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After
looking for a job left right and centre, I landed in a teaching institution.
Wow, before that, I had been interviewed for a job in an office setting. Well,
if I were to choose, I would stick to teaching for now. It is an experience
that I have to be very happy about. Of course my employer offered me the job
and I thought, well, this is a good starting point.
I
am sitting in the staff-room, writing these chronicles. Just minutes ago, the
Nairobi skylines were rented by the cacophonous sounds of low flying military
aircraft that caused some hullabaloo among staff mates. It sounded as if
the jet was just hovering directly overhead having singled-out an Alshabab
mercenary ready to sed the Recce squad to deal with the terror outfit.
'That
is UK trying to showcase his military preparedness in wait of Obama.' One of
the vocal teachers commented.
Since
I have no lecture to attend, I am reminiscing about the first impression of
this school.
It is relatively big by any
standards, it is located in a serene atmosphere at the periphery of the city
centre and the students are generally amiable.
If
I would describe teaching, I would say it is one of the most relaxing jobs. Of
course there is pressure to meet the target, students passing exams and what
else, yes imparting knowledge among other important aspects that has to do with
education.
Many of us find it excruciatingly painful to speak publicly, this is very unarguably true. Take note that this is not a fallacious argument We feel nauseous. We can barely breathe. Our bodies tremble. We lose track of time, find it difficult to concentrate, and babble.
While reading Mwalimu Andrew’s Staffroom Diaries, I have been reading it ever since its inception but neither did I ever had the idea I would ever work or end up spending a huge chunk of time in the staffroom.
I also wrote about teachers last year. And maybe, I had foretold about me being a teacher.
As opposed to Mwalimu Andrew who teaches in a Primary School, I teach in a tertiary institution where the kind of students you deal with are sometimes more informed than you are.
I should start a diary of the ups and downs of a Nairobi lecturer. I sometimes wish I would have used my talent in being an actor to the fullest. However, when I think of the grueling procedure involved in terms of auditioning, rejection, trial and error; I usually am like, ‘Ok, I am not that aggressive kind of guy or person. I love things on a silver platter. Who doesn’t love a life of sitting and waiting for things to happen? It’s just normal that I am also part of wider majority of people who love an easy life.’
So my employer inquired if I was interested in a job as a lecturer and I responded on the affirmative. You see, there is no denial that most youth are looking for better jobs. If someone would have asked me which kind of job I am looking for, I would also say the same. Am looking for a better well-paying job. But sometimes my main motivation is usually not even the pay. Sometimes it is the acceptance and the satisfaction you get from what you do. Again, getting an opportunity to be a teacher is not as easy. And it being teaching,majority of teachers are still looking for greener pastures.
With the rate at which media houses are hell bent on exposing institutions that offer certificates of doom, I take this opportunity to clarify that the institution I am currently lecturing in does not offer certificates of doom. Most of my workmates are either pursuing their masters’ degrees or are planning of pursuing the same. Majority are former campus graduates who did their undergraduate studies not more than ten years ago.
Of course there are those who are in their prime ages as one lady lecturer who said her first child is a year older than me. By any standards, I am among the youngest here.
However, I initially told myself that the first job I came across, I would never mind as long as it gave me an opportunity to interact, get to the next level and it also giving me a challenge in terms of growth and ameliorating myself. As a teacher, I realized I need to be very informed. Read wider in order not to mislead and be very dynamic and flexible.
After being introducted to my students by their former tutors, I did take over. I felt like I was in another dais with a scripted document that I was to present. I could see expectant faces of students students and albeit they were not cheeky, they were cynical. They are my age mates. I had hardly introduced myself when they started asking questions.
Obviously I had told them my name, but most of the ladies were like: Tell us about status, engaged or single. They wanted to know where I had gone to school and when I told them, I could see one student telling another by finishing off the title of the course I had done.
Many of us find it excruciatingly painful to speak publicly, this is very unarguably true. Take note that this is not a fallacious argument We feel nauseous. We can barely breathe. Our bodies tremble. We lose track of time, find it difficult to concentrate, and babble.
While reading Mwalimu Andrew’s Staffroom Diaries, I have been reading it ever since its inception but neither did I ever had the idea I would ever work or end up spending a huge chunk of time in the staffroom.
I also wrote about teachers last year. And maybe, I had foretold about me being a teacher.
As opposed to Mwalimu Andrew who teaches in a Primary School, I teach in a tertiary institution where the kind of students you deal with are sometimes more informed than you are.
I should start a diary of the ups and downs of a Nairobi lecturer. I sometimes wish I would have used my talent in being an actor to the fullest. However, when I think of the grueling procedure involved in terms of auditioning, rejection, trial and error; I usually am like, ‘Ok, I am not that aggressive kind of guy or person. I love things on a silver platter. Who doesn’t love a life of sitting and waiting for things to happen? It’s just normal that I am also part of wider majority of people who love an easy life.’
So my employer inquired if I was interested in a job as a lecturer and I responded on the affirmative. You see, there is no denial that most youth are looking for better jobs. If someone would have asked me which kind of job I am looking for, I would also say the same. Am looking for a better well-paying job. But sometimes my main motivation is usually not even the pay. Sometimes it is the acceptance and the satisfaction you get from what you do. Again, getting an opportunity to be a teacher is not as easy. And it being teaching,majority of teachers are still looking for greener pastures.
With the rate at which media houses are hell bent on exposing institutions that offer certificates of doom, I take this opportunity to clarify that the institution I am currently lecturing in does not offer certificates of doom. Most of my workmates are either pursuing their masters’ degrees or are planning of pursuing the same. Majority are former campus graduates who did their undergraduate studies not more than ten years ago.
Of course there are those who are in their prime ages as one lady lecturer who said her first child is a year older than me. By any standards, I am among the youngest here.
However, I initially told myself that the first job I came across, I would never mind as long as it gave me an opportunity to interact, get to the next level and it also giving me a challenge in terms of growth and ameliorating myself. As a teacher, I realized I need to be very informed. Read wider in order not to mislead and be very dynamic and flexible.
After being introducted to my students by their former tutors, I did take over. I felt like I was in another dais with a scripted document that I was to present. I could see expectant faces of students students and albeit they were not cheeky, they were cynical. They are my age mates. I had hardly introduced myself when they started asking questions.
Obviously I had told them my name, but most of the ladies were like: Tell us about status, engaged or single. They wanted to know where I had gone to school and when I told them, I could see one student telling another by finishing off the title of the course I had done.
At
that point, I wished I was as good in narration like Joinno Ten (link). Or
maybe those lecturers in my former campus who bragged about their covets which
they made us believe were real.
If one of my students ever gets to know that I write, I will be belaboured to him or her because of my secernate nature yet I am still a nom de guerre. I still want to keep my profile low. I have not yet got the guts of going mainstream.
Teaching is a very fantastic job, especially when you are doing it with a passion and you love what you are teaching about. Again, if you never love reading and doing some bit of research during free time, you may end up not delivering content as expected. Students may also reject you, but you become good with time.
In fact, though this is a tertiary institution, we teach them the same stuff I read while in campus. I was amazed that they sometimes cover the units better than we were doing while in campus. Delivery is paramount. However, teaching sometimes does not mean that you know, but as long as you can read, understand, give an example and prove to students that you are good, you are good to go. I am sure even teachers themselves usually find some students smarter than them but since they cannot acknowledge for fear of belittling themselves, they never will let such a student know. If you are the type who is afraid to answer questions, fret among students and develops cold feet in front of people, then teaching might prove a challenge in the short run.
When I grow up, I want to be a lecturer. Now that it seems like in Kenya you require connections to make it in the mainstream job market (you know those jobs, you wonder how that guy doing it got it earning 10 or fifty times your pay but was an academic dwarf), I will be contented with reading and making hay while the sun shines.
I have not yet started using my potential skills, like doing a TEDx, trying to convince students that with education something will happen or something will not. But what is amazing is the fact that if you are good with what you are doing, you can be very good. With teaching, I get to be respected by my students (I especially like the part where you have authority over them, they calling you Sir or teacher and you smile internally and there is nothing they can do about it even if they are your age mates.)
Now I understand why teachers sometimes did ask questions and students gave blank stares. Like I rarely participated in question and answer sessions in campus, but while in primary or secondary, I tried or lets say I was more vocal. However, in school, there is usually a wrong answer and a right one. It goes without doubt that answering questions among your fellow students’ boosts your confidence and also makes you more knowledgeable as you may also try as much to be conversant most of the time.
Another thing is that, students rarely take time to read when it is not time for exams. When I walk along the alleys and see students reading (is it reading or copying notes? I am not sure), I usually get the impression that we are indeed not a sleeping nation. While studies without thinking of another means when things don’t go as planned is not beneficial, there is something that is for sure, you never get sick while gaining knowledge.
If one of my students ever gets to know that I write, I will be belaboured to him or her because of my secernate nature yet I am still a nom de guerre. I still want to keep my profile low. I have not yet got the guts of going mainstream.
Teaching is a very fantastic job, especially when you are doing it with a passion and you love what you are teaching about. Again, if you never love reading and doing some bit of research during free time, you may end up not delivering content as expected. Students may also reject you, but you become good with time.
In fact, though this is a tertiary institution, we teach them the same stuff I read while in campus. I was amazed that they sometimes cover the units better than we were doing while in campus. Delivery is paramount. However, teaching sometimes does not mean that you know, but as long as you can read, understand, give an example and prove to students that you are good, you are good to go. I am sure even teachers themselves usually find some students smarter than them but since they cannot acknowledge for fear of belittling themselves, they never will let such a student know. If you are the type who is afraid to answer questions, fret among students and develops cold feet in front of people, then teaching might prove a challenge in the short run.
When I grow up, I want to be a lecturer. Now that it seems like in Kenya you require connections to make it in the mainstream job market (you know those jobs, you wonder how that guy doing it got it earning 10 or fifty times your pay but was an academic dwarf), I will be contented with reading and making hay while the sun shines.
I have not yet started using my potential skills, like doing a TEDx, trying to convince students that with education something will happen or something will not. But what is amazing is the fact that if you are good with what you are doing, you can be very good. With teaching, I get to be respected by my students (I especially like the part where you have authority over them, they calling you Sir or teacher and you smile internally and there is nothing they can do about it even if they are your age mates.)
Now I understand why teachers sometimes did ask questions and students gave blank stares. Like I rarely participated in question and answer sessions in campus, but while in primary or secondary, I tried or lets say I was more vocal. However, in school, there is usually a wrong answer and a right one. It goes without doubt that answering questions among your fellow students’ boosts your confidence and also makes you more knowledgeable as you may also try as much to be conversant most of the time.
Another thing is that, students rarely take time to read when it is not time for exams. When I walk along the alleys and see students reading (is it reading or copying notes? I am not sure), I usually get the impression that we are indeed not a sleeping nation. While studies without thinking of another means when things don’t go as planned is not beneficial, there is something that is for sure, you never get sick while gaining knowledge.
SITUONANE.
