PROFESSIONAL TEACHER

HANNAH UDOBIA 

‘‘Do you have any plans after this senior year final exams’’, asked Femi. ‘‘Yes I do’’, said Kenneth, ‘‘I plan to work in a school, you know it is the easiest job around and considering the fact that it gives you time to leave the premises to focus on other businesses’’. ‘‘I should consider towing that line too, after all it is just to teach and mark some few notebooks’’, said Femi.

 Some people want to be teachers because it’s often perceived as the easiest job to make money after secondary school, while some view it as a good venture to invest some millions of naira after retirement even when they do not understand what the rudiment of education is about. This is why most school principals’ employs mediocre instead of professional teachers because of their myopic knowledge of how a professional system of education should run. 

Few years ago, Governor Oshiomole of Edo state visited some schools in his state. To his surprise the teachers could not even read neither could they express themselves properly without been corrected. These were teachers meant to impact the lives of the future leaders, but how would they? It was such an embarrassing sight on national television. Some of them were just employed without a scrupulous interview done to attest to their claim as written on their curriculum vitae.

What is a school and who is a teacher? A school is an institution for the instruction of children or people under college age.While a teacher is someone who is proficient in the language acceptable for knowledge transmission, which has adequate knowledge of the subject matter, someone who can teach a topic in different ways. Also he or she is capable of differentiating learners according to their learning needs.

For you to become a professional teacher you must have the passion for teaching and impacting lives. Apart from the monetary value accorded to it, you must able to look for ways to meet the learning needs so that all the students in a group as the best possible chance of learning.There are various ways to achieve this professional excellence as an aspiring teacher, this include; attending symposium, lectures, in other words, getting professional training on how to be relevant in the 21^st century classroom. 

Likewise understanding the concept of differentiation in the classroom. According to the training and Development Agency for Schools ‘differentiation is the process by which differences between learners are accommodated so that all students in a group have the best possible chance of learning’. Lastly, lookout for schools whose aim is improving their teachers in other to meet the rising demand for excellence in the 21^st century classroom teaching and learning environment, there you will be assigned to a mentor teacher who will act as a guide.

In conclusion, nothing good comes easy so be prepared to make sacrifices to get to the top. Spend quality time to study to improve yourself which is great gain. Thank God for the internet every information you require is just few keystrokes away.