PORT ANTONIO, Portland — Tanya Dawkins is not one to seek out accolades and praise. So it was only after her colleagues entered her in the contest for maths teacher of the year that they let her in on the secret. The three times that vetting teams sat in on her class at Port Antonio High School to see if she was deserving of the top prize she was so caught up with teaching that she forgot they were there. Her focus, as it always is, was on her students.

That passion and drive helped her take home the Ministry of Education’s award for Mathematics Teacher of the Year 2023. She has come to embrace the win, allowing herself to feel a tinge of pride, but she still marvels at how her peers tricked her.

“They entered me and decided not to tell me as they know I would not want to be entered in this competition. They knew I would have said no to that. So they would have gone behind my back, registered me for it, then after that was done I was made aware,” she shared.

The venue, fittingly, was a maths contest at Port Antonio High that showcased skills of students from the parish and wider educational region. As expected, Dawkins was one of the major attractions at the event, fresh from being named the best at her craft in her subject area.

“I am elated, I feel blessed. I am just thankful for this opportunity, very, very thankful,” she told well-wishers with the hint of a grin crinkling the corners of her mouth. As she spoke, she got her school’s display ready for the day’s maths contest.

Dawkins has taught at Port Antonio High for the last four years. The holder of a diploma from the College of Agriculture, Science and Education and a bachelor’s degree in education from The University of the West Indies, she began her teaching career at Portland High, a private school in the parish. She was there for 17 years.

“I’ve loved maths from I was going to high school,” she said, adding that she was drawn to the logical reasoning the subject requires. Equally important to her is how maths can be used in real life and this comes across in the methods she uses in her classroom. For example, she covers topics such as how to calculate discounts or deposits when placing an item on layaway.

“I take the things to class [and calculate] the percentage so students can really see the real life application of the mathematics as we go along. I try also to make the learning environment student-centred. The students are asked questions and learn to discover things for themselves and to see what is really happening so they can formulate their own definition and their own understanding of particular concepts,” Dawkins explained.

She also uses games to hold students’ attention and she believes it helps that she has a good rapport with them even outside the classroom.

Dawkins’ commitment to her job and love for her students is well known and it came as no surprise to many of her peers that she has been named maths teacher of the year.

“Miss Dawkins has quietly been there [working hard] and she has gotten the support of the other teachers. And not necessarily the maths department alone, but teachers from other departments who see her making her efforts and encouraging her every day — and she provides the same for the other persons,” said principal of Port Antonio High School Basil Graham.

He was at the ceremony when Dawkins was named maths teacher of the year.

“When the announcement was being made you would have felt that the lady represented the whole teaching profession; everybody was happy for her, everybody — even her fellow contestants. They saw the nature of the person and the effort being made and the strength of the person. It was a resounding agreement,” he said.

Among those who are also singing Dawkins’ praise are head of the school’s Mathematics Department Judeen Roper, who submitted her name for the award; Region 2 Mathematics Coordinator Shauna-Gaye Young-Henry; specialist and support coach for Port Antonio High Suzette Simpson-McNeil; teacher Gabaroh Cunningham; and an elated student Kayseigh Jones.

“I am very happy for Miss Dawkins as she is a very good teacher and has helped me and the other students in my class to love mathematics. She makes it easy to understand and do. I enjoy the team work and am very happy that she is the mathematics teacher of the year,” Jones said with a smile.