In commemoration of World Teachers Day- 5 October 2022
My first teachers were my parents: my father was an academic, and my mother was a secondary school teacher and administrator. Between both of them, they set the standard for the education that my brother and I received. They modelled the behaviours they expected to see in us and their “do as I do” was usually the same as their “do as I say”.
Very early on, my parents introduced us to reading which enhanced our worldview. They expected us to be capable of having intelligent discussions whilst having an opinion on issues: they didn’t really mind when we questioned things. Many of my aunts and uncles were also teachers, and our relationship with them further enhanced our learning and exposure, as it did with my cousins. I am forever grateful to have been brought up by such excellent teachers.
Even though I vaguely remember my primary school days, I could never forget Miss Collette, my favourite primary school teacher. She was my Primary 3 class teacher, and as it was in those days, she took most of the lessons, from English to Maths, Fine Art to Social Studies, and even Basic Science. She was a bundle of fun as all her lessons were guaranteed to keep you engaged. I don’t know how she did it, but I know she had us in the palm of her hand. I always looked forward to going to school because of her.
Whilst other teachers dealt with us as though they were our mothers (I don’t recall having a male class teacher then), Miss Collette may as well have been our big aunty. I am not sure how old she was then, but she wasn’t so strict with us. You could tell she really had our best interest at heart. My other class teachers were also wonderful people, but Miss Collette was my model teacher back in the day.
It was a different ball game in secondary school as many teachers were quite different from my primary school experience. I definitely wasn’t expecting to be coddled because even my primary school teachers hadn’t done that, but many of these teachers were true disciples of “spare the rod and spoil the child”. They were strict and often ready to dispense punishment at the slightest infraction. On our first day at the assembly, the Commandant had announced to all teachers and senior students that we were to be treated specially because we were “his babies”. Unfortunately, many of these teachers appeared not to have got the memo. Looking back now, they had to be very tough because they were dealing with growing children: pre-teens to young adults who were ready to discover the world for themselves, no matter the consequences.
My favourite teacher was Mrs Oyede. She taught Chemistry from SS 1 to SS 3, and she was damn good at it. She served tough love constantly, and any student who misbehaved was guaranteed to receive a pinch under the arm to reset that naughty behaviour. What I loved most about her was how she would passionately take us through each concept, and you knew she really wanted you to understand. Many of us scored very high marks in our SSCE exams. It was a testament to her excellent teaching skills.
Conversely, there were two teachers I dreaded. I will call the first Mr A; he taught Mathematics, a subject I struggled with in primary school and grew to even fear in secondary school thanks to him. Mr A’s teaching style involved flogging us when we didn’t know the answer to his questions. He would take us through an example and then ask a question, and if no one knew the answer (or no one was confident enough to attempt a response), his next words would be: “everybody, sleep!”. We would put our heads on our desks and wait patiently for the strokes of the cane that would be guaranteed to go around the class evenly. I disliked Maths, if the beatings were supposed to make me scared enough to try and understand how to calculate the circumference of a circle, it didn’t work.
Lieutenant E, popularly known as PJ, was the second teacher I didn’t like. He taught Economics, and to be fair to him, he did a good job. He would constantly flog class captains if their classes were dirty. He never minded that there was a roaster indicating which students were responsible for cleaning that day, the class captain would suffer for it. His favourite words were: “I will pump hot potatoes into your back”. Needless to say, I got a lot of hot potatoes pumped into my back.
Many of us probably have similar memories of teachers and our relationship with them. Teachers can be very influential in the lives of children, especially during their formative years. Many parents have experienced their children countering their opinion on several matters because “my teacher said…..” and as far as the child is concerned, their teacher knows best. Whether we know it or not, many of our teachers shaped our opinion on various aspects of life, they were that influential, most often unintentionally.
Teaching is one of the oldest professions, but much more than this, it is a calling. It takes more than qualifications and certifications to become a teacher in the true sense of it. Unfortunately, many people, after seeking blue-collar jobs and not finding them, take teaching jobs as a point of last resort. These accidental teachers treat teaching as either a stop-gap or a profession to endure, and this affects their practice.
These days, the educational sector is faced with many challenges such as limited funding and maintenance of teaching standards; this is evident in the quality of primary and secondary school leavers. These days, the quality of students who progress into higher institutions or the labour market is often poor, this could be a reflection on the teachers, but I believe it is more on the society. But how can one blame teachers for producing half-baked students when many are underpaid, work in challenging conditions, have very few opportunities for professional development, and are also products of the same system? I often wonder how some teachers can give their best under such circumstances, something must certainly give at some point.
Also, why do we underpay the people most responsible for the development of our future generations? Why do we not prioritise funding for education across the country? We should all be able to make the connection between the future we desire, our current state, and the future this present circumstance will deliver to us. We cannot plant maize and expect to yield mango.
I celebrate all teachers all over the world, especially in Nigeria. May we have an educational sector that is fit for the future we desire. One that prepares students for the realities of the world we are in. This is the way I see things today.