Newspaper Article

Schools: My inspiration: Tjinder Singh

Interviews by Emily Moore

1999

Overview

I generally liked school. My favourite subject was design and technology, taught by my favourite teacher, Mr [Marek] Kaminski. He was such a calm chap - and very different from other teachers. He was quiet and there was something so cool about him. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing and where he was going. With Mr Kaminski, it was a case of either work or don't - it's up to you. He told us a lot about his previous school, which was for children with learning difficulties - it really interested me and for my A- level project I designed a lathe with lots of safety aspects, especially for kids with learning difficulties to use. I also loved the fact that Mr Kaminski was open to people working whenever they wanted to. I remember making a table in my lunch times and one of the girls in the year above seeing it and actually crying because it was so beautiful! I was knocked down by a drunk driver when I was 15 and badly hurt. My mum always told me I changed after that. But it was also a hard time for me because of growing up. By the time I joined the sixth form I was basically desperate to leave Wolverhampton - it felt so stifling. So it was good to have Mr Kaminski's lessons to go to, they were so soothing. He also opened my eyes up to a whole lot of things that I'm still interested in now, particularly William Morris and everything he stood for. It was inspiring to hear how one person could delve into painting, craft, poetry, socialism - loads of different things.

• Publisher: Guardian News & Media Limited
• Subject: Educators / Mentors / Singh, Tjinder