A TUTOR AND A HALF

                                     A LETTER TO MY 2 YEARS AGO SELF By this time two years ago I was in a dilemma, at that point, I had received my employment letter from Teach for Nigeria and though I was excited about the role, I was scared and anxious about how things would pan out; moving from Jos, Plateau State to Ijebu-Ode in Ogun state. I wondered if I would fit into that environment considering that I did not understand the Yoruba language. Right now I look at those moments and I smile because if I had the opportunity to meet my 2 years ago self, I would have alot of things to say: Ah! Agnes, you worry too much, I understand that this trait makes you over plan and over prepare which will be a plus as time goes on but babe, I need you to CALM DOWN (in Rhema's voice) because everything panned out well at the end of your fellowship infact you did amazing. You see this your work ethic, it...

The motivation for this topic is credited to a coaching platform that I signed up for recently and I am grateful to my coach Ms. Mary Orji for all I am learning in the cause of our 10-week inner-circle programme for educators. Growth Mindset revolves around believing that things can become better and that there’s the possibility that something can progress for the better opposed to the fixed mindset where the belief system is that things would most likely not change for the better. A fixed-minded educator believes that there’s no way an educator can make great impact, be popular and still make money off teaching by investing in themselves enough that they themselves begin to become value creators, fixed minded educator places the power of professional development in the hands of the employer while an educator with a growth mindset believes that we can change our lives and advance our careers even within the education space, he believes in putting in the work to produce results. Agnes O...

    1.  Waiting to go somewhere where the grass is greener: Truth be told, a lot of teachers are in the teaching space because “Nigeria happened to them” which is the main reason why we have a lot of tutors who at the most hate their jobs and at the least are going through the motions so they can have credit alerts at the end of the month. From my experience I have come to the realization that the grass is greener only where it is watered, so whether or not you are in this practice because you love it or you just had no choice, the fact is, you’re here now and the good news is that there are principles that would stand you out if you apply them irrespective of the reason why you’re in the space. I understand that this is not where you want to be but what if you’re there at this point in time for a reason? would you rather just be unhappy at the moment whilst you wait for what you want to come? If I were you, I would find a way to have fun with what I’m currently doing, ou...

So this week I got to just appreciate how things have changed and are still changing over time when it comes to how we perceive education. In the 60s when my mom was born, it is safe to say that education was not a do-or-die affair. There were only a few graduates and by the time my mom became an adult, western education was so rampant that those who had been able to go to school got white-collar jobs as soon as they were graduating making it easy for them to work their way through the ranks of the civil service and lead decent lives unlike those who didn’t go to school.   When I was a child, considering the opportunities my mom thought she missed out on, she swore that she would do everything in her power to make sure her children were educated. So though my parents weren't literate, they pushed me and my siblings to get the knowledge we required to be successful scholars, they paid for tuition, competitions, extracurricular activities, textbooks and, etc.  Agnes Onyekwere in...

Taking a look at the current state of the public schools in Nigeria, it’s almost impossible to think that there was a time when things were different. Today, we hear a lot of seniors, especially our parents, speak about the fact that back then parents preferred to send their kids to public schools than private schools. Mr. Michael Ukiwe-Otisi is a professional educator and Consultant with 25 years of teaching experience and 15 years of School Administration. He is presently the Principal of Bomas Academy (High School), a High School he co-founded with other principal partners and this is a chit-chat with him on what our education system used to look like and the way forward. A.  Was the government more responsible back then than it is now?   During my time, private schools were almost non-existence, that's not to say they were not there but they were insignificant. I particularly can't remember any private primary school while I was within that age bracket. It will be difficul...

  THE FLOG OR NOT TO FLOG DEBATE FROM A PSYCHOLOGIST’S POINT OF VIEW INTRODUCTION: “I was flogged and I turned out fine”. “Our parents dealt with us and that’s why we are better off today!”. I have heard these statements countless times. But in reality, are you really fine? Are you better off today? I mean emotionally and psychologically? Let’s look at it deeply. Can you handle your emotions without having outbursts or meltdowns? What do your relationships look like? How do people close to you feel about your presence? Do you respect your body? How do you treat children? Do you need substances to cope? How about your self-esteem and self-perception? How about how you speak to yourself? Fine can mean many things. It can mean you are just living on the edge as a teacher, parent or caregiver. So did flogging really make you better or damage you emotionally? If correction (discipline, and not punishment) is the goal, then we must reconsider the place and use of flogging in classrooms a...