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Among all professions in Nigeria, teaching is among the most reputable. As a developing country which considers education as the vehicle for development, the teaching profession should be seen as a gate way to realizing the dream of quality education.
There cannot be quality education, if government and the governed do not place premium on the vehicle of education which is the teacher. I’m always of the view that the teaching profession is the mother of all professions.
Government must do all it can to invest in the teaching profession. This can be done by producing quality teachers, and giving them attractive incentives to impart knowledge to students. Since the teacher is absolutely indispensable in the delivery of education, society must recognize the teacher. my lane views.
Observations in the Teaching Profession
First and foremost, I have found out that those in the teaching fraternity do not manage their time efficiently. Teachers particularly in the basic and second cycle institutions spend less than eight hours in school daily. The rest of the time is not effectively and efficiently manage. It is either some of them sit idle, roam about aimless or sit and drink in various drinking parlor. That is greatly affecting the capacity cum ability of the teacher to engage in research, save and possibly engage in other business ventures to gain extra income to supplement their meager salaries.
Teachers must as a matter of fact, examine their time again and look at how they can efficiently channel the extra-time in the service, into productive areas in their lives. For instance; I know of a teacher who is a business mogul and can boast of about ten employees. He goes to his shop right after school and he is making a lot of gains. I think such teacher should consider a role model and emulate by his counterpart, if not for any thing but the fact that he has been able to combine professional work and personal life lucratively.
More importantly is the ability to demonstrate competence in their various schools. The saying that hard work pays is real. Competence is the only way of marketing any profession and the only standpoint to demand for better conditions of service from the employer. Indeed, the remuneration of teachers over the years has been very poor. It does appear that the negotiations always end at Teacher’s detriment. This keeps on reoccurring for decades now and it is only fair that the teachers change the methodology at the negotiation table by using higher productivity as their bargaining tool. That, they cannot do if the dedicated ones do not encourage their colleagues to give out their best even under the poor conditions of service.
Attitudes
The truth is that many teachers under the cover of poor conditions of service resort to unprofessional acts that directly and indirectly put the profession into disrepute, throwing away the nobility and reputation of the enviable noble profession.
In addition, discussing the personal life of teachers would be incomplete without touching on the way some teachers dress. Physical appearance by way of dressing tells a lot about our social status in Kogi and indeed Nigeria socio-cultural settings.
This notwithstanding, the dressing of some teachers is quite embarrassing and does not speak well for the teaching profession. It is very common to see some lady teachers with miniskirts, transparent trousers, “skinny” and others. Some teachers wear anything to the class room because the profession has no standardized dress code. It is in lieu of this, that I am particularly an ardent proponent for a professional dressing code for teachers. I urge teachers to take decent dressing very serious. This is the most fundamental ways of enhancing the profession reputation.
In addition, teachers are leaders of society and must act as such. The knowledge of teachers must not be limited to the classroom. There are several social impediments that teachers must join hands to ameliorate. Social challenges like armed robbery, prostitution, thuggery and others can be fought when professionals partner. The role of the teacher in approaching such issues is quite paramount considering the repertoire of knowledge of the teacher. Equally, teachers should speak on national issues. Contributing to national discourse is an essential component of professionalism.
Over the years, many teachers do not update themselves on critical national issues that require the contributions of professionals. The continuous silence of professionals in this country is what has led to negative propaganda on our airways. This is very excruciating and spells doom of a country with abundant professionals.
One area that teachers must not be oblivious of is the fact that they are the final implementers of any educational policies. Often, most of them sit aloof when such policies are subjected to public debate. The painful part is that most teachers grumble when policies put them at a disadvantage. I urge people to always gather the courage to national issues since policies affect us all.
Moreover, most teachers have their rights infringed upon by superiors. This is because, in most cases, those teachers appear to demonstrate ignorance about their professional rights. I think the need for teachers to learn more about labour laws, code of ethics for teachers, conditions of service, etc. The knowledge in these will go a long way to enable teachers act with confidence, enthusiasm and professionalism. It would also curtail the situation of intimidation, disrespect and maltreatment either by parents or superiors.
Lastly, we must all embrace and integrate technology into our teaching. A teaching without any knowledge of technology in this contemporary times is like a body without head. Interestingly, many of the teachers are hesitant in updating themselves in this emerging technological world with sophisticated equipment and programs. Of course, you may not be professionals in technology but it is something we cannot do without. There are still multitude of teachers who cannot primarily use a computer or a smart phone. How then can they integrate technology into their work?
Beyond the capacity building workshops, teachers should endeavor to take personal initiatives so far as professional growth is concerned. In fact, one can use the mobile phone for a lot of research instead of depending on limited white papers as the only reference materials. The disadvantageous effect of technological advancement in the teaching profession is that some teachers, especially youth teacher largely use smart phones in school to chat on social media, play music, etc. This attitude of some teachers is causing lower productivity in schools.
Conclusion
I understand the fact that lack of political commitment to transforming the teaching profession by the government is a major setback in our contemporary educational institutions. However, I still encourage teachers in their individual capacities to make the profession attractive and respectable. Without doing these fundamental things, others will continue to denigrate the teaching profession. I urge the youth in the teaching profession to see the profession as a noble profession.
As the government keeps on failing our educational system, because most of their children school abroad, we should not relent With our individual contributions, as the teaching profession will one day be the best professions in Kogi and Nigeria.
Keep hope alive!!
– Godwin Jibrin Bakwo,
Igalamela/Odolu Local Government
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