Mr. Emmanuel Boateng Okyere believes that having a role model or a hero only inspires people to be less of themselves and unconsciously live other people’s lives. Therefore, from a very young age he refers to himself as his own role model and hero striving to be a better version of himself with each passing day.
During his early days in school, Emmanuel realized his skill in drawing and his love for science. He enjoyed his science class a lot, and it is no surprise that he went ahead to study science in Senior High School as well. He especially enjoyed biology class which offered him the opportunity to put his drawing skills to use.
With the help of his parents, Emmanuel decided that being an educator would be the best profession for him. He went and studied Education at the University of Education, Winneba, and trained to become a STEM educator.
Mr. Okyere has spent the past seven years as a teacher and enjoys his job immensely. He teaches STEM at Grace MA Junior High School in the Ashanti Region where he has between one hundred and eighty to two hundred students each year. He chose to be a STEM educator because he believes it is a very important aspect of life. Emmanuel is of the view that the best way to prepare the next generation to meet global expectations, especially in the job market, is to teach them practical and applicable things. He is inspired by the many new things he learns from teaching STEM and is motivated by the success of his students.
Before being introduced to the JUNEOS Challenge, Emmanuel had already made it a point to include practical demonstrations in his teaching. In his early years as a teacher, he realized that students enjoyed the practicals and were more motivated to learn by them. However, having experienced the JUNEOS Challenge, Emmanuel has been exposed to more ways of approaching the teaching of STEM and the use of practical demonstrations in class.
He was introduced to the JUNEOS Challenge by the headmistress of Grace MA Junior High School. The project his students selected and worked on was inspired by what they were learning in class and the resources required to complete the project.
Emmanuel says that he would love to be a part of the JUNEOS Challenge again and hopes that the challenge can continue and stay consistent. He believes the challenge will get better with time, and expects that the project will have a long term effect on the youth and change their perspectives about STEM.
Emmanuel Okyere is married with four children. He enjoys watching Ghanaian movies in his leisure time, especially the ones that star Lil Wayne and Akrobeto.
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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.
