Beyond the Classroom: Reflections of a Teacher’s Journey
Today, I didn’t have much work to do, as I completed most of my tasks yesterday. I had hired extra workers to help on our cassava plantation, and they managed to finish the hard work of uprooting the cassava plants, peeling them, and soaking them for the next phase. This soaking process takes about five days, so it should be ready for sieving soon.
Since this week is our midterm break, I’ve decided to focus on our garden. I know that once I return to work next Monday, I won’t have as much free time for these tasks. During the regular school week, I’ll likely only be able to feed the animals and water the plants in the mornings and evenings.
Today, I dedicated my time to marking my students’ essays. They had written these essays just before the break, and with around 1,000 scripts to mark, it’s been a challenge to finish. This is one of the realities we face in public schools—high student numbers and an environment that isn’t always ideal for effective teaching and learning. Unfortunately, the government often tells parents that they don’t need to provide anything for their children’s education because all their needs will be met, but this isn’t the case. Schools are under-resourced, and it’s difficult to meet all the needs of students with limited support. I have to take my time and mark if not i won't be able to ascertain those who can write the essay effortlessly and those students who needed more input from me. There is nothing we can about this as they say' teacher gain is in heaven', we can only try our best to help the students in our own way. If I have to consider the poor salary and the remuneration, I may not do anything but it is the career who choose so I must find fulfillment therein
In situations like this, it feels like only divine intervention can help us overcome the challenges brought by ineffective leadership. However, can we really blame the government? If not for the Electoral system that has been crippled by the so called politicians and also the citizens thay sold their birthright during election for a cup of rices and tokens that wasn't even up to a 3 dollars. I just hope it won't be too late before we realise our mistake and do something about it soon. We have to start thing about the generations to come.