Tom, the best of best teachers

Tom Cosford is Kareem’s teacher at St. Nicholas state school in Oxford. Tom is simply amazing. He is highly professional, patient and understanding. However, you may assess a teacher, I am sure Tom will score the highest! He understands Kareem’s character and needs and knows how to deal with him in his best and worst modes and behaviours.

Tom knows how to include Kareem in the class learning and activities. Tom was instrumental in enabling Kareem to participate in the class trip staying for a whole week without his parents.

Tom and St Nicolas school are a great example of how to integrate children with special needs in school learning and activities so that they can achieve the maximum of their potential. I hope that other children are in schools with great staff like St. Nicolas: the headmistress, the teachers, the teaching assistants, and all the team.

Tom was on Oxford Radio news this morning. Kareem and his mum went to the BBC Studio and surprised him!  Here is the interview with Tom and Kareem’s mother- the first few seconds of the news.

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_oxford

And here is Kareem having fun at the BBC Oxford studio. 

Kareem scored 48% in year 3 maths! Perhaps this does not sound impressive for the reader especially if one realises that Kareem is actually in year 4. But this is a great achievement for Kareem.

In 2015, when he was 6 years old, Kareem was able to count up to 20 and started to write the numbers. Soon he was able to count till 100.

A year later, when he was 7, he started to learn to add simple sums.

Then Kareem started to challenge himself a bit more adding double numbers, then triple numbers:

I was concerned about how to explain to him how to add numbers such as 98+49. Coming back from travel in early 2019, I was happily surprised to find that he was actually doing just that. When I asked his mum how she managed, she said that it was the school and his wonderful teacher.

Now Kareem knows several timetables: 2,10,11,12 and almost timetable 3 by heart. His favourite number is 12x12. I thought that he might remember the results if the timetable was written in order. Yet today, I jumped around timetable 12-his favourite- and I was happily surprised that he actually knows it all!

Kareem is lucky to be included in a really good state school, which is well-run and has dedicated and excellent teachers. They include Kareem to a great extent in the class in all sorts of learning activities and they really help him to achieve his potential in learning. He has perseverance and self-motivation if he is dealt with appropriately.

Kareem has a very supportive and patient brother, Shadi who helps Kareem sometimes with his learning. Between these 2 boys, there is a great love and affection but that deserves separate blogs.

Well done Kareem on your fantastic progress in maths. I am so proud of you my love.