This summer, teachers become learners

Some of the participants

Experts stress the need for teachers to take advantage of the current holiday to get further training, 

For the 90 teachers who gathered in Lagos for teach-a-trainer programme organised by a United Kingdom-based organisation, Klays Consulting, it is not merely a training session.

 The conference, more than anything else, is one that has further taught them the home truth about their profession. In fact, they confess that it has  brought closer to them the maxim that there is no end to knowledge.

The teachers drawn mainly from private primary and secondary schools across the country say they are having insight into modern teaching modules and practices. They have also had a treat on practical aspects of teaching.  They took tutorials in Differentiated teaching in the Classroom; More Learning, less Teaching in the Classroom, Effective Lesson Observation and Feedback; and Outstanding Lesson Delivery, among others.

No wonder, it was with a sense of fulfilment that they recounted their experience to our correspondent on Thursday.

For Bibim Oluwayemi, a teacher at the Cedarwood School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the training has further exposed her to the rudiments of teaching and she is looking forward to the new academic calendar with enthusiasm.

According to her, the programme has made her to know that every pupil has his or her learning style.

Another teacher with Grange School, Ikeja, Lagos, Mr. Salaudeen Olutosin, says teaching has moved to a new level with the skill he got from the session.

He says, “From the training, I have come to understand that the teacher does not do all the talking anymore. The pupils are allowed to also contribute to knowledge.”

Corroborating this, another participant, Mrs. Ororho Ediri, notes that with the training, teaching has become more engaging and more interesting for her pupils.

She says, “We have just gone through a practical session in which we created a classroom situation, and demonstrated how the pupils would behave and we were expected to react to them. It is engaging and interesting.”

However, as the participants acknowledge the importance of the training, the organisers hold the view that there is the need to improve on the quality of education in the country.

The Klays Consulting’s Director of Training, Mrs. Victoria Ikwuemesi, while underscoring the importance of the training, says teachers have enormous influence on those children they teach.

According to her, the best way to educate the children is to educate the teachers.

She notes, “It is good to provide desks and chairs in the school. There is also the need to provide the pupils with computers, but all of these won’t add up if the teachers, who are to impact knowledge, are themselves ignorant.

“The best way to educate and reach the children is to educate the teachers, because their influence on them is humongous (enormous). That is why Malcom X and Martin Luther King re-emphasised the fact that education is the centre of progress.”

The education consultant, with over 20 years experience in the training of teachers in the UK, says Nigerian teachers have a passion for the profession.

She, however, notes that they generally lack the needed motivation and access to modern technology unlike their UK counterparts.

According to her, in the UK, teachers undergo continuous training and there are many opportunities available to them.

She adds, “The developed nations do not joke with education. In the UK, teachers undergo continuous training so that they can impact the pupils effectively through their teaching.

“Again, there is what is called Home-School Agreement, which every parent must sign. It contains certain rules. For instance, no child is to roam the streets during school hours. For any child found in such situation, the parent might go to jail.”

Talking about individualised learning style of each pupil, Ikwuemesi notes that no teacher should neglect any child, and no teacher should employ a ‘one size fits all’ method of teaching.

She argues, “Pupils should learn in a way they are comfortable with. So, the teachers need to be trained to be able to address this. No child is dull. The teachers must learn to motivate their pupils and bring out the best in them. That is the essence of this training.”

The business development manager of 2 Chase, the parent body of Klays Consulting, Ms. Joy Izzi, speaking on the rot in Nigerian education, urges the government to give priority to the sector by committing resources, training the teachers and upgrading the facilities.

She notes, “Nigerian children must develop in such a way that will make them compete effectively with their colleagues in other parts of the world. The world is changing every day. Some of the teachers in Nigeria are still teaching what they learnt in teacher training college, may be 20 years ago. What kind of knowledge is that? It is outdated.”