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Kevin Beale - Fulfilling his destiny

Kevin Beale - wandeka gayle

HE WAS A 19-year-old youth, wet behind the ears and fresh from teachers' college when he took his first teaching job. Now, nine years later, Kevin Beale, 28, of Linstead, St. Catherine, still feels that his destiny lies within the classroom.

Beale told THE STAR that he had never seen himself as a teacher, as he did not even love the idea of teaching. However, after attending Glenmuir High School in Clarendon from 1987 to 1992, he graduated as a 15-year-old youth with seven subjects under his belt and time on his hands.

"So I did lower sixth, and by then, even though I had a love for accounting, I went to Church's Teachers' College," he said, "You see, people always told me that I had a knack for figuring out things and imparting knowledge to others."

And after three years of gruelling work, he went to Dintill High School where he taught Mathematics and Computer Studies.

He soon discovered that with 40 students, that meant forty different minds, with 40 different backgrounds and 40 different perspectives to learning mathematics.

"That was sort of scary," he admitted laughingly.

But as students recognised his youth, he said, as with any teacher, they all tried to test him.

"For example males would will try to prove their manhood by coming in late after I set a standard. But you have to deal with it immediately and firmly so that they know what you are about," he said. "Females, on the other hand try to chum up to you and they will drop little hints and want little favours and that will certainly set you up."

He said that what won his students over was his exciting approach to teaching a subject that was perceived as dull and difficult. "Once you bring the old methods alive it works," he said excitedly, "Carry the light bill to class; show them the breakdown; let them see how they can use mathematics in everyday life."

After upgrading his teaching diploma to a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, he now teaches adults at the Heart Trust NTA Above Rocks institution, communication, calculation, entrepreneur studies and information technology. He said there are always the challenges. With adults, he has had break age-old mindsets, but with teenagers he had to create interest.

He told THE STAR that teaching is now second nature because of the numerous success stories and the natural high these successes give him.

"One young lady who is a teacher now, she could not get more than 30 per cent in mathematics when she left McGrath High, but when she came to Dintill, in my class she started doing better," he said.

Beale said that it was a difficult journey, but he remembers fondly when the student's mother took him one side and told him how grateful she was that her daughter had started giving extra effort to the subject. "She hugged me and said that she never saw her daughter do math homework before," he said, "And her highest grade was 50 per cent but it was more special than the 90 and 100 per cent that some students were getting because I knew she did her very best."

Beale has prepared many students for the Caribbean Examination Council's Math papers in schools such as Charlemont Evening Institute, Linstead Baptist Church, Samaritan Centre and the University of Technology.

"I have talked about doing management but I believe my business is education," he said soberly. "I enjoy teaching CXC math especially. I cannot shake it out of my system."