Teacher Jaella Sears: Driven by a passion to work with young minds

Jaella Sears was born on the 11th of February 1998 to Lawrence Sears and Jonetta Pellew Sears. She grew up with her parents and siblings in Hopetown on the West Coast of Berbice.

She is currently an Assistant Mistress working at Trafalgar Nursery school.  Sears commenced teaching at the age of 16.

“To be honest, teaching was never the profession I was aiming for. But as soon as I completed high school, I was eager to go off to start earning my own money. So, I applied and I got through,” Jaella said.

She added, “Often, teachers are overlooked, disrespected, and viewed sometimes as just a babysitter. So, I was a bit sceptical about joining the profession.”

She applied for the nursery level because of her love for children and passion for working with young minds as she loves seeing a child’s knowledge and abilities develop.

When Jaella started in the teaching profession, it was more challenging than she expected. She was poor in maintaining discipline in the classroom and there were even people around her, who spewed negativity and tried to break her spirit.

“There were times it used to affect my mental health because there is always so much to do (records, creating teaching aids for each week and maintaining the classroom),” she noted.

Her family has lots of teachers and on many occasions, she sought advice and encouragement from them.

Sears started the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) in 2019.

During that time, she had two semesters in college before the pandemic came and made things complicated.

“It was not easy. A lot of people that were not in the same position as we were might say we had it ‘easy’ because we didn’t actually have to go to college and it was online classes. But let me tell you it was anything but easy. I had a lot of struggles as it relates to poor internet connection and the lack of face-to-face feedback and proper communication disadvantaged me even more,” Jaella mentioned.

There were many instances when she wanted to give up because there were lots of activities happening around me and that made her feel overwhelmed.

However, during her trying times, her mother stood by her encouraging her to go on and in the end she persevered.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13,” is a Bible scripture that kept Sears grounded and motivated.

She is extremely thankful for her family and few friends who assisted her along her journey.

“As a Nursery teacher, every day is unique and there’s never a dull moment. I love every one of my students as if they are my kids and they are the reason I keep going.

Teachers have the opportunity to shed light on topics not commonly found in textbooks, to teach skills that students can apply in real life, and to inspire students to overcome their adversities,” she mentioned.

“After college I used lots of my personal funds to purchase resources for my classroom. This is to ensure that my kids are comfortable. Many of my colleagues said, girl, are you stupid? Why are you wasting your money to fix a classroom? We are already not being paid enough,” she recalled being told by some of her colleagues.

Jaella said many times that it dulled her spirit, however, whenever her students utilise the resources, she bought to learn, she feels happy.

When asked for advice Jaella stressed, “Do not listen to people. Do what makes you happy. Reach for your goals.”