Discover GH4STEM 100 Top Teacher: MRS SELASE DORLEDZI, Zenu #GH4STEM

Mrs Selase Dorledzi is a teacher at Zenu KKMA JHS, Ashiaman, Greater Accra. She has been teaching for about eighteen years. The number of students she handles now is about three hundred and fifty students.

Mrs Dorledzi’s childhood was touched by one of her English teachers, who inspired her because of her outlook and the manner in which she presented her lessons. This influenced Mrs Dorledzi and made her want to become a teacher. Since her father owned a school, her parents were very supportive and encouraged her towards achieving her dream of being a teacher. Teaching comes naturally to Mrs Dorledzi, and the fact that she does it well was made plain when in 2016 she was awarded best teacher in her district.

Mrs Dorledzi developed a passion for science at an early age. She wanted to be a science teacher to help clear the misconception people have about science. She also studied Agricultural Science at the SHS level because of her love of flowers.

Mrs Dorledzi loves to teach science because the subject is interesting and when taught with a practical component, it brings out the creativity in students. According to her, students used to shy away from science, but since they started using locally made materials in teaching practicals and performing experiments, many students now see science as a friendly course.

This really inspires Mrs Dorledzi because it makes students love the learning of science when they realise that it is basically about the things around us. She also loves the experience of performing experiments and seeing her students understand every concept and principle, thereby equipping them to perform practical lessons themselves.

Mrs Dorledzi is highly motivated by the impact she makes on her students and in society as a whole. Seeing the students she has taught growing up to be responsible people at higher positions and their recognition of the part she played in their success stories keeps her motivated as a teacher.

She is a member of the Ghana Association of Science Teachers (GAST) and also a member of the Practical Educational Network (PEN), both of which are STEM organisations. She associated herself with these organisations to learn from her colleague teachers about the positive impact they were having on their students.

Mrs Dorledzi says that through the JUNEOS challenge she has learned that as a teacher, you need to put your facts together and make sure your facts are ‘factual’, because science deals with facts. 

Article by Kofi Dzogbewu

Kofi Dzogbewu is a Ghanaian storyteller. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Language and Literature from the University of Ghana. He is an alumnus of the Mo Issa Writing Workshops.

You can find more of his work on his blog and find him on all social media platforms with the name ‘Kofi Dzogbewu’ (@fdzogbewu).