Dennis Omolo

Bold Question: What if teaching pedagogy focused on building authentic relationships?

Path to Metis: Towards the end of his primary school studies, Dennis experienced a life-changing moment. A teacher posted at his school when he was in class seven turned his life around. Through special attention and a genuine connection, he helped him transform his Math grades, motivated him to pass his exams and helped him secure a full scholarship to high school. Without this support from his teacher, things would have been potentially turbulent. This experience taught him the often unheralded influence of a great teacher.

After receiving his Bachelor of Education degree from Kenyatta University in 2012, Dennis went back to his Muhoroni home as a teacher to give back to the society that had raised him. He spent four years grappling with all the challenges typical Kenyan schools face. When he switched to a private school in Nairobi in 2017 he was introduced to a philosophy that changed the way he looks at teaching. He learnt that at the centre of any teaching and learning process lies relationships. And this is a truth he hopes the next generation of Kenyan teachers will be aligned to.

In 2019, through a WhatsApp he had formed to connect teachers with job opportunities, he realized the need for teachers to be equipped for the 21st-century classroom. To provide teachers with an opportunity for capacity development and growth, he realized the endeavour would be bigger than a WhatsApp group. It is because of this that, together with four friends, he is setting up The Teaching Pool, an organization that will nurture the next generation of Kenyan teachers. He sees Kenyan teachers of the future making schools safer, learning richer and learners happier.

Every school holiday, he organizes poetry classes for primary school pupils and high school students in at the Dr.Robert Ouko Memorial Library in Muhoroni. This provides a space for expression and creativity and has since become an activity the learners look forward to.

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