PGCE student Chemina Dixon shared her experience of overcoming barriers to learning; from her pregnancy during her UG Film and Media Production course which she left early gaining a higher education diploma in 2011, to her current success of studying for a PCGE which she is due to graduate from later this year.
Chemina always aspired to do a PGCE, originally setting her sights on going on to teach media following her undergraduate course, however, her path into teaching has been a long and challenging one. Following the birth of her daughter, Chemina hoped to return to University to complete her final year of study but due to concerns about financial support, she was unable to pursue this until much later.
After working for Sheffield City Council as a housing officer for some time, she returned to London to be nearer family, however, lack of housing support and an absent mother who was in Jamaica for some year’s looking after an unwell relative, meant that Chemina decided to make the move back to Sheffield to a more secure housing situation. Here she found work in sales in a call centre and it was this, as well as a useful conversation with a friend about the possibility of financial support, that was the final push for her to seek information about making the return to education.
Funding was available, however, she was informed that it would mean studying in a different area from her original UG course for those final credits to achieve a BA (Hons) degree. Chemina had decided by this point that she would like to teach English which led her to studying Level 6 English Literature with the Open University.
Following a lengthy paper work driven process of transferring her credits from SHU to the OU, Chemina successfully completed two modules of English Literature. Studying at level 6 having had a 5 year break from education, adjusting to a different grading system and distance learning along with looking after a child as a single parent, was an extremely challenging situation. Despite these difficulties, Chemina was able to achieve the results she needed to progress onto her PGCE course. It’s important to note that in addition to studying the English Literature modules during this time, Chemina was also required to complete her level 2 maths which meant additional studying and financial pressure, but again, despite these challenges she as able to succeed and get the results she needed.
Chemina is thriving in her PGCE work placements, making strong connections with the children she has been teaching and connecting with the students who have had to overcome difficulties not too dissimilar to those that Chemina has faced.
Alongside all these academic achievements, Chemina has also led a successful musical career path writing her own songs and performing at various events and competitions, most notably winning the ‘JamIn voice of Jamaica‘ competition in 2018 which saw her fly to Jamaica and perform at the official Jamaica Independence celebrations at a stadium in front of a large audience which included the country’s prime minister.
Chemina notes that this experience of performing and being on stage prepared her for the role of a teacher and has helped her whilst on placement, in particular when she is struggling with ‘imposter syndrome’; an issue where she feels that she is not good enough but then relates back to the things she has achieved which is a reassuring reminder of how far she has come and how much she definitely deserves to be where she is now.
Chemina’s vision and overall sense of purpose in life is to hold a legacy as someone who was always uplifting and motivating other people. Through singing, volunteering, mentoring and teaching, she hopes to help the next generation of people and inspire young people who may not feel that they are able to achieve to reach their goals. She also wants to represent people of colour to show that it is possible to succeed and achieve ultimate goals, no matter what your upbringing or circumstance and hopes that working in a teaching role will show the next generation that they too can do this, no matter the barriers. An example of where Chemina demonstrated this to students was in a recent lecture at the school she was doing her placement in. She invited her cousin in to talk to the students to offer an alternative example of what ‘success and achievement’ can look like and how not all barriers are the same.
Her cousin came from a financially conformable family, attended public school, successfully gained a law degree and was practising as a lawyer when he decided to leave the profession and take up his true passion full time, singing. Whilst he had what most would describe as an ‘easy upbringing’ with lots of opportunities, he felt disillusioned and that it was not going to make him happy long term. The brave decision to leave that life and try to make it as a professional musician is one that Chemina finds inspiring, as did her students who he shared his story with.
When asked what inspired her to continue with her quest to become a teacher despite all the obstacles and challenges she has faced, Chemina was definite that her daughter is the key factor. Wanting to be a role model for her and be an inspiration was something to hold onto when things have been tough. Chemina commented that whilst life at the moment can be ‘stressful all the time’, she didn’t want that to be her continuing narrative and that succeeding in becoming a teacher would not only bring her the security that she has not previously experienced, but also the satisfaction and reward of helping and nurturing others- something that she finds great enjoyment in.
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