First day at work, especially as a new timer, is not always palatable. I had goosebumps on my skin on my first day at work. Maybe it way the joy that Ingot a job as a fresh graduate or the expectations from the people that I met in ground, can not just place what it was.
Before I got my first job, that was about fifteen years ago, I did some research on what behavior is expected of me by my employers and colleagues at work. Since it was my first shot at getting a job, I had anxiety about meeting those I would be working with.
As a teacher, aside from meeting co-teachers, I wanted to see how smart or intelligent my students could be. I was not disappointed because those guys were quite smart. I had to work myself out by studying the content of what to teach before entering their class. The students were just bombarding me with questions, some so strange that I began to shake in my liver.
Over time, I learned that a teacher is not supposed to know everything in life. He may just have to upgrade his mastery of the teaching subject to meet up the demands of the current situation. I never realized that until I attended a workshop where the essentials of being teachable were discourse. Perhaps other rudiments ought to be learned on the job.
Simple Content
The first thing I learned from the resource person is that to impact knowledge on the learners, the content has to be as simple as possible. With this, my classes started getting interesting and I observed that the learners now feel comfortable in my classes. You know, at first, I thought that when you speak big grammar, you will get the learners to respect you but I was wrong.
Improvisation
Teaching is incomplete without instructional material to drive home the topic you want to pass across to the learners. Designing something that the learners would remember to align the lesson with is important.
I had been teaching in the abstract all the while and it didn't occur to me. The learners too did not help matters. They were acting like I flowed very well in all the classes.
So, as a teacher, one does not need to go for expensive materials to teach or drive home a lesson. And usually, the expensive materials may not be readily available to apply during the lesson. Hence, getting a real object around the environment is enough to drive home a point.
Think Outside The Box
The solutions that we seek most times are close to us. All we just need to do is think outside the box to get answers. I teach history but I have been able to solve some problems in Chemistry.
I entered a class one day, it was not up to two years on the job and the learners were sweating while knowing the first twenty elements in chemistry. I offered to teach them the best way out of this. It was a technique one of my teachers taught me when I was in high school. You know, since then the method has been in my bead.
So, I entered the class to teach them the procedure. First, the countenance or expressions of the faces of the learners indicated they did not trust me. I had to tell them to be calm and that I was not a chemistry expert but on this topic that they were sweating over, I have a way around it. They reluctantly gave me an audience. Then, I went boom.
He, Has, Little, Brain, But, Can, Not, offer, Full, Nine, Subjects, Maggi, Asked, Stephen, Please, Send Clara, A, Kite, Cake.
From the first letters of these twenty words, you will find the first twenty elements in chemistry as below. The words when pronounced make complete sense too.
Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Fluorin, Neon, Sodium, Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Phosphorus, Sulfur, Chlorine, Argon, Potassium, Calcium.
Now, I am an advocate of the principles of learning on the job. When an employee is joining a company or a business venture, he may have good qualifications but would need to study how things are done in the real world. This is the reason why curriculum developers have to think deep on how vocational training should be included in the scheme.
I guess my confidence is built up and my interaction level with my colleagues and students have grown over time. Though there are workplace behaviours that may not be welcoming, I hope to share my story in my next post here.
I never studied chemistry at school and probably wouldn't be able you name more than five elements correctly, but using your teaching method seems a lot easier to at least remember the first word!
Teaching methods are always there to help teachers pass the right knowledge to learners.
Wow, I'm not a teacher but I do have teachers who were like you back then when I was in school and I enjoyed learning from the most. I'm very sure your students will be very excited anytime they know you will be the one teaching them.
Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge with us, I have always believed that no one is an island of knowledge but the ability to be opened to learning is what makes us more versed in different areas.
Ohhhh here I find m Fellow teacher, I was also a teacher in the past, I taught for a two terms and I could see the job my teachers did when I was still a student, I did lot of this stuffs to thinking outside the box and also improvising expecially in the absence of text book, I had to rely on my wisdom and knowledge and so far so good it was a beautiful journey...
Teachers are indeed the best, you have really proven yourself and it's a good thing meeting a senior teacher and I am happy to have read this post.. this is just woow 🦊
Thanks bro.
Teaching is the noblest profession but the pay cam be demeaning in most cases. As delicate as the job could ne, one has to grow in mind and stature to know how to go about the daily activities to make an individual complete and accepted in the larger community.
yeah bro you have indeed said it all and that is good
Sure teaching is incomplete without instructional materials because your teaching won’t be effective. I can relate because I am a teacher in training.
Wow. That's great. I am glad to meet a colleague in training.
I am a English student😁
That's great dear.