"I think in teaching, it is so important to put yourself in a child's shoes"

From a young age, Aaliah Saeed had always dreamed of becoming a teacher. At home, she used to play at being a teacher, using her teddies and her disgruntled siblings as pupils. It was an ambition that she admits may seem surprising to some, as her own primary school experience was a difficult one. 

As the only Muslim child in her class, she experienced discrimination and isolation. But ultimately, that’s what motivated her to join the teaching profession. “I think a lot of me wanted to be in the position to make it different, to make sure if there's another child that comes in that's like me, that they don't go through that same experience, or they don't feel left out, or they don't feel different.”

A part of her “wanted to change everything, to make everything better.”

Aaliah has recently started a job teaching in Ashbourne Co. Meath, near where she grew up. “I'm really happy where I am,” says Aaliah, who already feels like she’s been at the school for “ten years”.

The journey to her dream job had several detours along the way but Aaliah Saeed’s approach to challenges is “there’s always another option.” 

Having failed to achieve the CAO points for her first option of the Bachelor of Education in DCU, Aaliah opted for the Bachelor of Arts, taking English and Irish as her subjects. She describes it as  “probably one of the best decisions I made.”

The undergraduate experience gave her more time and space to explore all DCU had to offer. She was chairperson of the Islamic Society for 2 years, she got involved with An Cumaan Gaelach and the Fencing Club, and worked as a Student Ambassador -- all of which built up a network of good friends across the University.

Having completed her BA, she applied for the PME course but faced another setback. Applicants have to get 60 per cent in an Irish language fluency test, the Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG), but Aaliah fell just short with 58 per cent. Determined not to give up, she worked for a year in childcare while she studied to improve her Irish and then successfully repeated the TEG, achieving 80 per cent.

The first semester of the PME course had a heavy schedule of lectures but Aaliah found the quality of teaching was excellent, as nearly all the lecturers were former teachers and were able to talk about their own classroom experience and practice. “I think it's really, really valuable.”

She loved the hands-on nature of the course. Students got to explore digital teaching methods using Minecraft and Lego. They learned about new ways to teach art, and in the Early Childhood modules, they played with toys to help them understand the child’s perspective. “I think in teaching, it is so important to put yourself in a child's shoes.”

Aaliah had a lot of experience working with kids over the years, but admits her first school placement was daunting. However, she is full of praise for the teachers in all her placements who offered constructive advice that built her confidence. And in hindsight, all the hard work she did preparing those first lessons paid off. “I still have all those resources, so I'm able to use that now.”

Having done placements in two Muslim schools, Aaliah feels it would have been easier to secure a job there, but she believed she could create more impact elsewhere.

In today’s more multi-cultural Ireland, she believes that children benefit from seeing teachers from diverse backgrounds in the classroom. “I aspire to create a little bit of change,” says Aaliah. “Children need to see themselves in the staff of the school. They need to be able to see a teacher who maybe looks like them.”

A placement in Ashbourne Community National School eventually led to her getting her current job, where she teaches “a very, very lively, fourth and fifth class.”

Reflecting on her journey via an Arts degree and the Professional Master’s of Education, Aaliah says it’s a great pathway into teaching, which she continues to advocate to Leaving Cert students interested in the profession. “I say, look, there's another option. There's another option to everything.”

“You can do any course, and you can do this master's after, and you're going to have the same qualification as every single other teacher around you.”

“Everything happens for a reason, and I got to do all of that, and I would not change it. If someone said to me, Would you go back and study harder for your Leaving Cert and get those points, I wouldn't change it. I would say no. I'd keep it exactly the way it was.”

DCU Prospectus - Professional Master of Education (Primary Education)