Fueling Young Minds

Anytime I tell people the job I do they look at me and they’re like ‘it can’t be true’. There are so many jobs in the world and each and everyone one of them is important in its own way. Some weeks back, the cleaners at my work place decided to go on a strike for about two weeks. During that period , everyone at work felt their absence because we had to take up the cleaning around the office and also around us. This should tell you that no job is better than the other.

You’d all agree with me that teaching I really hectic job but if we didn’t have good teachers to teach us in school, most of us wouldn’t be where we are today. I never for once thought I’d actually stand infront of a class to teach students. I always said I hated teaching and I bet everyone of us said that at some point in their lives . This is because we see what our teachers go through each and everyday.

With my field of studies, there are so many jobs out there to pick from but only God knows why I opted to be a teaching assistant in the university. I’m a very curious person and just the thought of learning new things and keeping my mind active always was enough to get me to be a teacher. Hell, even my parents were surprised when I told them I was going to be a teaching assistant. Sometimes they randomly call me to ask what I’m teaching.😅

I wouldn’t lie to you, teaching isn’t an easy job. It’s very hectic and the worse part is you’d think it would be a lot better since I deal with grown ups but man, it’s worse. Imagine going to class to teach only for your students to tell you they didn’t study this and that after you gave them days or even weeks to do that. Some students can be very lazy , but that doesn’t mean as a teacher you should punish them or hate them. In the university, it’s everyone for himself but the least you can do as a teacher is to encourage your students.

Being a teaching assistant comes with a whole lot because you’re considered as a junior lecturer which means that you’re most likely going to have to handle so may lectures on behalf of your bosses. Aside marking of books which is a must for me, I also have to take my students through their lab sessions each week. With the lab sessions, since the number is huge we divide them into groups. Think about having to repeat the same thing over and over to about 6 groups of students in one day.😂Aside all these, there’s tutorials sessions to handle, marks to record, students to give extra help , invigilating and many more.

There are days when I have to report to work at 6:00am only to close after 8:00pm. There are also days where I go to work and have literally nothing to do. That’s the life.😄 I love what I do and I love the fact that I am able to share my knowledge with others while also learning from them. Without teachers, I wouldn’t be where I am today and I’m happy to also have the opportunity to impact the lives of others positively.

all images belong to me.