Jake McIntosh – Meet the Teacher

Having previously worked as a bond trader in Sydney after graduating from university, Jake trained as a teacher and was immediately employed at a school in London where he lived and worked for 5 years. He then moved to Bangkok where he is now into his second year of teaching.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Mathematics and Finance – University of Wollongong, Australia

Master of Teaching (Secondary Mathematics) – University of New South Wales, Australia

Can you give an overview of your roles at Bangkok Prep?

As well as teaching Mathematics I am the Designated Secondary Safeguarding Lead, the Head of Sabre (one of our school houses) and the Community Service Coordinator. I enjoy being involved in Community Service as I get to see students outside of the academic setting and am always impressed at the effort our students put in to provide a range of services to the Community.

Please can you elaborate on your Community Service Coordinator role?

The breadth of the Community Service program continually needs to be expanded because of the continued growth in the size of our sixth form and I have been extremely impressed by some of the projects that our sixth formers have taken responsibility for themselves such as organising beach clean-ups, hosting children from Asylum seeker Communities, providing computer skills workshops to local Primary Schools and building walking frames for injured dogs and cats to name a few. As the program continues to expand there will be more flexibility for our students to introduce their own Community Service projects and have further scope to make a real difference in our local Community.

What is your strategy for teaching maths?

Teaching Mathematics at Bangkok Prep is amazing as the subject is considered extremely valuable by our students who all see the value in learning the skills for their futures. Mathematics can and should be challenging and there is a great sense of enjoyment in solving a difficult problem after an initial struggle. I try to instill in students a determination to keep persisting and to consider different starting points in order to eventually reach the desired outcome.