really keen on building debating into our school day. Young people are so used to communicating through technology, there’s a risk they’ll lose some of the basic communication skills, such as being able to form an opinion and having an informed, respectful debate.
We run a debate club after school, where university students teach debating skills; we’re involved with charities, which gets our students into volunteering and social action; and we take part in competitions to provide opportunities for public speaking. I want our students to understand that doing things out of their comfort zones is OK.
IB: I try to bring drama into my classroom to bring history to life. I can’t teach the Battle of Hastings without getting the crown out, giving someone the job of being the king, making someone else a French Norman, and organising a stampeding army. Not only do students enjoy the lesson more, they remember it and get to interact with the subject in a different way. Last year at our open evening, some year 9s performed the Sister Suffragette song from Mary Poppins after learning about the fight for female suffrage.
I definitely remember those sorts of lessons from my own school days. And now, if I’m enjoying a lesson, I can see that the class is more inclined to get on board as well. It’s one of the reasons I like working with young people day in, day out.
NB: Yes! You’ve got to love these young people. It really transforms your experience with them when they know you’re working together as a team. I think there’s also a misconception with teaching that you have to be a ready-made expert. But you learn so much every single day.
And I don’t think people should be put off by coming into the profession when they’re young. There are so many continuing professional development, training and coaching opportunities available to help newly qualified teachers (NQTs). It’s also really inspirational for the students to see younger teachers giving back and trying to help them along their way.
IB: It really is the best job in the world. I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s a huge privilege to be able to be a champion for these young people. Thank you for the chat. It’s given me a positive burst of energy.
NB: It’s just so nice to be able to reflect on who we do this for.
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