All At Sea - What Can A Sailor Bring To A Secondary School Maths Classroom? - By Francis Griffiths
In July 2024 I left the Royal Navy, where I worked for two decades as a Marine Engineer, to train as a secondary school Maths teacher - a career move which surprised many of my old colleagues. I was sure there would be links and the opportunity to use my experience to inspire the next generation to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)... but how?
Whilst operational engineering and teaching might take place in very different environments with different aims, both are ultimately about people. My roles in the Royal Navy were focussed on working with teams of technicians to operate and maintain equipment, often under pressure and with the requirement to get along with each other. Working in diverse teams with a range of backgrounds helps you build the skills required to lead, follow, listen and talk - respecting each others' views and collaborating on shared tasks. There is also the need to manage performance and behaviour, rewarding effort and achievement whilst supporting those who are not yet at the required standard. For me, it is in people management that there is the closest link with my previous roles - junior sailors in the navy are often only a few months older than secondary school pupils. Being able to quickly build rapport and see others' perspectives will be critical as a teacher. Throughout my first career, I worked hard to bring enthusiasm, a positive outlook and a 'can do' attitude - all of which I believe will be central to success in motivating pupils to overcome anxieties they have about Maths and to work hard to fulfil their potential.
One of the challenges with the Maths curriculum can be the perceived lack of relevance to the 'real world'. As a couple of other Scholars' blogs have noted, much as pupils don't believe that builders really use Pythagoras' theorem when leaning ladders against walls, they may also struggle with examples taken from a real world context they aren't familiar with! However, I think there are a few topics where an example of a real world maths problem with an interesting story could engage students - steering compass bearings, calculating fuel levels or finding defects through data analysis.
As a Maths teacher who studied engineering at university and having worked with a range of technical specialists across STEM disciplines, I hope to bring a breadth of perspective when discussing A-Level choices, career paths and options for further study which build on Maths knowledge and problem solving skills. The increased adoption of a coaching and mentoring approach by the Royal Navy over the last 10-15 years has helped me develop the skills required for these types of discussions.
Spotting an opportunity for an interesting activity for my school's STEM Club, I've drawn up a plan for a (Mini) Robot Wars competition at the end of term, with teams coding BBC Microbit computers and building or adapting small robots to compete in a three round competition. Having spent months at sea with limited options for entertainment, you become good at finding ways to keep busy and challenge each other to small competitions. This idea is along those lines - a low budget project with existing school resources powered by enthusiasm, curiosity and collaboration. I'm looking forward to seeing what the students who have signed up for this come up with. We'll all learn a lot from this - especially from the parts which don't go to plan!
I am very excited to be at the start of my second career and feel lucky to have found a role which builds on what I learnt in my last professional life!
By Francis Griffiths
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