It is the tonic for teachers desirous of snapping out of poverty! The age-long mantra that teachers are poor must give way to a new vista that ranks them among their contemporaries in banking, and oil &gas, among others.
Ashimolowo Ademuyiwa, an educationist, in this book, dissects the jinx that has made his colleagues wallow in poverty for years, offering insight on what to do to liberate themselves and be on top of their game.
The book, divided into 10 parts, outlines tips to success. To be a successful teacher, Ashimolowo says one should first have a clear vision, love himself and be proud of his chosen career. Then he must desist relishing in the traditional, age long poverty mentality emblematic of teachers. Rather, he must rediscover new thoughts driven by passion and ambition.
“There is a programme running inside of you that has loads of virus that are sabotaging you. This is what actually determines your thoughts and results, and not your proprietor or the economy. You just must bring something new to the table so as to take away something from there,” says the author.
“People may not remember you for your status or salary, but they will always remember your impact on them and the society. Teachers, if you lose strength at this crucial stage in life, you may lose all you have worked for and those who will be inspired by your story and passion,” he further warns.
Ashimolowo also implores them to bring originality into their work and status, and from time to time must constantly pause to appraise themselves should they have gone off track.
“Why waste time proving over and over how great or inadequate you are when you could be getting better? Why be with friends and bosses who will just shore up your self esteem instead of challenging you to grow? Why do you depend only on tried and true paths instead of seeking experiences that will stretch you?”
As a teacher, the author says, once you continue to add more value to yourself, you become almost indispensable in your work place, while the school owner is afraid to let go of you. Such teacher, the author says, hardly agitates salary raise or promotion, as the school management already considers him an asset that must be retained at all cost.
“New mindset leads to new result,” says the book. “Are you fixated in the world of fixed abilities where success is about proving you are smart or talented and validating yourself? I beseech you to enter into the world of changing qualities. It’s about stretching yourself to learn something new and developing yourself to acquire new structures.”
Once the teacher fulfils the foregoing, the next quality to imbibe is assertiveness, which is mainly the ‘teacher’s identity’.
“Some teachers have taken on the path of developmental suicide which means people deliberately shutting themselves out of careers development. When you cannot assert yourself in the driving seat of your career with a deliberate path to growth, obviously you have decided and stopped pushing yourself to becoming better through personal development.”
There is a distinction between ones profession and one’s pattern of action to it, Ashimolowo says. To further substantiate his claim, he juxtaposes entertainers and teachers, saying that even when he has not yet struck gold, the former appears to show more excitement, passion, discipline and ambition. Unfortunately, the latter is often receptive, disinterested and lethargic.
To guard against this, the teacher must therefore bring back to life the three Ts-thinking, training and testing.
According to the author, school owners of nowadays are interested in teachers who can effectively combine leadership with classroom work. Unfortunately, while there seems to be enough teachers, there is a lacuna in leadership, a trait which also stunts teachers’ growth.
“There are proprietors who are well exposed but getting an intelligent and creative head teacher to drive their school is a problem,” the author explains.
“So as a teacher, what are you aspiring for if, after 15 years in the classroom, you can’t head a school? Some head teachers can’t even think and respond to the yearnings of parents lovingly ad professionally.”
Further, Ashimolowo admonishes teachers to take three key messages from the palm tree-it does not bend to storms, it lasts long and every material on it has economic value.
“Teachers, you can become great beyond where you are today if you turn yourself to a fountain of knowledge when everything around you becomes a positive lessons for others. Until teachers begin to utilise all that happens to them, they will never be excited again. your addressing alone may inspire children to be happy and willing to learn.
Teachers often live in illusion and rather than accept responsibility, choose to come up with excuses ranging from work, background, family, education, among others, to explain their predicaments. This, Ashimolowo fears, may have a long term effect on his colleagues, who after putting in so many years in the profession, end up with little or nothing to show for it.
“Lies have a strong emotional energy such that when you lie to yourself, you will feel ‘all is well”, Ashimolowo says with a warning: “Until you deal with these lies, a new you will not emerge.”
The author says, regardless of how small a teacher’s income is, he should earmark an amount for self-development. This may not pay in the short run as the teacher goes through intense pain contending with other responsibilities before he can save up. However, the knowledge he acquires through the savings will individualise him among his colleagues.
“The fuel for the ‘I’ in you is knowledge. Nobody respects what you know until they see what you can do and are doing with it. Love yourself enough to invest in yourself and everything else falls into line.”
He adds: “You need to blow up the boundaries of your thinking so that the conventional teacher in you can die and a new learner arises. The teacher in you was indeed modelled and you can unlearn it; and the time to start is now.’
