What it takes to be a teacher?

A teacher they say is expected to be an epitome of knowledge, creative, inspiring, motivating, a Role Model, just to mention a few.

We are challenged in terms of :

TIME: Most of  our time is spent on school work- writing lesson plans, thinking of institutional media, marking home works, test, examination scripts, observing kids, making evaluations, member of a School committee, ensures discipline,do publicity for our school sometimes, take kids on excursions, visits to places, etc.
We hardly have time to look after ourselves although people in other sector thinks we have more time than they do.

WORKLOAD: The workload of teaching as it involves research, mastery of the topic, directing classroom activities,understand facts, realities of the society, the concepts of each topics and its dynamics - whether Abstract or concrete, understand the values of the society and how it can be related to the topic, etc.


LOW PAY : We are the least paid, with no regular salary, no special bonuses, no extra time pay, least appreciated by parents and School Management. When there is a slight issues between us and parents the school authority would prefer to only hear from the parents and all they do is sack us straight away, if everyone should be sacked at every little mistake they make, no Good teacher would be teaching today. Employers think they are helping us by giving us employment.... Hmmmm.
Even parents detests us to a great extent having seen the way school management treat us.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT:  After getting lesson plan ready, we have to ensure the classroom is well arranged with the needed materials, kids are not in danger, learning is achieved, kids are not fighting, kids are participating in teaching learning procedure, ensure the class is neat and condusive for learning.


COMMITTEE: We are also active members of the various school committee - school events, yearly activities, Teacher's welfare, etc.  We are expected to also give in our very best, we organize school events, school outings, etc.


PARENTS & COMMUNITY :  We ensure that we have cordial relationship with the parents as well as the community because we are in many ways representing our school within our community.


After doing all this and lots more, we are the least paid and appreciated.

Over the Years these trends remain, Nigeria is 54 years Old today
We need make up our minds as Good Nigerians not to :

Never look down on our Teacher's

Please always respect and honor our Teacher's, we actually train and teacher our professionals in all others sectors of the economy

3;
I would suggest we need;
A labour force to protect unfair  treatment of teachers by their employers

Teacher Labour law to protect our teachers against unruly activities of our Primary and Secondary school teacher mostly from our private School owners

Proper Enforcement of the Teacher Labour Force if they really exist  by honest and diligent Nigerians.

If need be we need to set up laws to has to do with our teachers are work so as to see that we too are truly diligent with our work as we need a revamp of the image of our Profession.

Happy 54th Independence Day NIGERIA !!!!