Teachers - Know Your Place

Don’t you just love holidays? Do whatever you want whenever you want to! So, this morning, I decided I wanted to play around Facebook while sipping my cup of tea. With Facebook, it’s never a dull moment; funny videos, weird people and then reluctantly I decided to open and read a post about Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh, the doctor who helped to curb the spread of Ebola in Nigeria. She refused to bend to the demands placed on her by her patient’s influential allies to let him leave the hospital. She knew it was in the best interest of the country to quarantine him and she did so unflinchingly.

The details of the story got me thinking. I have learnt that when you have a job, be an authority on it. Your job is as important to the world as you let it. All you need to do is keep doing the right thing every day and at the end, you would be respected for it. I liken the lessons from Adadevoh vs Sawyer to that of teachers and parents.

As a newbie, I had an unpalatable experience with a parent, I can never forget that day. Wonder Woman walked into my class and threw tantrums, belittled me with her words, made derogatory statements, threatened me and many more in front of the pupils. Embarrassed and overwhelmed, I burst into tears as my supervisor walked in to ask what the matter was, she had heard the woman’s voice from a distance. Thank God for her understanding coupled with my Head of School at the time, the matter was judged justly.

To my utmost amazement, Wonder Woman was in a broken state when I was called into the ‘judgement room’, she apologised to me properly. If I tell you I wasn’t flabbergasted, I would be a beautiful liar. “What on earth did they tell her?”   I wondered. It was like a movie as I stood waiting for someone to scold me or ask me to apologise as well, it never happened. I walked out of that office with pride and told myself I would never allow such shenanigans in my classroom ever again. 

I work in a school where the parents are well read, of high status and, revered in their industries and the society.  If you have been a teacher for as little as a term, you would understand that most times, parents know what they want for their children. The snag here is that as well read and influential as they are, they may not always be knowledgeable enough when it comes to certain decisions taken by you in your classroom. Be good at your job then you can demand your respect anytime it seems it’s being compromised.  Thank God I learnt that early enough as that has become one of my strengths today.

Make the parents of the children you teach adore you. Let them recommend you to their children as role models. Better still, let them be excited when their children tell them you are their role model. The first time I got that from a mum, I felt really good. Without doubt, in this country where I come from, most parents are inclined to reject that statement with every scripture they know to use. In this part of the world, being a teacher is almost a stigma. To break free from this stigma, you need to make decisive steps.

You have to earn your authority as a teacher, it doesn’t come by the title. There are so many things involved and we would be taking them one by one in the weeks ahead. No one respects a mediocre so you have a lot to do. There’s a lot we know and learn about these children that the parents may have never imagined, given the situation they present themselves. For the betterment of the children, the parents have to know. However, they would doubt you if they cannot trust your honesty and competence; sadly, this happens a lot.

Therefore, develop yourself and if you are not sure how to be a better person/teacher, ask someone for help. Invest in researching and learning new trends in your subject area, learn to speak English better (it’s your delivery tool), learn more about the world, improve your IT skills, improve your appearance-start with clean clothes, have the right mindset, control your emotions and be honest. We would go through this unending journey of perfection in the weeks to come. Think about what you can do to earn more respect from those whose children you are a temporary custodian.

What would you do if the pupil in the image above was yours?