Samantha Brown – Educator who goes beyond call of duty

Ask any business student at Central High School in May Pen, Clarendon, and their stories will be the same – of Samantha Brown, a teacher who goes beyond teaching the subject to ensure that they are doing well in all aspects of their lives.

Nowell Lewin, who is now the deputy head boy at the school, is one such student, who said that most peoplenhad given up on and him. He was getting low grades, and this trajectory continued until he came to Brown’s attention. He said his life turned around completely when she made him realise his true potential, and that he could do well in studies. Lewin’s experience with Brown is not exclusive.

Brown, who has been teaching electronic document preparation management (EDPM) since 2015 and information technology, says she takes pride in investing in not just her students’ education, but their total well-being.

It is not surprising that each year since she has been at the school, she has had 100 per cent passes in EDPM, with 40 out of her 70 students receiving grade ones at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate level. Brown was recently awarded top teacher and teacher extraordinaire at the school for her accomplishments.

“Being recognised at my school was truly an euphoric feeling, knowing that my hard work paid off. I teach from the heart and I give 100 per cent of self to my students. My passion for teaching goes back to my very early years teaching trees and stuffed animals, and my late grandmother always say to me, ‘You are going to be a teacher,’” she told The Gleaner.

FIRST CHOICE

Always remembering her what her grandmother told her, Brown said she never lost sight of that vision, as teaching has always been her first choice since leaving Clarendon College.

She got accepted to Bethlehem Moravian College but had to put her dreams on hold, as she could not come up with the tuition fee.

Brown said she got a job at the May Pen Hospital, where she worked for three years before heading to the University of Technology, working the night shift at the hospital and attending school in the days.

“The most rewarding moments for me is seeing my students excel. I plant seeds of greatness in all my students. I motivate them and push them to do their best. I can recall some teachers who believed in me, and hence I believe in my students,” Brown said, adding that she feels a great sense of pride every time one of her students excel.

Her love and dedication is not lost on her students, as she recalled a touching tribute on Teacher’s Day when a student posted her photo and wrote ‘The world need more teachers like you’, a gesture she said completely melted her heart.

Brown, who shies away from the limelight, said she is aware of the impact she has on her children, and she is able to because someone believed in her, making it easy for her to believe in them.

“I seek not for rewards and praise, my passion is to motivate and inspire my students to maximise their full potential, ignite the spark inside them to reach their goals, help them to feed their inner creativity and become good citizens of the world,” she said.