Mark Smith - ContributedMARK Smith says that he is not teaching because of money. After all, everyone knows there is no money in teaching. Instead, he hopes to encourage more men to make teaching a profession.
"I believe more men will improve discipline among students in the classroom," he said. "In days gone by even the most troublesome boy would be afraid of a man who stood for discipline in the classroom."
More importantly though, "Smithie" as he is affectionately called, enjoys his job. "I love to see children excelling in whatever they do. It gives me a lot of satisfaction," he said.
The 25-year-old resource and technology teacher at Crescent Primary and Junior High School in Spanish Town, teaches students to make useful items from things that have been thrown away.
"I am able to teach students to just walk into a dump, pick out a few items and find a number of things which can make wonderful things, and they do a lot of painting," he said.
Such is the quality of the items his students make that they have represented their school well in events like the annual Historical Flower Show.
"We presented some art pieces of the Hummingbird and got prizes too," Smith said.
The road to success has not been an easy one for Smith. He had the difficult task of starting an art class when he began teaching at Cresent Primary and Junior High. "I found the art room closed, no material and said to myself, I need to get things going," he said.
Smith does not intend to remain "an ordinary teacher" for long. He hopes to be a principal because he wants to make a number of meaningful changes.
"We need to go back to the days when students could not do as they liked, and parents can help, so too are the adults who know a student is doing wrong and report this to the school," he said.
