The nation’s education system would be better off if authorities are deliberate about seeking adequate changes to not just infrastructure but to also ensure that the teaching staff are adequately equipped with the right tools and materials to undertake the onerous task before them.
This was the summary of the two day interface and discussion sessions organised by Schools Development and Support International Ltd (SDS) in Lagos, recently.
The two-day hybrid event tagged: ‘SDS Creative Teachers Training,’ which drew over 200 participants from topflight schools across some southwest states including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, with others joining virtually from Bauchi, Delta, Enugu, Abia, Anambra, Kogi, Katsina, Sokoto, FCT, to mention just a few, was a journey of discovery of sorts as the different facilitators and resource persons unpacked new teaching methodologies aimed at making the learning environment more impactful, productive and performance-driven.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive of SDS International Ltd, Anthony Nwachukwu Isiani, who set the tone for the discussion stated that the free training sessions was his own modest way of giving back to the society as a token of support to the teaching community where he was able to develop his creative enterprise as a skilled engineer, innovative inventor and education-solution provider.
“As a teacher with over three decades under my belt, I can tell you that the teaching profession is one area that I have been able to deploy my creativity, accomplish my lifelong goal and vision as an inventor, entrepreneur and really fulfilled as a man. When I look back in time and see the modest successes one has been able to achieve over these past years then it is only just and proper that I should give back. So that’s the essence of the free training being facilitated by the SDS.
“I and the entire team at the SDS thought through it all and decided that charity should begin at home and for us that home is at the classrooms where the whole process that has culminated into where we are today all started. At the SDS we have been able to develop time-tested learning modules and designed toolkits that not just liberalised the teaching process but one that can drive efficiency, performance-focus and generally impactful.”
According to the Enugu-born inventor, the nation is at a critical point where it has to devote more investment in STEM education so that she can also join the vanguard of other industrialised nations and move away from being overly dependent on others for its survival.
On her part, Mrs. Chinonye Isiani, the Business Development Manager at SDS International Ltd, said one best way to ensure those vested with the responsibility of imparting knowledge stay true to their calling is to continue to be motivated to do so at all times.
“If you stop teaching today, will your students miss your presence, will you feel the difference? How many of us here can remember one teacher who changed your life?” she asked rhetorically.
Mrs. Isiani, who is also an Education Psychologist, stated that the refresher course on the new teaching methodologies designed by the SDS was aimed at helping the tutors discover their innate abilities and ultimately make them better teachers who will be valued by their schools in particular and the society in general.
“We did not gather you here today to add more work to your life; rather you are here to understand the mind behind the profession. We designed this program to assist you , unveil your pedagogical expertise, discover your professional competence, protect your motivation, and remind you why your work matters and your power so you can teach well and live well! Because when teachers live well, they teach well and when teachers teach well, they change lives! Let me start by saying something honest, teaching is not just a job. It is emotional labour.”
Teaching, she argued, “Is all about influence, leadership, legacy, destiny shaping and the truth is this: when a teacher is tired inside, it shows in the classroom. Not because you are not competent. Not because you don’t care. But because motivation is the fuel behind everything we do. Well I’m not here to give you motivational quotes. We are here to share real motivation, the kind that aids you to teach well, go home fulfilled, and still have strength for tomorrow.”
Also speaking earlier, Mrs. Jessica Eze, Customer Support Representative/Educational Consultant at SDS International Ltd, in her presentation which focused on what she termed ‘SDS Concept of Education,’ attempted a prognosis of the problem associated with the existing national education policy, which she admitted was a good vision but being hamstrung by paucity of funds, dearth of infrastructure, to mention just a few.
According to her, “Nigeria has a strong educational vision but vision without classroom creativity produces limited results. We are not here to criticise policy; rather, we are here to strengthen the system. The policy is visionary but the challenge is how we teach and that is what SDS Concept of Education has come to correct. SDS believes education must go beyond curriculum coverage because education is talent mining, continuous refinement, creative activation.”
The SDS Concept of Education, she stressed, “Believes that if education is a continuum; then teaching must never become static, because static teaching cannot prepare students for the changing world. We believe education must produce academic competence, life competence. This is because excellence in school without excellence in life is incomplete education. Our goal is not to create dependent learners. Our goal is to create independent thinkers.
“SDS Concept of Education is anchored on five pillars including dynamism of education which demands a change in teachers and the methods of teaching, the continuous improvement of ideas, talents and solutions, as such every learner carries hidden strengths that is why we do not just teach as teachers, we should discover the championship in them through; intentional observation, identification of individual natural ability, diversification of tasks and encouragement. We must be willing to prepare this student to pass through training to appear as valuable assets in the society to the point of bringing the desired change we want to see. Remember, national development begins in the classroom. Therefore a creative teacher must produces; thinkers, innovators, solutions, providers and responsible citizens.”
Echoing similar sentiments, Mrs. Faith Igwe, Corporate Affairs Manager, at the SDS Int’l Ltd, who dwelt on the limiting factors plaguing the Nigerian education system, which as she observed was due in part to the inherited structure of the colonial rule with little or no local content embedded in the system especially homegrown solutions, shared experience of culture, beliefs.
“Nigeria did not originally design her current education system. Much of what we operate today was inherited from colonial administration structures. While that system introduced literacy, administration, and modern schooling, it was not primarily designed to develop indigenous innovation, cultural confidence, or economic independence. They taught us science not engineering and even the engineering has not been used for any production.”
She said, “This is therefore a wakeup call to the realisation of the limitation in the education system that was bequeathed to us by our colonisers. It is about recognising the gaps, and positioning teachers as solution carriers.”
Raising some posers, she asked, “So now the big question is this: what exactly is limiting us? What in our educational system is preventing us from fully achieving the transformational change required for human capital development and national transformation through education?”
The way forward, she said, is to find a way to create a better education system. “We should build a system that is rooted in capacity building, not escape from reality, and this revolution starts from the classroom. We can start by training students to take charge of their learning and not just depend on the teachers for every knowledge.
“Education that is not rooted in our culture, builds pressure on our lifestyle that we are always waiting to see the latest foreign development e.g. adoption of the white wedding instead of developing our traditional wedding culture to meet our improving sophistication. We have refused to improve on the content of our culture to support sophistication such as few vocabularies in our language. Our clothes and clothing lack quality improvement to withstand varieties of usage.”
Fielding questions from participants, the key resource persons shed light on some salient issues bordering on teacher-pupil relationship, best practices in terms of staff motivation with some of the participants sharing life experiences and perspectives.
Speaking separately, Rev. Sr. Philomena Williams of Louisville Nursery/Primary School, Ibadan, Stella Iheanacho of Penny Int’l College, John Daniel, Mrs. Odom C, Rowland Nwaogwugwu, a school administrator at Goshen Pillars School, and many others, all shared insightful perspective on how they have been able to navigate the daily drudgery of the job to finding fulfillment and motivation to keep following their dreams: to become better teachers!
While giving the vote of thanks, Mrs. Ezinne Onoh, Director, The Brains Premier School, Lagos, who spoke on behalf of the other participants expressed profound gratitude to the organisers for facilitating the free training and refresher courses for the teachers, stressing that the lessons learnt and the new discovery will go a on way in equipping the participants on the best practices in terms of achieving better teaching outcomes and ultimately change their fortunes.
In his closing remarks, Isiani, who described the outcome of the two-days training as a huge success judging by the active participation of both those physically present and others who joined virtually, assured that the SDS team hopes to carry out more of such free training sessions for the remaining parts of the year in their quest to achieve the ultimate goal of making Nigeria’s education sector a good model for others to copy in the rest of the world.