If someone were to ask "who is Chawahir?" how would you describe yourself?

I think I would describe myself as someone who is driven and passionate, but also someone who doesn’t take herself too serious. I’m also someone guided by my faith and principles.

Please can you tell us a little about your path to becoming a Primary School Teacher, what you had to study, any challenges you had to overcome and why you chose a career in Teaching? 

My path into teaching wasn’t straight forward. After completing my degree in international politics I worked as a TA, trying to figure out if teaching was for me or whether I should pursue an MA. I went with the latter. After working as a consultant and analyst I felt that what bought me joy and gave me a purpose was teaching. I then did a PGCE in 2017 and have been teaching ever since.

I was tired of being the only black woman or the only Muslim in predominately white spaces. I felt that in order to level the playing field, it was important that the education sector saw more representation from people from BAME backgrounds. With this in mind I see teaching as a career that embodies social justice. A great education is the strong foundation that can enable a child to be whatever they want to be.

Can you walk us through a typical day in the life of Chawahir as a Teacher?

A typical day involves me entering the school gates by 8am. I then begin to organise worksheets and have all the necessary lessons open for the day for smooth transitions between subjects. I have a daily ritual where I have a daily password such as “traverse” or  “conscientious”. My students can’t enter the classroom without saying the word. I should words which will stretch their vocabulary.

As kids become settled doing an activity for their early morning work I utilise this time to do a quick intervention for children who are struggling with the previous days learning. Then its back to back lessons. Teaching during a pandemic has made every lesson seem too short or that we are constantly paying catch up. Nonetheless I would teach Maths, then Topic, SPAG and whatever foundation subject I have planned on the timetable.

Between each break and transition in and out of the playground the children and adults are consistently washing their hands and abiding by our schools covid rules.

After school I am marking lessons and If I am feeling organised printing out the next days worksheet.

In sum my day inside the classroom starts at 8 and generally finish by 5:30.

What’s one thing you wish you had known when you began your career, and what advice would you give someone wanting to pursue a career similar to yours?

I think to learn how to prioritise. When I began teaching I was in my classroom from 8-7pm. This wasn’t conducive to a healthy work life balance. I eventually learnt how to prioritise.

What is the one common myth about your profession or field that you want to debunk?

That we finish work at 3:30 and have enough holidays. I work and plan during the holidays for the next term. Also, we don’t get paid overtime. Marking and writing reports are extremely time consuming.

Who are the three most influential people to you?

My parents and Khadija (RA)

What does empowerment look and feel like to Chawahir? And have you had any empowering moments you'd like to share?

For me empowerment is being able to speak your mind and truth. I think the ability to feel like you have accomplished and made a difference. One empowering moment was graduating from a prestigious university, because boy was that postgrad hard. I was juggling an internship, part time job and studies.

Another, is seeing the positive changes in my students.

Statistics show we still have much work to do to truly establish an equal playing field for Black and Ethnic Minority people in Britain. Do you have thoughts about how we can better prepare and empower youth from BAME backgrounds?

I think representation doesn’t automatically = change. I think to level the playing we need to connect young people with contacts in the field they may want to go in to. I think it’s acknowledging the intersections within race, class and gender. Its also the willingness to allow the “youth” to express themselves and not impose or project our ideals onto them.

With iEMPOW3R what's the one thing you'd like to see from us (this can be anything, big or small)?

More competitions, perhaps workshops.

Finally, on a lighter note, what does Chawahir do for fun?

I bake and experiment with recipes. I find baking really soothing. Pre pandemic I was extremely outgoing seeing at least one play a month and travelling. The pandemic has slowed down my lifestyle. I’m not trying to squeeze every moment into the weekend. Instead I’m enjoying just being more zen, spending my time painting, doing yoga and reading.