If I were a ‘smart’ teacher

Twinkle, twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are

Up above the world so high

Like a diamond in the sky

A lion, a lion has a tale

It has a big head

And a very small waist

I believe everyone who went to school in Ghana learnt the above recitals when they were in nursery school.

I mean those who went to local schools both public (syto) and preparatory schools/private schools. The recitals and poems sounded ridiculous but exciting. Whether they made sense or not, we still learnt them and enjoyed them.

In nursery school, we also went through the ABCD and two one two drills. We enjoyed it, we laughed and cried but we still went to school.

We loved some of our teachers and hated a few others. Surely the ones we hated were those who used the cane every time.

The cane was their defense, their weapon and bodyguard. I still feel edgy and uptight when I remember the early morning drills (mental) that we used to take to prepare us for the Common Entrance Examinations.

I never liked Mathematics but loved Lexis and structure and Quantitative skills. So you can imagine that I often got caned for the Maths drills.

We had mixed feelings about our teachers when we were in secondary school. Of course, we loved the ones who told us “tolis” (stories) and those who had interesting tales. We also made fun of those who had weird dressing or funny accents. We made faces at some of the teachers behind their backs and we gave them nicknames as well. We run away from the wicked ones and hailed those we loved.

We did all that and today we can boast of the fact that we have been educated. Through all the trials, tribulations, insults and applauses, our teachers got us to study and helped us pass our exams.

Some of them have been instrumental in getting us to choose our careers. We owe them our education and our livelihoods. They may have not used the best tools, tales and techniques but they certainly got us here. They did what they could. They did what they thought was best. They did try to teach us what they taught was right; sometimes they had to teach us things they themselves never understood.

Our teachers deserve our appreciation. But do students really think about the importance of most of things they are taught when they are in school? Do they connect with the subject areas and think through how these subjects impact their lives and the things around them?

I quite remember how we used to make jokes about some of the things we studied. Words like photosynthesis, atoms, and botanical names like theobroma cacao became nicknames and jokes.

Personally I could never relate to some of the subjects probably because of how it was explained. Physics, chemistry and Maths were never my favourites.

Today I see what these subjects mean because I have taken out all my biases and made an effort to understand them. Most importantly, the internet makes it a lot easier for me to learn new things.

When we were making fun of our teachers, little did we know that they will have the last laugh.

One of the teachers we used to joke around was our French teacher. Indeed we named some of the topics after her and as soon as she entered and greeted us, we will continue reciting some of the things we read in the French books. Decades after this experience I still can’t forgive myself for not taking French seriously. I have tried several times to take courses in French but it hasn’t worked.

One of the courses I had challenges with but eventually loved was Music. I just couldn’t understand what chords, harmonization and the major and minor keys were. I eventually took it all the way to the O levels because of how interesting the music teacher made it.

Teachers of today now have access to smart devices that can help them illustrate things better. If you are a ‘smart’ teacher, you can make your students better engaged.

A ‘smart’ teacher is one who uses ICT tools like the television, laptop or computer, projectors, smart phones and other digital devices and equipment to teach. Smart devices and tools can shape the learning of both teachers and students.

The role of teachers is critical and we applaud organizations who go out of their way to motivate them. The setting up of a day to celebrate teachers is very good and we applaud the government for sustaining the Best Teacher Awards. We also commend MTN Ghana Foundation, UNESCO and other orgnaisations for the initiative they have taken to motivate and reward teachers.

The Parents Teacher Associations (PTAs) in many schools have also been a great source of support for teachers.

Today, I pay homage to all teachers in Ghana, especially all those who taught me.

I thank a few of the teachers I grew to have closer relationships with and these include Mr Addo who is now a photographer, Mr Eric Darpoh, my favourite Music teacher; Ms Vondee, my English teacher, who I met again at the University of Ghana Mensah Sarbah Hall; Mr Agyiri, who also taught me English and always challenged me to begin writing a book, Mr Emmanuel Benhin, who is now a Statistic Professor in Canada, Mr Adamafio and a host of others.

Thanks to Dr Ohene Konadu, Prof. Clara Fayorsey, Prof. Sena and Prof. Dovlo, Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo, Prof. Kwame Karikari, Prof. Ansu Kyremeh, Dr. Bonna Koomson and many others. You did not have the benefit of all the smart devices available today but you made your classes very interesting and through you I have a profession and livelihood.

God bless all teachers and may your reward be both in heaven and on earth.