October 5th is World Teachers Day set aside by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to celebrate Teachers across the globe. Incidentally, 2019 happens to be my 9th year of teaching. I did some reflections on the WTD, and I thought to share some of them with y’all.
Growing up, teaching was never enviable to me, I don’t even think I did sufficiently appreciate the efforts of my teachers, until I got into their shoes. Only when I became a teacher myself did I really appreciate the native adage that is translated thus: “you never really appreciate the usefulness of a basket until it’s time to dispose trash”. Looking back on my life and how I got here; I am deeply and eternally grateful to every single person (including my mum and late dad) who spent time, no matter how small, to share some form of knowledge with me. I am even more grateful because I know I must have made the process a lot more difficult owing to my ‘block-headedness’ and extreme playfulness at the time. Now I understand!
One other thing that kept resonating on my mind from the WTD is the role of ‘Young Teachers’ in this age of high-speed innovation and change. The days when ‘village headmasters’ or ‘Mr Lecturer’ could do the trick are almost gone. The wisdom and experience of the elders in the profession is priceless, but the truth is that many older teachers are the students in many of today’s classrooms. We can’t over-emphasize the Influence that a young teacher has on students who are in his/her generation; it is profound! This influence doesn’t come without its negative sides too as many students have graduated to sex partners and ‘friends with benefits’ of several young teachers.
Regardless, young teachers, indeed, are the future of the profession. However, we must keep our head in the game and ensure that every influence we have on our student is a positive one!
From your experience, How did any of your younger teachers stand out (positively or negatively) from their older colleagues? Feel free to share your comments in the section below! 👇🏽
#myrandomweeklythoughts
@dr_mykk
