EPeeps Ravi Sekhon | International Teacher Consultant
I am Groot! I think that statement sums me up quite nicely! A huge Marvel fan at heart, I grew up in the 80s watching and loving all of Stan Lee’s creations. In fact, any 80s TV show from the A-team to the Thundercats is alright in my book! When I am not “fanboying” out to comic book superheroes, it doesn’t get any better as I am also a bit of a Maths geek and love how Mathematics plays a part in our everyday lives – I sometimes wonder why I don’t have that many friends!
As a husband to a very understanding wife and a father of 2 overly enthusiastic daughters, I am kept busy entertaining, telling horrendous dad jokes and trying to juggle my work life balance whilst following the ups and downs of my favourite football team – Glasgow Rangers.
Why become an EPeep?
In all honesty, I didn’t know that I wanted to become an EPeep until the pandemic unfortunately struck us last year, in early 2020. As a Head of Maths at my previous school, I instigated the purchase of the EP resource for both my school and our sister school, as I was completely blown away by the sheer brilliance of the platform. I also really admired the way in which the EP team were able to help teachers like myself deliver both fully online, blended and hybrid lessons and also deliver professional development to those who needed it. When the opportunity of working as an international Teacher Consultant for EP came around, it was an absolute no-brainer for me that I wanted to be part of something huge and worthwhile, that would make a positive difference to teaching and learning as we know it.
What does a typical day look like for you in your role?
As I am now based in Scotland and EP has offices all around the world, I schedule my day to start quite early so I can catch up with my colleagues in the UAE, Singapore and ANZ. I love the flexibility of my role as my hours are not fixed, like they were when I was teaching in the classroom. A typical day could see me in meetings at 7am, taking my daughters to nursery at 8.30am, working on reports and emailing schools/ hosting demos throughout the afternoon and then going for a walk and some downtime, whilst returning to work early evening and meeting with colleagues in the US, finishing off admin, and scheduling my diary for further calls throughout the week. No two days are the same which appeals to me, and certain periods of the year are understandably much busier than others due to the nature of education.
How did you find transitioning from your previous teaching role into an EdTech role?
To be honest, I found the transition quite easy as I was already working as a ‘contractor’ for EP whilst I was teaching. Getting used to the backend of the business, the processes and admin related tasks and receiving advice from the EP Product Team was invaluable. Face-to-face meetings with teachers is something which comes quite naturally to me and, as I am so passionate about our platform and what we strive to do for education, it’s pretty much my dream job!
What are your goals for the next 3 months?
I really want to re-acclimatize and enjoy my surroundings again. I left Scotland 13 years ago for the desert heat of Dubai. So, finding my feet, moving into a new area and being able to experience seasons’ again is something I am really looking forward to.
From a work perspective, I am super keen to spread the word about all things EP and let my fellow teachers in the UK and Europe realise that their jobs are about to become so much easier. They can save at least 5 hours a week (minimum!) from doing basic admin tasks, reporting, grading, lesson planning and much more via the EP platform – if you know, you know!
What book has been a big influence on you?
I don’t read as much as I would like to, however, anything by Malcom Gladwell or Bill Bryson would be on my bookshelf. My favourite book is ‘Outliers’ by Gladwell as it sums up why I am so fascinated by numbers and how they relate to the world we live in. Equally, ‘A really short history of nearly everything’ gives the reader a ‘whole’ perspective of the world and I believe Bryson gets into the psyche of each of us as he is so relatable in his writing.
What’s the funniest joke you know by heart?
I can hear you groaning already, since becoming a father, it’s a dad’s prerogative so apologies in advance!
Here are my go-to top 3!
- I became a Maths teacher because I don’t know all the letters of the alphabet.
I don’t know why? - What do you call a bee from America?
A USB! - What do you call a man without a body or a nose?
Nobody knows!
Anything else you would like to add?
Grab every chance you can! If this pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we can’t take our situations and opportunities for granted and if you have the option of making a positive difference, then take that leap.
If you have managed to read this far, you are a very rare species – please contact EP and become one of my friends!
In all seriousness though, if you are a teacher or parent and are deliberating on purchasing an EP license, I can say with complete confidence that it is the best learning resource I have ever come across in 17 years of teaching.
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn at any point:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravi-sekhon-b589991b7/
