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.

08167434858,08034085285

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

REINVENT YOUR CLASSROOM

Teachers are often prone to get overwhelmed with school activities, lessons and everything else in between. When teachers are faced with meeting deadlines, completing the syllabus and all one will agree that all these can make a teacher develop patterns and routines to ensure that all these are accomplished.Also, there is the issue of lack of sufficient time allotted to the numerous school ‘must dos’. So, you find out that some teachers become experts in routines and gradually lose the ability to be creative.

Good news!!! You can reinvent your classroom every once in a while by disrupting your routines and procedures without losing focus. There are simple ways you can add fun and excitement with or without technology. I do this regularly and the pupils always love it.

WAYS TO REINVENT YOUR CLASSROOM

        Introducing games
·         Use of music
·         Dance
·         Movement
·         Talk
·         Activities unassociated with the subject, etc((The teacher has to be creative, purposeful and thoughtful about this)

WHEN CAN YOU DISRUPT YOUR CLASSROOM ROUTINE

•   Before school assembly in class

• Before the first period of the day

• After the last period of the day

•  Somewhere in between your lesson

•  The transition from one class to the other, etc.

Disrupting your classroom has more advantages than disadvantages. Some teacher may begin to think of time, disorganized class and all. But, these things are important for different reasons.

•  It relaxes the students.

•  It makes a lesson or day memorable

• It helps learners (especially the kinesthetic) to connect the activities with the lesson and remember more easily

• It eradicates boredom.

•  It creates excitement that makes students interested in learning.

EXAMPLE

A teacher just concluded an hour of a Numeracy lesson after which the pupils are expected to immediately begin another one hour Social Studies lesson. A simple activity either teacher can do at the end of the Numeracy lesson or the beginning of Social Studies. Tell every child to:

• Stand

• Walk ten steps north of the classroom

• Turn around and walk towards the east of the class and touch the wall

• Finally, touch one more end of the class that they desire.

Then the teacher says, ‘who will be the last?’ The next reaction is always amazing. The movement awakens them, makes them more ready for the next class and all. The first time I did this, the students loved it and asked for it again. However, I am careful not to use it too often so it does not lose its ‘magic’. There are some I do once and that is it. The most important thing is to add excitement to your classroom as often as you can Regular is boring!    

Wait Time: A Priceless Teaching Technique for Teachers

Wait time! So simple yet so powerful.

Many times, teachers unknowingly make students come up with hasty conclusions by the way they ask questions and demand for the answers in class.

Scenario

The teacher asks five-year-old pupils to mention major landmarks leading to the houses. And, in less than three seconds the teacher is breathing down on them to supply answers. Before you know it the teacher begins to get angry when the pupils cannot supply him/her with reasonable answers.

The next time the teacher does the same thing and so you see a cycle where pupils are trying to meet up with a teachers expectation of ‘prompt’ but ‘poorly thought out’ answers.

Try out Wait time!

It is a learning tool used by teachers but if well understood and utilized by the teacher it will largely contribute to developing one of the most important 21st-century skills, critical thinking.

How does it work?

• You ask a question.
• Tell the student to think about it by weighing other options before arriving at an answer.
• Give the student quality time to think about the answer (the teacher decides the length of time, based on the nature of the question).
• Prompt the students when it appears they are not getting the answer as quickly as they should, the problem may be with your question.
• Listen for qualitative responses from the students.

Result

•  It will increase the child’s ability to think in class.       It will increase the chances of a child to transfer the skill to his/her personal life.
•  The child will come up with better decisions and answers
•  The is most likely to solve problems easier and more frequently than a child who does not think though question.
• This will ultimately prepare that child to become an influencer as he/she will become a problem solver.

How well do you use this tool in your classroom?

ONLINE COURSE ALERT: BECOMING A TRENDY TEACHER

Jolaawo was a 24 year old guy from an average Nigerian family. His parents were teachers and he always wanted to be one as well.

He used to  believe that as a teacher, hewill close early from work and have  other small businesses that can fetch him more money.

Soon, he realised that being a teacher requires more time. In less than a year, he lost his drive.

 He would  rush off from work to meet up with lessons, leaving a lot of school work undone and in no time, became an under performer at work.

 One would think he raked in cool cash from his after school endeavours. Right?

He was losing on both sides and because he paid no attention to professional development,he quickly became stale and kicked out of work.

He was smart, young, had the relevant qualification, knew the content of the lesson.

Problem:
He was not up to date. He was loosing his relevance bit by bit and had no idea of it.

Don't be a Jolaawo,
•click on this link forms/d/1D6iesCmpNXsWIyQi6pOFNTokn433xjXqslt85whmSAI/edit?usp=drivesdk
•fill in your email to get more details

Email: teacheridara@gmail.com

WORK LIKE THE LIONS

Ever heard of that feline called the Lion? I think that's an asinine question.  You see what I  did with the-ine words there?

 Well, when hunting the lion works in a team of "professionals" called a "pride", unlike its cousins the cheetah, tiger and the leopard.

Ever compared each animal's hunting success rate? Okay, that's for National Geographic to school us on the exact figures. But,  the clear definition of roles in the Pride is thrilling; the Spotter, the Distractor, the Catcher and all. Interestingly, that doesn't negate the fact that the lioness can also hunt (and succeed) alone, but the BIG kills in the jungle always require the team.

The professional environment is a "concrete jungle", involving competition with other companies and the same rules replicate themselves-in human form.

WORK AS A TEAM

Find the people who have the same goals as you do, so that the objectives and vision are clear, and always stay clear.

However, there are certain prerequisites that make for a "well-stewed" team. They are LOYALTY, HONESTY, NO BACK-BITING or GOSSIPING, CLEAR DEFINITION OF ROLES, DEDICATION AND THE POSITIVE MINDSET, RESPECT among other sub-prerequisites.

Most importantly for us, one ingredient that stands out is LOYALTY, a few of the other criteria are birthed from loyalty and that's why they say "Loyalty is expensive, do not expect it from cheap people".

Be loyal to your team. Be loyal to the organization. Achieve big things.

Go get them.

SUNDAY'S STORY

This little chap, Sunday, is a pupil of a school that we, David Obianyor, Idara Umosen and a formidable team,have been working with in partnership with the kind Obaforehanmi for about three months.

During our last leg of the first phase of the project, his father, our contracted painter, was full of joy and excitement.  He mentioned how his son had told him about the transformation going on in his school.
We patiently listened as he express his joy endlessly.

Soon, Sunday showed up to help his dad out and we were delighted to have a word with him. He kept on looking and moving around, marveling at the work done in the classrooms and the school at large.Afterwards, he stared endlessly at his own classroom without saying any words.

We are excited that the pupils will learn under better conditions and use a more befitting toilet regardless of rain or other harsh weather conditions

Furthermore, we met another student of the school (adult education) who we contracted to do a few carpentry jobs. He was excited to help as well.

Lessons learnt: Every learner enjoys and appreciates a more conducive learning environment.

We say a huge thank you to Obaforehanmi(TF) for leading our paths to this school and allowing us to partner with you on this project that was so dear to her heart.