Teach Middle East Podcast
Welcome to the Teach Middle East Podcast, the ultimate audio hub where educators find inspiration, share innovative ideas, and grow together! Brought to you by Moftah Publishing—the minds behind the premier Teach Middle East Magazine—this podcast is your gateway to the latest research-based practices, cutting-edge classroom strategies, and the heartwarming stories of educators from the Middle East and around the globe.
As the only podcast that interviews school leaders from across the Middle East and beyond, we offer unparalleled insights into the challenges and successes that shape educational landscapes in diverse settings. Join us as we dive deep into the fascinating world of education, where every episode promises a treasure trove of insights designed to connect, develop, and empower the brilliant minds shaping our future. Whether you’re seeking fresh perspectives, practical tips, or a dose of inspiration, the Teach Middle East Podcast is your must-listen resource. Tune in and transform the way you teach!
Teach Middle East Podcast
Navigating Education's Challenges and Triumphs With Sam Welbeck
What happens when a dream of flying aeroplanes leads to an unexpected career in education? In this episode of the Teach Middle East Podcast, we chat with Sam Welbeck, principal of Qatar Academy, Doha, about his incredible journey from aspiring pilot and doctor to becoming a leader in education. Sam shares how the 2011 Egyptian revolution changed his path, bringing him to Doha, where he thrives in a culturally rich environment.
We explore the art of leadership, from building genuine connections with staff and students to navigating challenges like implementing a dual-language program. Sam’s story offers insights into fostering trust, creating safe school environments, and balancing professional responsibilities with personal passions. Tune in for an inspiring conversation on adaptability, strategic leadership, and the profound impact of educators in shaping the future.
Connect with Sam at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-welbeck/
Teach Middle East Magazine is the premier platform for educators and the entire education sector in the Middle East and beyond. Our vision is to equip educators with the materials and tools they need, to function optimally in and out of the classroom. We provide a space for educators to connect and find inspiration, resources, and forums to enhance their teaching techniques, methodologies, and personal development. We connect education suppliers and service providers to the people who make the buying decisions in schools.
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Hosted by Leisa Grace Wilson
Connect with Leisa Grace:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/leisagrace
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leisagrace/
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Speaker 2:Hey everyone, welcome to the Teach Middle East podcast. My name is Lisa Grace. Today I have Sam Welbeck on the podcast and he is the principal of Doha Academy. And I don't have to tell you where Doha is, because if I have to, then why are you listening to this podcast? Go do your geography. But Sam is my LinkedIn buddy. Can't believe we haven't met in person. We have such rapport and it's wild. You see, that's why I tell people what you put online, let it be authentic, let it be you, because people will know you by that and you will develop friendships and rapport with people online if you are your authentic selves. Sam, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 3:Thank you. Thank you, it's so good to be here. Thank you, lisa. Mom, we made it. We're on Teach Middle East. We made it, mom, not no, seriously, I I've I've. A long time ago, I saw, uh, what you were doing with Teach Middle East and I used to read the newsletters and I used to watch the podcast and I used to think to myself, I wonder if one day she might knock on my door. So I'm, I'm really really happy to be here, thank you. Thank you for having me you're're most welcome.
Speaker 2:She came knocking and you answered, so thank you. So tell me then, sam Doha, when did you go there?
Speaker 3:I've only been here a year. I know, see, it feels like a lot longer. I'll be honest. But yeah, this is my second year now. I started last year. Before then, I was in Cairo for about 14 years. Doha is an amazing place really, and the company that I work for, Qatar Foundation, are something else really. It is an amazing country because it is not only very advanced technologically, but it is also very cultural, and I love that mix. There's a lot of culture here, they are a very hospitable people and it is, according to Google, probably the second safest place in the world. I wonder what's first? I think it's where you are. I think it's Abu Dhabi. Is it Abu Dhabi you best?
Speaker 2:believe, I think it might be Says my front door which does not get locked at night.
Speaker 3:Exactly, it's weird, isn't it? It's one of those things when you're coming from London and you are not used to, you know, living in a place where you can leave the key in the car and go, you know, go into your house, leave the door open and go to bed. That's just unbelievable. But you can do that here and everything will be there when you wake up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's, that's. That's the beauty of this part of the world for the most part, obviously not everywhere. And please don't go leaving your car keys and say Lisa Grace said that on the podcast, listen, they take your car, that's you, that's on you. I'm telling you Tell me a little bit about your journey into education. What got you into education in the first place?
Speaker 3:Ah crikey, you know it was an accident. It was an accident. I'm not one of those people that kind of you know grew up wanting to be an educator. I wanted to be a pilot and then I realised I was scared of heights so that didn't work. And then I wanted to be a doctor but that's just way too much work. Then I fell in love with IT, but when I got to university they didn't have the options that I wanted. So I ended up doing English at uni, because that's kind of what my teacher said I was good at. So I went to uni.
Speaker 3:I went to a uni in East London called Queen Mary in Westfield, and with that bachelor's degree I had absolutely no idea what I could do. I had a love for IT. I'd been messing around with computers since the old ZX81 back in the late 80s and I decided to become a Microsoft engineer after uni and started working for Xerox. It was a jump to go from IT to education, and that only happened because of the Egyptian revolution. I was caught up in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. I was right there on the streets with the Egyptian revolution. I was caught up in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. I was right there on the streets with the Egyptian massive, and something which I will always treasure. It was one of those experiences that really opened my eyes to the fact that we need to change things in this world.
Speaker 3:That didn't make me an educator. What made me an educator was being out of work. I'd gone to Egypt because I had got a job working on a magazine and when I got to Egypt, literally months later, the revolution took place and then the magazine, which was based on advertising sales, couldn't go forward because, of course, the whole country plummeted financially and we couldn't get the sales. The woman who ran the magazine said to me look, I'm really really sorry. I know you've come all this way, but you're a great writer.
Speaker 3:There's a school that my daughter goes to. It's an international school and if I talked to the director there I'm sure he would be interested. So I fell into education by accident. I went to see him, we spoke, we really got on. He was an old British guy called Dr Giddings Really really wonderful man and his wife there was the AQC, or the principal of the elementary, if you like, the primary school, and they gave me a job teaching grade five English and social studies and that's kind of how I fell into education and the rest is as they say it's history. 14 years later, I'm the principal of Qatar Academy, doha, and it's been an amazing journey and something which I'm really grateful for, alhamdulillah, really great.
Speaker 2:Alhamdulillah. Talk to me about those early years teaching in Cairo. What were those like? About those early years teaching in Cairo? What were those like? Have you been to Cairo? So I haven't been to Cairo and I really should go.
Speaker 3:I really should. Yeah, you will hate it. No, no, I say look, all Egyptians will understand why I just said that. Because it's one of these places that is so chaotic, crazy busy, hot, stifling and yet wonderful. Amazing. Funny Egyptians are the funniest people you will ever meet, but it's hard.
Speaker 3:Egypt is a hard place to live. You've got to suss it out and that takes time. So most of the time when people go and just visit, they don't get it. But when you're there for long and you get to understand the culture and the people, you love it. And that's how I got introduced. I got introduced to Egyptians through knowing their children and hearing the stories from them and and and understanding the culture from them and what they, what they aspire to and what they're afraid of and what their parents are going through, and it was an amazing introduction and I absolutely love Egypt. For me, egypt is a second home. It's a place that I will always consider mine. I'm always telling people Anamasri, I'm Egyptian, and they look at me obviously and laugh, but the idea is that I feel connected to them as a people, because I felt so connected to the children there and their parents and the schools that I feel connected to them as a people, because I felt so connected to the children there and their parents and the schools that I worked in.
Speaker 3:So in the early days I was teaching English and social studies, and what a subject, because it allows you to really get broad and talk to kids about so many different things. I mean social studies. We went through everything from all the stuff we weren't supposed to talk about politics, religion. We talked about history, we talked about geographical spaces. I remember having this massive discussion with my grade eight about the fact that they're not white. They didn't understand what I was talking about and it was fantastic. It really opened up some great discussion about inclusion, about race, about what it's like to be a foreigner in a place, and I absolutely loved the experience teaching in Egypt. It was something I will never, ever, ever regret, and it allowed me to sort of build my profile as an educator, and so when Qatar Academy came knocking, it was because I'd had that experience in Egypt which had given me the skill set to be able to go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I must have said Doha Academy, not Qatar Academy.
Speaker 3:That's all right. It's Qatar Academy Doha. It's Qatar Academy Doha. You had all the words.
Speaker 1:You had all the words there, so I stand. Corrected guys. I knew it was one of those.
Speaker 2:Two of them academies have the same name. Oh yeah, so English and social studies. Yeah, I wanted to find out when it comes on to the way you taught what's, because now you're a principal, so obviously now you're looking at how teachers teach Right, what? What did you think resonated most with the students that you taught?
Speaker 3:Honestly, there's a few elements, but I think what I felt made me stand out and what I still use as a leader now, is just building connections. Building connections and building relationships and being vulnerable enough to be able to be a bit authentic with the children in the class. Let them know a little bit about you, who you are and what you strive for and why you want the best out of them. When you build that, it becomes. I've got this weird analogy. I'm going to try it. I don't think anyone else understands that part for me. But you know when you're trying to feed a baby, right, that they're not interested. Yeah, they want to play. They're looking around. You're trying to get the spoon in in their mouth, right.
Speaker 3:It's a bit like that when you're a teacher, you know you've got some of the kids who really want to learn, others who are, you know, busy talking with their friends. Others who have just come back from the playground of playing football and they're interested in that. Others who just don't understand the content. You know you've got it's like when you're trying to feed a baby they're all over the place. If you really want to be able to get all the information across, you've got to get their attention and you know, just like when a baby really feels comfortable with you and just opens their mouth and you're able to just shovel all the food down. It's the same with the kids. Once you build that connection with them, you know their mood. You know you can walk into the class and you can literally tell their mood and know when to say, okay, close your books, let's do this a different way. You know, know when to get involved in the conversations that they're having, even if those conversations aren't directly connected to what you're doing, and it's all about building that connection.
Speaker 3:That was, for me, the biggest takeaway I had, and I use that now as a leader. I spend most of my time thinking about how do I build connections with my immediate leadership team. We've done a great job at QAD. Now it's one of the tightest teams I've ever had. The team I have right now. They're superb, we are close, we trust each other, and then that has then filtered further down to the grade leaders and the subject specialists.
Speaker 3:You know, building those connections, getting to know them on a level, not just to do with the work, but as you know who they are, and finding out what's important to them, what are their aspirations, what are they trying to achieve in their career and, you know, with their, with their home life. It doesn't mean going out with people and hanging out with them after work If, I'm honest, I don't, I don't do that, I generally don't, I don't have time but it can be done in a professional way. You know it can. You can build connections with people professionally and it's about asking them how they are and it's about, you know, allowing them to really have no fear in telling you about their own vulnerabilities and what they. You know what they're afraid of and what they aspire to, and having more authentic conversations. So it's the same thing Used to do it as a teacher, do it now as a leader, and it always works for me.
Speaker 2:So this is your second academic year with QAD, and so when you walked in, what was that like? Like they look at you, black man from London. Well, egypt, because now you know, we don't know where Sam's from. I'm from London and I'm all over the place, but yeah, what was that like when you walked in, Like how did you get them on side?
Speaker 3:It was tough.
Speaker 3:It was tough, lisa. You know this is a school which is the flagship of the Qatar Foundation schools. This is a school which has educated and housed the leaders of this country. It really is a special place. So it was a huge responsibility. And you know I'm walking in. We've got over a thousand kids, I've got over about 140 teachers and when you put all the rest of the staff in there as well, there's about 200 personnel that I have to look after. It was.
Speaker 3:It was a bit daunting, if I'm honest, and it took me a while to kind of get into my stride. I spent a lot of time trying to work out acronyms, because they use so many, and most of the time I didn't know what people were talking about. Luckily, I think one of the things which I've learned in the past and I use is that if I don't know something, I'll ask you what it is. And for a lot of people I know that they're afraid that makes them look stupid. But I'd rather look stupid one time and then no next time than to nod and pretend I know what you said and then look stupid for the next month. So I had to go through that process and for the first three months I was spinning. Really I was spinning. It was difficult, there was a lot which needed to be done, and when you first turn up at a school as a leader and there's a lot to do, it puts you under pressure, because I I personally don't think new leaders should walk in to a school and make too many changes. You've got to understand the environment you're in, you've got to study the environment, you've got to work out why people do what they do and really take that in and reflect on it before you start moving the pieces around. And I wasn't given that chance.
Speaker 3:You know, I turned up and there were some big projects. Um, one was a dual language initiative which was coming all the way from from the very top, from from shaker hind, who who's you know, from her office. She's our CEO. She's also the sister of Sheikha Amin, who's the leader of the country you know. So I've turned up and there's this project, right. So basically, our students are losing their identity by not being proficient in the Arabic language by the time they graduate, by not being proficient in the Arabic language by the time they graduate. So what we want you to do is start at the primary level and give them a dual language program all the way up. So effectively their exposure to Arabic needs to be equivalent to their exposure in English. At least that's where I got to after the study.
Speaker 3:That isn't what I was told. I was told to build the program you know that's a huge thing when you've just turned up. I mean, imagine the plethora of things that a new principal has to get used to and take care of. I mean, you've got a project like that which is added on your plate. That was tough. We changed so many systems. We had new communication systems for the first time. We changed the way the cafeteria worked. It went digital and, for the first time, students who used to have almost an automated process where their parents were charged for the cafeteria and had to opt out, all of a sudden we were changing that to a wristband system where you had to opt in and do it online. And I had to introduce all of this not knowing the landscape and it's a huge school. Until today, I get lost walking around the school. It's absolutely huge. So it was tough.
Speaker 3:The first three months were really really hard. As things progressed, with a lot of support from my team, from my director. I work under a director who is phenomenal, phenomenal. I've been very lucky in my life that the people that I've worked under have been very supportive and phenomenal. First, uh, when I was in egypt, uh, dr mustafa imam, who's one of the we're really good friends. Now he's one of the people that I really, really admire because of the way he supports and the way he thinks.
Speaker 3:And then, when I moved on, I was worried about what would that mean to not have that support. But I got that in Mehdi Ben-Shaban, who I now work under, who is really a phenomenal educator. With their support, I was able to make it through and I think we've had this year a phenomenal year, a phenomenal turnaround so far. Parents are happy. Parents are happy. They're saying they can feel the difference and they love the spirit of the school. That was the way the last parent described it to me in my office, like a few days ago. We love the new spirit in the school and that means a lot to me. I talk a lot back.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no. As you talked about Mehdi, I was like oh, I haven't seen Mehdi in a long time. You know Mehdi, right, yes?
Speaker 3:yes.
Speaker 2:I do know Mehdi Mehdi before he was with the Qatar Foundation in the teacher training arm.
Speaker 3:Right in EDI.
Speaker 2:Yes, Phenomenal, You're listening to me Mehdi, how are? You. It's been a while. So the fact that you had to inherit such a massive project. How did you get the buy-in of the senior leadership team? Because it's one thing to walk in and try to get the buy-in of the parents and the students, but the buy-in of the people who are supposed to be your right-hand people, now, that's a tough task. How did you manage to maneuver that?
Speaker 3:It is a tough task, lisa, it really is. I was lucky. I think I was lucky in that I got people who were, first of all, they were, new to their positions right. They weren't new to the school necessarily, but new to their position. So I think that was lucky in the sense that we had a chance to have a clean canvas on which we were going to paint. We were coming in as a new team, so everybody was invested in wanting to make sure that we didn't fail, and you need that. So I was very lucky in that. But I also got a team which was really balanced. I got a team.
Speaker 3:There are three assistant principals that work under me who are phenomenal human beings in their own right, but very different. One of them is, I think, the first Qatari assistant principal at the 13 schools a woman called Misty Aradawi. She's an amazing educator, amazing communicator, an amazing logistical, somebody who works with a lot of passion, and she understood the parents, she understood the students, she understood the students, she understood the culture. So I had that element of things working to my benefit. I've got another guy called Fran Navarro who is logistically phenomenal, very focused on policy and procedure, and again, I've got that element covered because of him. And then I've got Sana, who's been at the school the longest out of us, and she brings that historical element so she can tell us why things are the way they are.
Speaker 3:I also made sure that, in terms of distributing the work, I gave her something which she would do phenomenally and she did which is to handle staffing. So I go to her when I want to figure out how we are going to manage staffing. How are we going to hire, who do we need? When do we need them, what is the process? And not only is she logistically smart, but she's fantastic in terms of documenting things and creating charts and forms for us. So as a team, we are so balanced. You know there's someone that can do every element. You know there's a wider team.
Speaker 3:We've got a PLT, which is the pedagogical leadership, which includes a curriculum coordinator, pyp coordinator, a student support, and not everyone was on the same page when we started. It really was. It was a bit of a battle and I had to spend time convincing people that they were safe, first of all, that when I ask about something, when I question something, it wasn't to question them. It was to question why we do it the way we do it. It was to review our processes, it was to understand.
Speaker 3:But you know when you're coming in new and you start poking around, sometimes people feel you're poking around because you have some kind of idea that they're in the wrong or they're not doing something right and may want to undermine their position. It took a while to build trust. I wouldn't say we're 100% there. I mean, I'm sure every now and again I still scare some people when I suddenly start poking around within their departments. But I think it's building, I think it's getting, you know, it's getting close and people are feeling a lot more comfortable and they know that they can be vulnerable with me. They know that mistakes can happen and I'm open to that because I make them, you know. So I think we're getting there.
Speaker 2:How do you communicate that level of psychological trust to your staff? What are you doing to help them to understand that psychologically, they are safe to explore, make mistakes and trust you?
Speaker 3:I think you have to tell them. I think it starts with actually telling them. I do. I do this in the orientation period. I explain I've got this trio of cultural success, which it's a triangle which I bring up and I'm trying to remember it now. It's transparency, right, and support and clear expectations.
Speaker 3:That's my trio, right? You've got transparency, which is about us being open with each other in our conversations, in the way we deal with each other, in dealing with conflict. If you're not transparent, there's no trust. You're going to say one thing to one person and another to somebody else. It's all going to fall apart. Clear expectations that it is on me to make sure that you know what is expected of you. If I haven't made that clear and then I want to come and, you know, have a go at you later on about something that you haven't done or haven't done, well, you know there's an unfairness there. And then, of course, the last one, which is the support that you know you have to be able to get support where you're struggling and where you're finding it hard.
Speaker 3:So I actually bring this triangle up in my orientations and I go through this and I'm explicit about the fact that this is how we're going to build a positive environment in the school that we can all be proud of and enjoy. And I actually do tell people that if you make a mistake, an honest mistake, that is something that I can abide. I mean, I do it, I do it all the time and if I can be forgiven for it, then so can you. But what is important is that we learn from it, we put in place things to avoid repeating it and then we move forward. You know, if you do something intentionally, or you know with, because you haven't, you haven't put the kids first, you haven't put their safety first, if you haven't, if you've been negligent, then you know that's a different story, you know. But I think people understand the difference. So you know, they feel a lot safer knowing and hearing that from me because there is a balance, right, sam.
Speaker 2:There is that psychological safety that you want to create, but you also want to create an environment of high standards and high expectations. So then, my question to you is how do you go about those difficult conversations when you find negligence, when you you find complacency, when you find mediocrity? How do you tackle that then, as a school leader?
Speaker 3:Hard conversations, hard conversations, but I think you have to. First of all, you've got to be quick with them. Right, when you're leading, you want to try to avoid confrontation as much as possible, and that doesn't work. So the first thing is, when you see bad behavior, you have to correct it On the spot. You can't leave it. You've got to call people in and you've got to say listen, here's the thing that I don't like right now, and so it has to change.
Speaker 3:And sometimes I think sometimes a lot of leaders find that difficult. I know I did when I first started working in schools. I found that difficult. I remember one time found that difficult. I remember one time a really trusted friend of mine now, who was the who's, the HR in one of my old schools in Egypt, saying to me you know you're so, you're too nice, and she meant that in the in the nicest way, but it really got to me. You know, I was really reflecting on it and I was. I was, I was thinking, thinking man, why is she saying that? And I think the reason was that I was taking too long to address bad behavior.
Speaker 3:Bad behavior will very quickly corrupt and make an environment very toxic, because if you accept that other people look and they see it and and then it spreads. So now, whilst I would like to think I use a lot of humor and I'm approachable, I like to think so anyway. One of the things that happens is when I see something and I don't like it, I say it's better and I have a conversation about it and I'm just honest about it. I must admit that sometimes people find that a little intimidating. I think people might. You know, a lot of people know me from LinkedIn and they probably think you know he's a really happy, jolly guy, you know. And then when they come to work with me, they realize that when I'm serious it can be a little bit scary. At least I'm told that I think I'm fine but apparently I can be intimidating. But I don't think I'm intimidating for no reason.
Speaker 3:I think if you are not putting kids first and if you are flouting the rules, the procedures which have been put in place to keep them safe and to ensure high standards in the school, you should expect that the person or the people who lead that are going to take you up on it. You know it can't be left, otherwise everything crumbles and the schools which have, you know, the best standards of behavior, of ethics, of grades even if those, most of the time, for me aren't the most important but kids who grow up with a sense of accountability and responsibility. You will find that the same happens with the staff. There's accountability and responsibility amongst the staff, and then it's ergonomic, it leaks down.
Speaker 3:If that isn't there, uh, then everything, in my opinion, crumbles. So there's a time, as a leader, where you have to, you have to be firm and you have to be prepared to, uh, to call people out and to show integrity in your, in your responses, uh, instead of complaining, you know, about them behind their back and then not confronting them yeah, no, I'm, I'm completely with you.
Speaker 2:I mean, when I led schools I did get that whole I'm intimidating piece, and you know I'm a tall black woman.
Speaker 3:That's what I'm always saying I'm a six-foot black man, most of the time in a suit, today's Friday, you know, with my bald head and my braces, I obviously don't care about. I'm not worried about what you're going to think You've done something wrong. I'm going to tell you about it and it works. Now, the strange thing is I can be completely opposite with the kids, especially because I'm an elementary principal, right? So when it comes to the kids look their kids I keep telling my APs don't bring a cageG kid to my office for me to shout at. It's not going to happen, right, it's not going to happen. I'm going to end up having a conversation with this kid. We're going to talk about what they did wrong, but I'm not raising my voice at a KG child.
Speaker 3:I absolutely adore children. It's what has made my entire career work. I build relationships with them. They connect with me. They tell me about their lives and their world and how they see things and I actually listen and I'm not there to intimidate kids. You know, if it's different, if you send me a grade five kid and I need to be a bit more serious with them, I'll do that. But when it comes to the preschool and KG and grade one, they, they, uh, you know we end up, having eaten a bit of chocolate, talking about how they can behave better and most of the time they leave smiling but feeling safe, and that you know, I understood and I listened no, I get that.
Speaker 2:I used to have grade five boys. I used to be an elementary school principal myself and when they used to, the teachers used to like they used to go crazy and they used to send me the grade five boys and then the grade, like we would just sit there and I mean I'm, I'm talking to them seriously, but we're on a level like we're talking, we end up having yeah we end up having real conversations and I'm like, seriously, why?
Speaker 3:did you do that like?
Speaker 2:exactly like what's going on like exactly, and how did that make? You feel and you know, and then in the end some of them used to be like oh, just send me to miss wilson then, and I'm like opposite effect, that's not what I want.
Speaker 3:That's why I raised that, because I think sometimes teachers and and and middle leaders they kind of they misunderstand, they get a little bit frustrated. I can tell, tell, because the kid goes back to the classroom and they're happy. You know, they sent them to me for me to give them the grill and I'm like, no, you do that when they come to me. I'm going to try to get to the bottom of the issue and try to understand them a little bit more and I'm going to do it in a way which makes them feel safe bit more. And I'm going to do it in a way which makes them feel safe. You know, at the end of the day, as the principal of the school, I want every child to feel that as long as I'm there, if they know that I'm there, if I'm around, that they're safe and that you know any vulnerability that they've shown, any problem that they're having, it can get resolved in a way that makes them feel like somebody's listening.
Speaker 3:You know, and that's number one for me. So if you walk into my school and I mean this, uh, you know it's going to sound like a brag, but it really, it really isn't. If you walk into my school and you do a tour with me and you walk around, you'll see the reaction the kids have when, when I'm around them, they, they are excited, they're happy. You know they make a lot of noise, which is very frustrating for teachers because I walk into a classroom, I disrupt the entire lesson, lesson. But the kids feel safe. They feel safe and that's what they tell me. And they come to me when they feel something has been unjust.
Speaker 3:That's when they come to me, they come to me and they tell me well, I need to talk to you and I will let them in. I could be doing a million other things, but I feel that frustration. I say, all right, come in, sit down. What that frustration? I said, all right, come in, sit down. What's happened?
Speaker 3:And you know, you know little kids are, sometimes they can't, they can't express themselves well and they'll stutter, and you know they're on the brink of crying. But I will sit and I will listen and I will try my best to let them know where I believe in that story they were wrong and how, where they should have acted different. But I'll also recognize their frustration, why they're, why they're upset, and then I'll try my best to actually do something about it later on. And I think building that relationship with students makes them feel heard and safe and that makes school better. So when that parent said to me the other day I love the spirit of the school, I think that's what she was referring to. I think it's her child going home with happy stories about what school is and how it's being looked after.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's such a good thing when the nurturing nature of a principal trickles down to the students of the school so they know that when they go to that high up they're not going to be shunned or ignored. They're not, they're going to be heard. It's so important. We're going to change gears a bit all right okay yeah, let's talk about your, because I met you through your content and I have to tell you you do write very well. Put this on record, sam you are one of the writers that I actually read.
Speaker 2:There's some people on linkedin. I gloss over their posts. Your posts I read because you're humorous and I love humor and I love a little bit of tongue in cheek and you know, how did you start writing content on LinkedIn? What made you start?
Speaker 3:No, I can't, you know. I really I can't even remember. I don't know what brought me to that platform. I literally can't remember what brought me to LinkedIn, but it's one of my favorite platforms because it allows me to learn from people. I think I was just a ghost on there at the beginning. I was just reading other people's posts for a long time and trying to learn about the craft, trying to learn about teaching and learning and learn who people are and how they do things so that I could be a better practitioner. I think that's kind of how it started.
Speaker 3:But then, when I wanted to tell my story, I had to do it in my own voice. I had to do it with the human, because that's who I am, and it is a little bit tongue in cheek sometimes and a little bit naughty because that's who I am. I was that kid at school. I'm that guy around my family and friends and it's always going to be who I am. So I write from. I write from the perspective of the voice in my head and I think that's why it comes across and resonates with people. I'm not trying to write a novel or trying to write an academic paper, or literally. There's a story in my head and I literally write it the way I would. You know how you talk to yourself sometimes after you've been out with friends, or you know you come home and you reflect on it. Why did I say that? And what did she mean when she those conversations? I literally type them out and um, and that's why I think sometimes it resonates with people, because we all have that connection with ourselves. You know, we all tell each other stories and and and it's, it's a storytelling technique. I, I love it. I, I love it.
Speaker 3:I don't write that much. I'm not as frequent with my posts as maybe I'd like to be. That's partly because of time and it's partly because I don't write unless I've got something to say. You know, I don't write for the sake of writing. I'm not trying to create a brand. Maybe I should start thinking about it.
Speaker 3:I'm getting old but I'm not actually trying to create a brand on LinkedIn. I'm just telling the stories that go over in my mind and the response from people has been fantastic. I've met so many people here in in doha who who work for the same company and people who don't, who come up to me in workshops and and say, hi, I'm so and so and you know, and I'm like we've met before they go. No, no, linkedin, um oh um, you know, they've been following me and they've been reading the, the stories and you know, and we'll talk about them and we get to know each other. It's really nice. It's actually uh for professionals. I think LinkedIn is is a great space and I really do enjoy, uh, being on there yeah, I do too.
Speaker 2:um, and I love what you said about just telling your story and not trying to concoct. Or you know, if you have a story, one story a week, if it happens, and if you don't have one for the month, you just don't have one. Don't try to, you know, make something up. Or you got a certificate because you stepped outside your door and then you put Listen, don't come for me unless I sent for you.
Speaker 3:You know, you know what I, I um, yeah, yeah, you know you're right, you're right. Sometimes it is frustrating sometimes, but sometimes I see why people do that, because they're trying to, they're trying to show that they've, they've, they've advanced in their careers a little bit and they want to kind of let the rest of us know about that. No-transcript, just tell your story. Everybody's got a story. Just tell it In whatever voice you have. Tell your story. That's what we want to know. We want to know your story.
Speaker 3:We will learn more from your story and how that PD that you went on, that certificate you have, connects to your story than we care about the certificate itself. Who cares about the certificate? You know what I mean. It takes time sometimes for people to get there, know what I mean, and. But it takes time sometimes for people to uh, to, to get there. They're, you know, the ones who do that. Um, they, they're the ones that I think get the followers, because people want to know where their story is going to take them yeah, and we're all interested in stories, you know so.
Speaker 2:I keep telling we are so I'm gonna ask you your story now, sam. Where do you see your career going? What's, what's what? I'm not gonna ask you for a five-year plan, because I don't even have one, but what? What are your hopes like? When you look at Sam, from London to Cairo, to Doha? What do you envision for yourself going forward?
Speaker 3:crikey. This is a really big question because I'm still muddling this over in my head myself. I'm 51. I'm getting old, Lisa.
Speaker 2:You look great though, brethren. Thank you.
Speaker 3:West African jeans. You see, this is what this is, West African jeans. It's the. What's the cream? What's the cream? Hun Shea butter. It's the shea butter cream.
Speaker 2:What's the cream hon? Shea butter, it's the shea butter.
Speaker 3:It's the shea butter. I just called that to my wife. You know what it is, though, when people go, oh, you don't have any wrinkles.
Speaker 2:You sure you weren't in leadership for that long. I'm like castor oil honey.
Speaker 3:Exactly. Don't tell the secrets, though, Lisa.
Speaker 2:It's okay, they won't buy it anyway. Why are you worried?
Speaker 3:The truth is, it's the melanin. Come on, we're lucky, we are, we're lucky it doesn't show on us. For so many years I cut the hair off as well because that was all going great. But yeah, I'm getting old.
Speaker 3:I think the energy which is required to run a school is something that really does need to be taken into consideration. It's, you know, it's physically demanding. Um, I'm all over the place and if I, if I'm going to be a good principal, it means I have to be where things are happening. I can't be in my office. I need to be in classrooms. I need to be helping the counselor chase that kid who, you know, tried to go for the gate because he's not having a great day and wanted to, you know, to get out. I need to be able to go on trips. Every now and again when they're happening, I need to be able to move from one end of the building to another because there's a meeting and then, and then to go back to do an evaluation. So physically is demanding. Mentally, of course it's demanding. Everybody wants something, everybody wants something. Now, as I'm getting older, I'm beginning to realize the toll that takes. I'm getting tired when I get home, to the point where my weekends are about recovery. They're not about enjoying the weekend.
Speaker 3:So I think, for me, what I'd like to do is to be able to position myself in a group of schools where I can impart what I've learned, so that those who have the energy are able to use that to make learning better for kids. Yeah, you know what I mean. I don't know what that looks like. I don't know if it's consultancy, I don't know whether it's some kind of directorship. I don't know what it looks like. The title is not important, but what I am interested in is making learning better for kids, and that means using the experiences and the knowledge that I picked up along the way Not everything you will find in a book or in a workshop. A lot of it is heuristic. You need to be able to to understand what kids need and and what teachers need, and to be able to build something out of that need, so you're always focused in the right place. I'd like to be able to do that and, I don't know, maybe the next few years we'll uncover opportunities where that can happen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like the fact that you're not planning to go start a farm somewhere in West Africa and take all that knowledge that you've gained with you, and so the system won't benefit from the richness.
Speaker 3:This is the most noble profession. It really really is. You know it's tiring. I complain to my poor wife all the time about how tired I am and how little we are appreciated in today's society as educators, and I'm always complaining about it. But she reminds me and and my friends remind me and family remind me, and the kids remind me and parents remind me all the time that this is probably one of the most noble professions in the world. We have such a responsibility towards what the future will look like.
Speaker 3:Every warmongering dictator had a primary school teacher who, if she had known, or he had known, what this person was going to turn out like, might have done things a little bit differently. Let's do the difference now. Yeah, because we don't know who we're dealing with and we have an opportunity to instill something powerful in people while they are still malleable, you know, while they're still open to learning, to shaping their habits and their conscience so that when they do reach those positions where they have to make decisions about life and death, they think about it just that little bit more. It sounds dramatic, but it's not. All the problems in the world are created and sustained by us, by people and people go to school. So let's use school to shape better people and then we will have you know, I hope less problems. So you know, it's a very noble profession.
Speaker 3:I'd love to be on a farm. I think my mum, who lives in West Africa, ghana, would love for me to join her. She's a proper entrepreneur. She's in her 80s and is not slowing down in the slightest. She'd love for me to pack up and come and help her with the business. But you know, I'm telling you I'm doing good work here. I'm helping to shape the lives of some of the future leaders of a nation, and that's important. It's important work.
Speaker 2:It is. So I'm going to ask you the final question. When you're not in recovery mode on the weekend, what are you doing to enjoy, to relax?
Speaker 3:Oh, I'll tell you what I would do if I could carve out the time Friday. Oh, I'll tell you what I would do if I could carve out the time. Friday is family day, and even today I said I've got to do a very important podcast there's nowhere else missing this. There's nowhere else missing Lisa on Teach Middle East. I told you we made it, mum, right. But once we're done, we'll be going out, we'll probably take a walk to the mall nearby and we'll sit down as a family and we'll have something to eat and, um, I spend time with the family.
Speaker 3:I spend time with my wife, um, and just talk with the kids a bit, and, you know, get to have that time. Uh, friday is also obviously prayer day. So, uh, we dedicate ourselves to that. And you know, spiritual renewal, if you like, which is always needed. If saturday normally, if I'm honest, ends up being work, um, I normally wake up, normal time. I wake up for for school in the weekday, which is 4 15 in the morning, I do my prayers, drink my coffee, open my laptop, get the emails out the way, start the, and then we're out of here by about 10 to 6.
Speaker 3:But if I could, lisa, I would do some of the things that I love. One of the things I love is to produce music. A lot of people don't know that I did that a lot when I was young, something I love. I love art, I love creating, I love film, I love editing. One day when I'm able to carve out the time and it's on me, I need to do this. I need to really give myself this time. I'd just love to be more creative. I'd love to tell my stories through film and through writing and through music, and I need to start carving out that time for myself, because if you don't feed the spirit that drives you, you won't be able to be as effective and and help other people. You know what I mean, and that means taking time out for yourself and feeding that spirit, and that's something which my balance hasn't been good lately, but I'm gonna get myself back on track all right, we're waiting for it, sam.
Speaker 3:We're waiting for the music. We're waiting for the film I'll release it. We're waiting for it. I'll release it on LinkedIn first.
Speaker 2:Exclusive.
Speaker 3:Exclusive. There you go.
Speaker 2:What a pleasure this was. Thank you so much.
Speaker 3:No, it's been an absolute pleasure, lisa. We're driving distance. I've driven to Dubai before. If I've driven to dubai, I can get to abu dhabi. We've got to meet up. All right, invite me to the next conference I'm there in um.
Speaker 2:I'm there soon, but I will email you uh to see. Come over to leadership, come on over it's not that difficult. I I tell you what. I've got a panel to put you on, really, yeah, to stir things up just a little bit there, all right, but you're going to be on it with K-Sor. Do you know K-Sor from LinkedIn? No, yeah, k-sor is kind of like you speak their mind yeah, okay. So I think I'll put you on it with Ketur, and then we'll both all three of us will get banned together.
Speaker 3:Oh boy, oh boy Look out, so yeah, the link, didn't take over.
Speaker 2:I know.
Speaker 3:You know I'm there for you. I'm there for you. I'm inspired by the work that you do, lisa, and this is why I was so excited when you said we were going to do this. So yes, whenever you feel there's an opportunity, give me a shout, I'll be there, I will do. Thank you for being on the pod. It's a pleasure.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me. Thank you for listening to the Teach Middle East podcast. Visit our website teachmiddleeastcom and follow us on social media. The links are in the show notes.
