Discover GH4STEM 100 Top Teacher: MAXWELL SAMUEL YAMOAH, Berekuso #GH4STEM

Maxwell Samuel Yamoah is expecting his second child and hopes to have a great influence on his children’s lives just as his father had on his. With a father who taught science, teaching his own wife at a point and then advancing to becoming an architect, Maxwell finds his father the best role model and the best example of hard work and thriving in the field of science.

As a young boy, he developed an interest in science and did well in it. As he grew older, Maxwell narrowed down his choice of career to becoming either a doctor or teacher. After much consideration and weighing his options, he decided to become a teacher as he had already found  himself teaching many of his mates and enjoying it. Right after completing senior high school, he spent some time as a pupil teacher and knew that teaching was his calling. So, he went on to enrol in teacher training school and became a teacher. Although he was discouraged by many and advised to use his intelligence in more lucrative professions, Maxwell has never felt more accomplished and he knows he made the right choice.

Maxwell is now a STEM educator and is greatly inspired by the fact that he can create a change in the lives of his students. He is also inspired by the many science professionals he has met such as Charles Ofori, the inventor of the Science Set, and Dr. Coney.

With seventeen years of teaching experience, Maxwell remains motivated by his students who win various design and science competitions. Currently, he teaches about two hundred students at the Berekusu Basic B Junior High School and always encourages his students not to limit themselves in science. He believes STEM is important because it helps people understand the concepts and principles that underpin the technological development of the world. He is a member of MAG, Exploratory, GAST and Ghana STEM Network.

Maxwell Yamoah was introduced to the JUNEOS Challenge by the producers of the Science Set. He made it a point for his students to participate in the challenge, and in the end, the challenge helped him learn different ways of relating experiments to real life situations and to help his students apply what they learn outside the classroom. The JUNEOS Challenge has also helped his students appreciate STEM more.

Given the chance to join the JUNEOS Challenge again, Maxwell will not think twice about it. His advice to the JUNEOS team is to consider its filming time which was short and a disadvantage to many. He also suggests that JUNEOS enters more schools, especially the deprived schools.

In his opinion, the  JUNEOS Challenge was a great learning opportunity for both teachers and students and exposed both sides to the need to be more up to date with STEM.

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Article by Elizabeth Johnson.

Elizabeth Johnson works as a researcher and project manager with Dr Monk and volunteers the rest of her time with the Writers Project of Ghana where she takes up various roles such as radio show production, social media management and administrator for their annual literary festival. She is a published writer who writes both fiction and non fiction and has won awards for her work.