“The role of the teacher is not only to give information, but also to leave an impact, and nurture, and leave a meaningful mark on every person that they meet.” Noura Al-Humaidi, a teacher who not only influenced her students, but has made an impression on a countless number of women.
Noura Al-Humaidi is a science teacher with master’s in teaching from Kuwait University and has achieved multiple prizes for her teaching from both in and out of Kuwait. Her journey of teaching began with a passion for reading that was instilled in her from a very young age, her father believed that every house should have a library with all kinds of books, and encouraged everyone to go up to it, pick a book, and read it. Noura observed his love for reading throughout her childhood and that inspired her to imitate and start reading books mostly about education and teaching, which attracted her to the field, and fascinated by how much impact they have on a person.
Becoming a teacher was more than job for Noura, it was a passion that started building up when she would evaluate student-teacher relationships at her school based on what she was reading at home and it was not something that she was happy with, but there was a lack of transparency between them to be able to critique their behavior and no room for discussion to give suggestions on what is needed from the teacher. Information is obtainable anywhere, so the role of the teacher is to present the information in a way that matters and leaves a mark on the student for a long time. Noura began to have her own vision for teaching that she hoped to apply to try and change the system that she grew up watching in her own school.
What makes Noura stand out is her Instagram and YouTube channels that she started to help other teachers with her techniques. When she was given the choice to choose what school she would like to teach in, she was given a different school and to her surprise it was a boy's school. She struggled with that as she did not have the experience nor the tools to deal with them and every time, she sought advice on how to discipline them she was told to hit them, something she was strongly against, so she turned to reading. She implemented her findings, and she was met with a complete switch from her students, this made her decide to put share these techniques on her social media using visual figures which spread throughout teachers. She happily shared them for free and declined receiving any form of payment as she was doing this to benefit others and not herself.
Noura introduces us to the story of “The Lighthouse” where the moral is that no matter what circumstances happen around you, your principles should remain intact like a lighthouse, no matter what hits it, it will remain in its place. She applies it to women empowerment by emphasizing the importance of how a woman should support women in any way she can, viewing her success as your success rather than a failure. She uses herself as an example, how she was told that she made man Kuwaiti women proud by winning a prize and that her success was a motivational force for other women to follow their own path to success. Competition is normal and it can be a good thing, but we have to use it as a learning experience to help each other reach the top together and not to drag others down.
We conclude with a book recommendation from Noura that teaches that knowledge has a cost, and that everything you want has a price to be paid; and a gratitude message to all women.
