The Teacher’s Lifestyle

You can find your moment every day, something you look forward to, a ritual that becomes a lifestyle that keeps you feeling and looking; healthier, happy, refreshed and at ease. 

How many times have you looked forward to the holidays? How many times have your holidays seemed so short, making you begin to look forward to another one? The teacher-life is one crazy one, and many teachers live a monotonous life, full of work and less fun.

I have walked into school many times in the morning looking all neat and nice but by the time it’s school over, many things would have fallen out of place. We work with children on and on and it seems like there’s no breathing space, no time to do any thing for yourself. You get exhausted, feel worn out and look forward to the public holiday, the short breaks and the ultimate long one. It is not news that teachers come refreshed and full of smiles, very patient and hardly irritable after every holiday. Just give them two weeks and the holiday behaviour is gone; hair out of place, heavily pressed for the toilet, cold lunch, cold tea, more likely to be irritable, head buried in work all day, generally worn out.

You may say to yourself ‘I work round the clock, taking five minutes for a self-moment would not work!’ Think about it this way, giving up 5 minutes may be the ‘secret charger’ you need to go through the day as a happier and more fulfilled individual.

Every teacher deserves that sane moment right there in school every day and there will always be time for what you consider important to you. All you need to do is plan your day and make up your mind to establish five minutes a day doing something for yourself, something that calms you, satisfies you and refuels you.  Before we go deep into that, consider owning five minutes from one of the underlisted, depending on what works best for you on a daily basis.

1.  Just before the students arrive. This one is for the early birds, if you do not usually get to work on time, it’s not for you. I love this moment a lot because it gives me some sort of peace knowing I can have some peace and quiet in my work space, even if it is for fifteen minutes.

2.  On the way to assembly. Not all teachers are saddled with the task of taking children to assembly. It appears so simple but that is a ‘you-time’ for a teacher who may have so many subjects back-to-back. How you utilize that you-time can affect your day positively.

3.  When you are not teaching. Do not rush to mark that pile of books just after one long class, five minutes for yourself would not hurt.

4.  Your students are having an outdoor/out-of-class lesson with another teacher. Use this time wisely otherwise you would realise you did not do anything of value to yourself and even on-the-job at the end of that supposed free time.

5.  The official break-time. When you are not on duty, make good use of your break by taking a break. If the pupils need a break, you need it too.

6.  Between lessons. You can create a ‘you-time’ between lessons if possible. When we begin to look at ‘you-time’ ideas, you will see what fits in here. Trust me, some teachers get so tensed up during lessons and would need to consciously get very short breaks during their lessons.

7.  On your way to your out-of-class duty post. Don’t be the one who is always caught running to the duty post, make the process count a bit more for yourself, just be intentional.

8.  After school. Many teachers may find this easier to achieve, but it is better to strive for a personal time during the work hours, you need it to ease up your day.

Over the next few weeks I will be showing you several ways you can take a moment for yourself daily and be a happier teacher.

Kindly drop a comment if this post was useful.

How Do I Know What To Display in My Class?

Getting Appropriate Classroom Displays

It can be tough getting displays ready for the term. Inasmuch as you want to have a beautiful class, be sure that the displays you put up are meaningful and appropriate for the pupils in the class. To this end, you should encourage your students to look and learn from them so that the purpose of putting them up can be achieved. Look at the points below to guide you when thinking of displays.

1.   School’s basic requirement. Every school has basic requirements and you should be aware of them. If you are unsure, ask your supervisor.

2.   Subject based- What new things will pupils learn in your class this term? Are there going to be some difficult/tricky topics? Get displays for these topics to help children learn easier and have access to continuous learning/ reference.

3.   School theme for the term. It is important to set up displays with the school theme in mind, this will help you drive the message more easily in your classroom.

4.   Class goals – What do you want to achieve with your pupils? Convert your goals into displays so that your students are constantly reminded. Get relevant quotes, instruction charts, etc.

5.   What should your students know? There are many things you want your pupils to know by the end of the term, one sure way of getting that through is putting them up as display. E.g. word registers, writing skills, good manners, etc.

Classroom Display Ideas

·       Rules

·       Welcome back display

·       Word wall – new words, tricky words, key words for the term, etc

·       Birthday chart

·       Development chart

·       Progress chart

·       Alphabets

·       Numbers

·       Steps in writing essays

·       Manners/ good character

·       How to write a sentence chart

·       Basic fraction chart

·       Rights of a child

·       Science process skills

·       Students’ work

·       Capitalising letters

·       Goal wall

·       Months of the year

·       Days of the week

·       Weather chart

·       Relevant banners – captions for your display boards. E.g. writing, words, science, etc.

·       The colour wheel

·       Book wall – list of interesting books to read in the term

·       Math wall – shapes, addition, subtraction. Fraction, average, etc.

·       Parts of speech charts – adverb, adjectives, etc.

·       Science words/instruments to look out for in the term

·       Sight words

·       Place value

·       Sea animals

·       Mammals

·       Queer animals

·       Uncommon fruits/vegetables

·       Words/pictures (language teachers)

·       Reading wall display

·       Punctuation displays

·       Science – rock/minerals chart

·       Literacy - Sentence types chart

·       Art wall

·       Instruction charts – homework, silence zone, etc.

·       Motivational charts – quotes, inspiring words/photos, etc.

·       Facts chart

·       Borders

·       Synonym chart

New Session Palava! - Setting Up the Class

Putting Things Up!

Every class teacher knows that the beginning of a session is always a time to put things up in the classroom. It’s such a big deal because it creates your desired atmosphere for your classroom. Your students are looking forward to a beautifully decorated classroom, your supervisors will even give you their expectations and undoubtedly, your colleagues are also itchy to see what you are letting out of your sleeves.

What to put up?

While some teachers usually have a mental picture of how they want their classrooms to look like, others don’t. Some have a mental picture but do not even know how to bring it to life. Then ,confusion sets in for the first few hours, and when the ideas finally come, you are under pressure to finish up on time. (check for post on Classroom Display Ideas) by 7.00 GMT+1)

1.   Get a checklist. If you are like me, then you want to be sure you have all the basic requirements on check first. It differs from one school to the other (find out from your supervisor), when you have a checklist you tend to work smarter.

2.   Think about themes. You want to be sure you know what the school theme for the year is, this will give you ideas on important displays for your class.

3.   Your class goals. Every year, teachers start the session with a goal on what they would like to achieve with their pupils in class. To make some of these goals sustainable, you can build a display around it to help everyone stay focused.

Steps to set up the class

Getting a list of all your display items may seem like a great accomplishment, but that is only the beginning of your journey. You need to figure out how to get the displays done and then how to put them up nicely.

·       First things first. Decide which displays you want to create and the ones you would buy. Creative teachers prefer making a larger percent of theirs because they have wild ideas. It is okay to buy displays if you cannot create them, but the goal is to work towards learning to make yours because it is more economical to do so.

·       Ask for help. Identify colleagues who find it easy to set up their classrooms and ask them for ideas. This has worked for me many times. By the time you engage these people, you begin to get ideas that activate your own creativity.

·       Look for experts. You may not be great at designing your own displays or be able to get somethings done for yourself, it is okay to get someone who can help you. An expert could be your friend, spouse, a colleague, your child or a paid expert.

·       Get inspiration from colleagues. One easy way to get inspiration is to take a walk around your school, visit other classes and see what your colleagues are up to.

·       Go online. The internet has become a solution to many of the issues that teachers face. Teachers share tips and even show you how to get things done. You can get specific help by googling it, checking on YouTube, asking a question in you teacher communities, following creative teachers on Facebook, Instagram or just signing up on Pinterest.

Drop a comment if this was useful.

COOL TEACHER TIPS : PLAN & PREPARE

Do you consider planning and preparation as an investment or a waste of time? Those who say it is a waste of time may have their genuine reasons due to experiences in the past. If you have planned for class activities or any other thing at school that turned out to be a flop, you may say planning is not necessary.  However, well documented plans afford us the opportunity to retract and improve on our approach, this turns out to be beneficial for you and your students in the long run.

WHAT TO PLAN FOR

• Methodology
• Classroom management
• Resources
• Dealing with peculiarities: children and parents
• And so much more

WHY DO I NEED TO PLAN?

The teacher is continuously faced with numerous tasks to accomplish, without adequate planning, one is most likely to fail in some aspects even though you thrive in other areas.We do know that if you are ever given a choice to win-some or win-all, you will choose the latter. Good planning and preparation help you win more often than you would without the pair.

If you are still wondering why you need to plan, you should keep reading.

1. Planning helps you to focus on what is important per time. With so many deadlines, you may want to be sure you are doing the right task per time. 
2. You set and keep up with standards (lesson delivery and every area of your teacher life) when you plan. Planning brings your wishes to reality because every teacher has big dreams for their classroom but not all are able to bring these bright dreams to fruition because they were not properly planned for.
3. You become a better manager through planning.  Properly engaged learners are more likely to be better behaved than those who are left idle or those without clear instructions. If you have ever been in a situation where your resources were not ready, complete or appropriate, then you can agree that when the teacher gets disorganized, the class is equally disorganized too.
4. You become a better teacher.  This one always works. A teacher with intentions to plan researches, practises, reflects, learns, relearns, fails, succeeds and much more. Because all these things build you, you earn the respect of your colleagues, administrators and students.
5. Your students learn in a more enriched environment and achieve better results.

WHEN DO I PLAN AND PREPARE?

It is no doubt that the free periods we get at work do not suffice for the kind of planning and preparation that produce effective results, we need more time. Whatever time is comfortable for you is fine as long as you can do your planning.

1. Staying back after close of work is effective for those who can do it. You have more quiet time at work to reflect and let the ideas flow.
2. Some teachers prefer to come to work pretty early when there's hardly anyone else around to distract them.
3. Others cherish the peace of their homes and would rather stay up late at wee hours to plan and prepare.

HOW DO I START MY PLANNING?

1. Write notes. A teacher who wants to succeed at planning will have to write down important things at different times. You write when you want to reflect on your practice/day at work. A to-do list works wonders and will give you direction, help you stay focused and increase your chances of having a peak performance. 
2. Do a draft of your lesson by breaking down each aspect of delivery into minutes. Play out every part and see if you really will achieve the intended purpose at the specified time. (look out for future posts where I will be teaching you how to organize your activities and make sure Blended Learning is achieved).
3. Your colleagues are valuable resources which should never be ruled out. Observe other lessons and ask questions. Allow others to observe your class and also tell them to give you honest feedback. Use the results of these to plan for your class. 
4. You can find a lot of information on whatever you need to know by surfing the net, reading a book or doing a short course.  You do not always have to stare at the ceiling or give up when you lack ideas. Doing research can provide you with more ideas on how to deal with issues in your class.
5. Always document your ideas as they come. If you choose to wait for a special time to recall them, important details may have been lost.

I AM NOW A CERTIFIED TEACHER

Congratulations filled the air upon receipt of this document just last week.

It took a year to get this processed; signed, sealed and delivered. Who would have thought this was something I would be proud of fifteen years ago. Right now, I am incredibly proud of it.

I  really did not consider it important when I had just started teaching, truth be told,as much as I  wanted to be a teacher, I also wasn't ready to be committed ( Lol...Does that sound like what a guy will tell a lady?)

So, somehow I never applied for it until a few years ago when David and I got nominated for an award in Lagos state with a huge monetary reward. I did not bother going on with the procedure because I was told being certified as a teacher by Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) was compulsory. David who is a go-getter  went on with the process and interestingly moved all the way up to the finals. He had gotten to the top four in that award but had to drop out as he was not certified. It was then it  dawned on us the importance of the certificate and so we decided to start the process of getting it.

Since I received this certificate, I have been made to understand the numerous benefits I stand to gain as a teacher.

Don't sleep on a bicycle like I did, it took me over eight years to start processing mine. This certificate is gold to a teacher the way being a chartered accountant is to the accountant.

I know there are people reading this now who have gotten theirs. Kindly share with us the benefits teachers can get with this certificate and also tell us if you have one.

WHEN TEACHERS DISGUISE

Many people seem to crave the weekend for several reasons. Even in work places, parties are thrown on Fridays and those who love to get their groove on move from one event to the other throughout the weekend. Another category uses the time to get personal things sorted out.

I grew up knowing that many use the weekends to cash in on strategic meet ups; to close business deals or meet prospective clients.  Others just want to make the acquaintance of people so as to increase the value of their network.

At meetups/events, when people introduce themselves they would usually say something like 'My name is Mr/Ms......, I am into entertainment or investment banking, nice to make your acquaintance.' And courtesy demands that you return that gesture by introducing yourself as well. Even if you miss the line of mentioning what it is that you do, it does not take long for someone to pop the question 'so what do you do?'

Well, word has come to me that teachers still find it difficult to mention that they are indeed TEACHERS. Some simply lie or mention something else that they do.

It is can almost be forgiven because I have WALKED into rooms in the past where I would timidly mention that I was a teacher and the expressions were priceless (negatively).
Teachers know how they are perceived by a lot of people and would rather stay safe by hiding from who they are. The stigma attached to teachers being poor is still so strong and it has affected how we are perceived.

The narrative is changing, many teachers have broken free from the yoke of poverty ( that is a topic for another day). Better still, teachers are intelligent, creative, problem solvers, nation shapers and many more. Which of these do you fall into?

It took me a lot of thoughts to accept myself for what I had decided to do as a career, understand why I was doing it and define the mark I intended to make. By so doing, my career has become the easiest story I know to tell. Believe it or not, I now walk into gatherings with my head held up and talk about being a teacher to people in more 'lucrative' professions, hold them spell bound and begin to receive comments like 'Can we do something together?'

Someone once mentioned that if you are a teacher and all your friends are teachers, you are headed in the wrong direction.

The level of exposure you have is how far you can show your students. Take bold strides today, there's so much more to you than talking about your students to your spouse or network of teacher friends.

1- Discover yourself
2- Work on yourself
3- Use it to change your narrative.

Still wondering about how to go about this, drop a comment or visit @teachersidaraanddavid on Instagram. We love to see teachers becoming more of whom they intend to be and even beyond.

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TEACHERS CAN BE MORE...

This is third term and the session is going to end before we know it. Are we just going to let the same old cycle begin next session?

I am hearing someone say 'NO.'

Talk is cheap!

What are you doing about the dreams and aspirations you have always nursed? Think problems, think solutions! Money comes only to those who help solve problems.

Everyone can be a problem solver if only we think a little harder.

Before you know it, it's going to be a new year again.

Be intentional about your goals! Don't just have dreams, reflect, look for ways to get them done, ask a friend, take a course.

Success will never show pity to those who hope and do nothing.

#mytwopence
#muchlove