Reference no: EM133263199

2019 Global Teacher of the Year: Peter Tabichi How does one take nearly 500 secondary math and science students at a school in an impoverished, remote part of Kenya with only one computer, a poor internet connection, and a student-teacher ratio of 58:1 and turn them into motivated, successful students and award-winning scientists? That's the question many have been asking Peter Tabichi, a math and science teacher at Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School in Pwani village, who was named the Varkey Foundation's 2019 Global Teacher of the Year after being chosen from more than 10,000 nominations from 179 countries. For Peter, who is a friar in the Franciscan Brotherhood, teaching starts with understanding his students, their cultures, and the challenges they face. Keriko is a government-run school in a part of Kenya frequently stricken with drought and famine, and Peter's students come from poor families who barely eke out a living farming the land. A third of the school's students are orphans or have only one parent and have lives marked by drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, early school dropout, young marriages, and suicide. The fifth of eight children, Peter understands his students' hardships. Peter's father was a teacher and his mother a farmer. "We lived in a mud house, and we ate maize and vegetables grown in the garden," he says. His mother died when he was 11, and his youngest sibling just 1. "After that, I had to go to the school where my father taught, and that was a 7-kilometer walk each way," he says. "It was hard, but I knew I was lucky to be getting an education. My father took out loan after loan to put us through school" (Moorhead, 2019). Peter went on to university to become a teacher and began his teaching career in a private school, and while he felt he was making a difference for his students, he wanted to do more. "I felt that the surrounding communities, they also needed my help. I said, 'Let me stretch and extend the same love to the surrounding community'" (Talking Education, 2019). "I felt increasingly inspired by the life of St. Francis of Assisi. His humility and simplicity appealed to me," he says. Peter took his vows to become a Franciscan in 2018. "It's a challenging life, but I knew it was the right path for me. There are big commitments to make, but this life brings me much happiness" (Moorhead, 2019). Coming to Keriko, Peter began by giving away 80% of his income every year to provide the school's students with books and uniforms because many of the students' families could not afford to do so. Peter also saw that his students were "not able to concentrate mainly because they are not able to get enough meals at home" (Talking Education, 2019). To battle this food insecurity, he used his knowledge of science and farming to teach members of the community sustainable agriculture including ways of growing vegetables that use a very small portion of land and water. "Teaching the members of the community new ways of farming is a matter of life and death," he says (Talking Education, 2019). Part of his efforts in the community also involved convincing families and community members of the value of education. He would personally visit families whose children were at risk of dropping out of school and try to change the minds of those who expected their daughters to get married at an early age, encouraging the families to instead keep their girls in school (Zaki, 2019). In the classroom, Peter saw that he needed to do more for his students than impart the basics of math and science. For many of his students, success in school was about instilling them with confidence. "It is all about having confidence in the student. Every child has potential, a gift or a talent. I try to engage students in various activities and mentor them. It is not a matter of telling them 'do this' and then walking away. You need to work with them closely" (Wodon, 2019). To help build his students' self-esteem, Peter started a series of school societies, notably the Talent Nurturing Club. "Everyone had something they were good at, and then they started to believe in themselves, and they started to do better at everything" (Moorhead, 2019). Another pivotal group Peter formed was the Peace Club. Because the school's students are a mix of genders and come from several different tribes and villages, there was the potential for students to form groups and for conflict to occur between the groups. Members of the Peace Club engage in activities like debating, tree planting, and sports where they have to work together. "They see that they can achieve as a group, not only as individuals. They see themselves as people who are united. This also helps them do well in the classroom because they are able to work as a team," Peter explains (Wodon, 2019). Peter also expanded the school's Science Club, an effort that has been so successful that 60% of the club's research projects qualify for national competitions. At the 2018 Kenya Science and Engineering Fair, Keriko students showcased a device they invented to help people with vision and hearing impairments to measure objects. The club's math and science team qualified to participate at the Intel-sponsored International Science and Engineering Fair in 2019. Another group of students was recognized by the Royal Society of Chemistry for their work in harnessing local plant life to generate electricity. Despite the school only having one computer, limited internet access, and no library or labs, Peter has been able to incorporate information technology into 80% of his lessons. He visits internet cafés to download online content to be used offline in class, which he pays for out of his own pocket. He and his colleagues also visit struggling students' homes on the weekends to provide one-on-one tutoring and meet their families to identify the challenges they face. In just three years, Peter has dramatically improved his pupils' achievement and self-esteem. The school's enrollment has doubled, girls' achievement has been boosted, and discipline cases have fallen from 30 per week to 3. In 2017, only 16 out of Keriko's 59 graduating students went on to college; in 2018, 26 did (Wodon, 2019). A colleague describes Peter as dedicated, passionate, and humble. "Bro Tabichi's belief in his students has made our poorly equipped school perform well in national science competitions. . . . He became our role model" (Matara & Njeru, 2019). "The fact that many students have varying needs, has taught me to be creative in using the best approaches while teaching them. They want to feel recognized, loved, appreciated and respected. They have taught me that for them to realize their dreams, you need to work with them closely with a lot of resilience, patience and dedication" (Koigi, 2019).

1. Describe how you believe Peter's career experiences and environmental influences have shaped his leadership skills?

2. Describe some of the problem-solving skills Peter has exhibited. How have his competencies and individual attributes contributed to his problem solving?