Loving Your Profession: Why I love teaching by BN reader

BN: Tells Us about your career

Am Lisa Young,  a teacher from London.  Most importantly am a mum, than a teacher, from the very start I always saw my self as a teacher, when I say from the start I mean from when I was very young I always wanted to be a teacher, two reasons I guess would be 1, because I love the profession and 2, it runs in my family, my mum was a teacher, her mum was, so it kind of  a family thing.

Teaching is all I know and all I believe I can do, I really don’t see it as a job, I see it as a passion, am passionate about my teaching career and I try to give my very best to all my students, teaching I must say is never easy but when you just love what you do than it becomes an enjoyable career.

As a teacher or teaching as a career you must first understand what it takes to be a good teacher, and in return what it takes to be a good student, every teacher must know that the career teaching is not about “the teachers” but about the student and the way in which you can impact in their lives.

Yes there is a code to follow as a teacher, meaning you must impact the knowledge you have as a teacher to your student to the best of your abilities, but sometimes it can stretch you a little bit, when you are met with  difficulty circumstances.

BN: What do you mean by difficult circumstances.

I refer to difficult circumstances or call it difficult circumstances when both the student and and the teachers are having a hard time understanding one another, one word I  never use or like hearing is referring to a student as difficult, but I rather refer to the problems the student is facing as difficult not the student being difficulty, after all that is why we are there as teacher to help them get the best of education in every possible aspect we can help them with, don’t get me wrong am not saying referring to a student as difficult is wrong, but what am saying I would rather I call it a  ”difficult circumstances” as suppose to a difficult student.

If you see a student as difficult I believe it becomes harder to help the student, but when you look at the “difficult circumstances” that makes it more much easy to to deal it, and you find it much better to approach it as a “difficult circumstances” instead of difficult student, the student inreturn would begin to also see he is in a “difficult circumstances” and not a difficult student, it becomes more bearable for the student to hear he is in a “difficult circumstances” and he is not the difficult one, and from that understanding you can both work together in helping the student out of the “difficult circumstances” to a normal student, yes if you must know it hard but when you keep letting the student know IE we are faced with a “difficult circumstances” and we must approach it before we can move forward, with the the student will also begin to work with you in improving things, one thing as a teacher I never do to a student is give up on my student, because if you work harder, you get the desired result.

By difficult circumstances, it can mean any thing from slow to understanding to disturbed student, to those who just don’t want to go to school, so you see it varies, but like I said I just label them into a single category “difficult circumstances”

BN: Please do tell us what age group do you teach?

I have taught various age groups, but at the moment am working with 13 years to 16 years. It quite interesting working with teenagers, they give you the impression of I know it all, but deep down they do need you to teacher them what they think they know and understand them. You just have to be patient and careful with them.

Overall I teaching is an interesting career, no two days is ever the same, and no two student are ever the same, it a profession that can stress you and at the same time makes you feeling fulfilled, when you see your students doing so well or when your see your students coming back to tell you if not for you I would be in the streets, it make you want to do more in order to achieve more for your students. To be continued .  Interview  Betty Nwabunike