Dyslexia could not stop Tracy-Ann Hall - TVET Teacher of the Year shaping lives in automotive technology

From being told by teachers that she would never pass her exams to becoming an award-winning automotive technology teacher, Tracy-Ann Hall's journey is a powerful testament to resilience and determination.

Diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age, Hall faced significant challenges in her education. Despite being told she would fail, she proved her doubters wrong. Today, Hall, a respected automotive technology teacher at Jonathan Grant High School in St Catherine, stands as a trailblazer in the automotive industry and education, with over 25 years of experience.

Dyslexia, a learning difficulty that affects reading, writing, and spelling, never held Hall back from achieving her dreams. In fact, it only fuelled her passion to succeed. Hall's story is one of triumph over adversity, showing that no obstacle is too great when perseverance is at the heart of the journey.

Last Friday, she was named the TVET Teacher of the Year 2024-25 at the LASCO/Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information/Jamaica Teaching Council's Teacher, Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Teacher and Principal of the Year Awards ceremony.

"I am elated by being awarded for all of the work that I am doing. A lot of times teachers will work and you will believe that nobody sees, but while you are working there are some who are noticing and will reward you for it," she told THE STAR.

TVET is a combination of education, training, and skills development that prepares students for a variety of occupations. Hall's commitment to the discipline is unwavering. She believes in the power of skills development, especially for students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

"I believe that TVET is very important, especially in our society, as you know a lot of students that we get are below the poverty line. And these persons, when they do acquire a skill, they can't move on to higher education [immediately], they have to work and send themselves back to school; so a skill is very important," Hall said.

The champion teacher's passion for automotive technology began at the age of 13, when she started learning the skill at St Catherine High School. She knew her dyslexia would make academics harder, but she was determined to carve out a future for herself.

"Being dyslexic, I had to find some other way to do something that would be profitable when I leave high school, and I choose automotive technology. There were a lot of critics, and there were teachers who said I could never pass an exam; and I really didn't pass an exam because of dyslexia. But with perseverance, I went through my studies while I was working and learnt a trade. That is what propel me to where I am now," she said.

Today, Hall is not only an accomplished educator, but also a mentor to countless students facing their own learning challenges.

"This is one of the main reasons why I look out for students who suffer different types of learning challenges. I try to work and improve them and not leave them by the wayside. It was said earlier by the speaker that we should look for the cream of the crop to become teachers, but I disagree because if that was the case, I would not have been here now. I would not have trained over 1,000 persons in auto technology. There are persons who matriculate to different levels at different times of their lives, and we should give them an opportunity to grow," the educator said.

In addition to her teaching career, Hall holds a teaching diploma in automotive technology from the Vocational Training Development Institute, a bachelor of arts in human resource management from the University College of the Caribbean, and a master of arts in education with an emphasis on educational administration from Northern Caribbean University.

Her career has allowed her to empower students, providing them with hands-on experience that bridges the gap between theory and real-world application.