A Letter to the Future Teachers part 2 - Abdullahi Kaigama

Dear comrades,

TEACHERS IN A CREATIVE WORLD

What does it mean? We leave in a society that pays considerably more to educate the children of the affluent, who already have numerous advantages than those of the working class and poor. The beginning and experienced teachers should be committed to the idea that the way we teach can make a significant difference in the learning and lives of our students. Work for your students and not against them. We often refuse to give up on public education and our students which are part of our social responsibility. There are no simple solutions to changing education and no magic formulae for teaching young people to change their mindsets. Teaching is a hard work and involves constant learning by educators. Successful teaching requires an understanding of our students, a vision for their future, and a strategy for connecting students with ‘that vision’.

As teachers, we should use our own experience to understand theories of thinkers and current scholars such as: John Dewey, Paulo Freire, Maxine Greene, Bill Van Patten, Jessica Williams, Lydia White, Robert Dekeyser etc. and insights gained from educational research to help the next generation of teachers to become ready for the classroom. New teachers always worry whether they will know enough to teach and whether they will be able to control students. Perhaps, they will not agree with what I think is important. But let me share with them some of the things I learned and value.

·       Lessons that relate to students interests: involve them in activities that are appropriate to their academic performance level, this will stimulate their curiosity and engage them as active learners.

·         Students who feel that their teachers care about them as human beings and are willing to respond to their needs and concerns do better in class.

·         Learning is social. Students do better academically as they develop a sense of relationship with each other and their teachers, and as they take responsibility for what happens in their classroom.

·         Change never happens instantaneously. Why should children behave differently from other people? Being an effective teacher means engaging in a long-term struggle to convince students that your goals for the class make sense and are worth examining.

·         As a teacher you cannot change everything in the world, in your school, or even in your class. But we also know that as you become a better teacher you will be able to make an impact on more people.

·         “Finger pointing” does not help. Politicians blame unions. Universities blame high schools. High schools blame secondary schools. Secondary schools blame primary schools. Primary schools blame parents. Parents blame schools and teachers and the educational system. Instead of focusing on accusing each other for what has not worked, we need to discover and implement ideas and practices that will make a difference.

Abdullahi kaigama

The Federal Polytechnic,

Damaturu, Yobe state.

A Postgraduate Student,

Univertsiti Putra Malaysia (M.A. Applied Linguistics)