Former Charlie Smith student returns as math teacher

When Erica Thompson graduated from Charlie Smith High School in Kingston several years ago with 10 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects, she already knew the kind of teacher she wanted to become -- one who could inspire students at a school just like hers.

"My aim was not to go to a traditional high school. My aim was to come back to, if not Charlie Smith High School, an inner-city school that persons would think nobody can get 10 subjects from," she said.

Encouraged by one of her teachers, the then 17-year-old Thompson enrolled at The Mico University College to pursue a degree in mathematics. Financing her studies, however, was a challenge.

With limited resources, she was relieved when she received a Government Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Scholarship, which covered her tuition and eased her financial burden.

"Once I received the scholarship [in the second year at Mico], it put my mind at ease knowing that I didn't have to fund my university tuition out of pocket," she says.

The STEM Scholarship Programme, launched in 2023 by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service through the Students' Loan Bureau (SLB), aims to strengthen Jamaica's STEM capacity. Over five years, it will provide 2,250 full scholarships, including 1,250 for student-teachers at The Mico University College and 1,000 for students from low-income households at the University of Technology (UTech).

Thompson's journey was not without setbacks. She had to delay her application until her second year of study because she lacked the necessary documents. The experience only deepened her resolve to help other young people navigate similar challenges.

"I didn't have certain documents that you are supposed to have at a certain age, so it was a difficult process to get the scholarship," she recalls.

"When I started at Mico University, I didn't have a TRN (Taxpayer Registration Number). I didn't have anybody to look about that TRN for me to get into university. It was a stranger who had to do that for me," she shares.

Today, Thompson has returned to her alma mater -- this time as a mathematics teacher -- where she's determined to make a difference in the lives of students from underserved communities. She said the struggles she endured have shaped her approach to teaching and mentorship.

"I wouldn't want students, or my students at least, to go through the situation that I went through. I want to leave an impact on students, a positive one at least. I don't want to be an educator who students are scared to come up to. I want to not only be an educator but a motivator, an inspiration to my students, to say 'yeah, you can go out there and make something of this life'," she states.

For Thompson, success is rooted in mindset -- not circumstance. She reminds her students daily that their environment does not define them.

"They can [succeed] if they put their mind to it. I didn't have a choice, because I am one of the oldest children that my mummy has. My brother and I came to this school ... he graduated a year before me," says the former head girl and prefect.

"I had two other siblings looking up to me, so I didn't have a choice but to succeed. Don't watch the environment, and it is not about the school that you go to, it is what you go there and do. It is all about the mindset, don't watch people or the environment; just do what you have to do," she adds.

Having "always been good at the maths", Thompson now uses her classroom to help students overcome their fear of the subject.

"What we as teachers try to do is incorporate real-life situations into the lessons to help them relate it back to the situation that they live in; everyday life," she explains.

"I use a lot of manipulatives. There are also a lot of YouTubers that can help students learn maths using jingles and so forth," she adds, noting that platforms such as Google and Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (GPT) can also support learning.

But she stresses that practice remains key. "Maths is not something that they can just read; they have to practise. So, as a teacher, I can teach a child ... but, when you go home, you have to review and your parents have to check your book," she said.