TEACHERS: QUIT BLAMING EVERYONE-EVALUATE YOURSELF

There you go again, sitting down at the edge of your bed at the wee hours of the morning, head bent, hands clasped in grief and despair. One of your popular lines is, “When will things start working for me?” Wallowing in self-pity you console yourself that one day will be your day but to make matters worse, you remember that you are a teacher, a Nigerian teacher for that matter. Expectedly, you begin to curse everyone whom you believe could be responsible for your travails; the government, your employer, the circumstances of your childhood, the supervisor who you think despises you, the youngster at work who’s getting everything you believe you deserve but you never blame yourself for anything. Surprisingly, you have repeated this routine for many years, nothing has changed except the bulging bags under your eyes, the fine lines that have emerged on your face to remind you that you are getting older and that you have only a little time on your hands. It is the end of another year, you should not be doing that again, there are better ways to reflect on your life.

I beseech you right now to absolve everyone else of all blame and focus on yourself. Success is a choice, trust me it is not going to just fall into the laps of whosoever wishes for it, you have got to work it. This is that moment when you quit making excuses; just take the right steps. Life will always take advantage of those who will not do anything to take advantage of life.

In 2017, I gained new grounds; personally and as a brand. For readers who do not know me, I am a teacher without apologies and the brand, Teacher Idara is purely educational and it is owned by teachers, David Obianyor and Idara Umosen.  Teachers can gain new grounds if they take the right steps. In this post, I will be guiding you through practical ways to make your first baby step towards being a successful teacher. Grab a pen and writing pad and change the way you have been handling situations.

1. REFLECT ON YOUR GOALS (OR WISHES)

This may be in areas of personal development, classroom management, your community, your school, promotions, awards etc.

For example, this year, one of my goals was to become a visible teacher on the social media platform.

• Make a list of everything you aspired for in 2017.
• Tick off the ones you achieved.
• Put a question mark in front of the ones you did not achieve.

2.  LESSONS LEARNT FROM VICTORIES

This could be your victory or that of others.

For example; this year, I learnt that the more knowledge I have, the more power I have.

• Turn to a new page of your writing pad
• List out your achievements (or that of others)
• Enumerate five lessons learnt from each of them

3. LESSONS LEARNT FROM FAILURES

This could be from your failure or that of others.

For example, after my first radio interview at Eko FM (thank you Segilola for that experience), I realised that I found it difficult to address questions relating to a fraction of my audience (public school teachers) and I took steps.

• Turn to a new page of your writing pad
• List out your failure or unachieved goals (or that of others)
• Enumerate five lessons learnt from each of them

*Look out for more posts on more steps to take to become successful as a person and as a teacher.

*Feel free to drop your comments. 

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