Qatar National Library (QNL) recently hosted a talk by Qatari engineer and teacher Mohamed al-Janahi as part of its ongoing 'Inspiring Individuals' series.
The audience had the opportunity to hear what motivated al-Janahi, as a mechanical engineer working for Maersk Oil Qatar, to switch to teaching mathematics in Qatar’s elementary schools, QNL said in a statement.
Al-Janahi graduated from the College of Engineering at Qatar University (QU) in 2010 and began his professional career as an engineer. In 2014, he was assigned by Teach for Qatar, a non-governmental organisation seeking solutions to the challenges faced by students in Qatar, to be an elementary mathematics teacher at Al Ahnaf Bin Qais Elementary School for Boys.
What began as a two-year experience led to a complete career change, and al-Janahi is also continuing his higher education as a master’s student in the College of Education at QU.
In his teaching, al-Janahi uses Arabic poetry to deliver mathematical concepts to students and bring the subject closer to their hearts. He regularly shares his creative new classroom approaches with other teachers and the wider community as the head of outreach at Teach for Qatar and a well-known TEDx speaker.
Attending the event, student Hussein Ahmed al-Ajmi said: “The lecture provided me with several life lessons, and led me to realise that punctuality, dedication, perseverance and commitment are necessary to overcome any difficulties in life or challenges we may face along our learning journey.”
Samah Abbasi, a mathematics teacher, added: “During the lecture, we were inspired hearing about his success story and experiences in teaching math at independent schools. I loved his enthusiasm in interacting with attending students and children. I even wish I had brought my son with me to participate in the lecture with the rest of the children.”
QNL regularly hosts inspirational community events in which Qatar’s outstanding individuals share their motivational stories of how they have excelled in their fields.