Increasing teachers’ self-worth for improved learning outcomes

Children are like wet cement, whatever falls on them makes an impression,” was how Israeli school teacher, child psychologist, psychotherapist and a parent educator, Haim G. Ginott, summarised the impact that teachers make on children, and by extension, the society. 

Henry Brooks Adams, an American historian and member of the Adam’s political family, further confirmed this to be a timeless truism when he said, “Teachers affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops.

Viewed from any prism, the task of riding the society of ignorance, and liberating the minds of its inhabitants (which is what teachers basically do), is a very important assignment that must be accorded due attention.

Sadly, despite their all-important role in the education value chain, teachers have continued to be at the receiving end of the society’s indiscretion, while governments at various levels perennially pay lip service to their welfare. Pained by the scenario, and bent on making a difference in their lives and improving grades in certain endangered subject areas, the Inoyo Toro Foundation ventured into the milieu in Akwa Ibom State, to engender a revolution.

And for nine years now, the foundation has been painstakingly working to sift the grain from chaff, in its bid to accord due recognition to professional, selfless and dutiful teachers that take their profession as their passion.

In doing this, it has given prime attention to teachers’ motivation as a way of encouraging their effectiveness. Other objectives of the foundation are to encourage science teachers as well as those of mathematics, English language and some other endangered subjects in public secondary schools; stimulate awareness for the study of these subjects; promote healthy and positive competition for excellence among teachers; help teachers to be more committed to their profession as they constantly update their knowledge and help to mentor other colleagues and provide mentorship opportunities for students of public secondary schools by volunteers drawn from different professions.

In addition to this, the foundation through the project, is also supplementing the state government’s effort in her educational development, by recognising and motivating teachers so as to make them teach from their hearts.This year, awards were given out in seven subjects viz: mathematics, English language, biology, chemistry, physics, economics and fine arts. Each subject had three winners, and the first prize winners got N250, 000; while the second and third got N150, 000 and N100, 000 in that order. A total of 145 teachers, made up of 25 English language, 28 mathematics, 25 biology, 25 chemistry, 19 physics, 17 economics and six visual arts teachers attended the selection test out of 276 that were invited.

According to Chairman, Award Screening Committee, Dr. Enobong Joshua, “modalities for assessment of schools for the award include: appraisal of the learning environment; availability of laboratories (for the science subjects) and libraries; the score of the school in external examinations, and assessment of the teacher based on his productivity and professional competence in his teaching subject area.

“The final screening test for selection of the winning teachers is in two parts. The first part is an aptitude test for just 40 minutes, based on the WAEC/NECO curriculum. The second part is an oral examination meant for those who pass reasonably well in the written test,” Joshua said, adding, “In order to strengthen the excellence of the award, the first, second and third prizes can only be merited if a contestant scores at least 70 per cent, at least 60 per cent, and at least 50 per cent respectively in the final results.
This explains the absence of first prizes in biology and in chemistry this year.”

In the Grand Mentor Teachers’ Award category, the foundation challenges past winners to produce their kind through regular mentoring of other teachers in their subject areas, who may reside within their neighbourhood. The mentor must himself scale through the written test, in addition to his field performance, before being considered for the award, which is N500, 000. ,” the committee chair stated.

Interestingly, more professionals are now keying into the mentorship programme, which the awards is also taking very seriously. With 235 public secondary schools already in the mix, plans are afoot to ensure that every school has a mentor for the best students. Currently, the number of mentors stands at 60, but with a target of 100 professionals in 2017. This is because the foundation believes that ‘a lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.’

Deputy governor of the state, Mr. Moses Ekpo, in his remark showered praises on the foundation for the gesture of honouring “some of the distinguished gate-keepers of our educational sector.

“With an elaborate agenda aimed at encouraging the study of physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and English language in Akwa Ibom State public secondary schools; create an awareness on the importance and benefits of specialising in the sciences and to complement government’s efforts in providing quality education, it is my believe that the foundation’s contribution can be qualified as epochal in all respects,” Ekpo said.

He continued, “I am further impressed by the fact that this foundation has found it worthy to address the fundamental questions in our educational system from the level of teachers, who form the critical link in the system, by stimulating positive and healthy competition among them, as a means of engendering excellence in the system.

“Let me therefore use this auspicious occasion to express the sincere gratitude of the state government to this foundation for the great work it is doing in our secondary education sector, especially in the area of its mentorship programme.“The mentorship programme provides opportunities for individuals or organisations, to adopt any secondary school of choice and mentor the best students with a view to broadening their perspective about life, and enhance their self esteem and motivate them to be better students.

“In spite of the promises and possibilities the mentorship programme holds in this era of partnerships, only very few individuals have so far signed up for this scheme. Out of a total of 256 participating schools, only 59 schools have been adopted for the mentorship programme … In consideration of this, I wish to use this opportunity to call on interested individuals, old boys, corporate organisations and philanthropists to hearken to this clarion call and adopt these schools in order to add significant value to the educational system,” the deputy governor appealed.

Ekpo, who restated government’s resolve to continue with efforts aimed at revolutionising education in the state, said the recent cancellation of the appointment of teachers recruited by the government, was due to “an avalanche of complaints within the educational sector and subsequent discovery of underhand dealings in the course of the recruitment exercise…”

Chairman of the occasion and Partner, Consolex Legal Practitioner, Edo Bassey Ukpong, described the awards as laudable because, “As human beings, we all love to, and deserve to be appreciated for any progressive contributions we make. The mere fact of just gathering teachers in this kind of high profile ceremony with a galaxy of captains of industry and public officials in attendance can only boost the morale of our teachers present, and even those not in attendance. The prize money attached to the winners in various categories is significant enough to make a change in their lives and encourage competition for excellence among teachers, which can only be for the good of society.

“We will all agree that we do not accord our teachers the regard and gratitude worthy of their positions. No matter the opinion we have of their standards or performance, they are who we have now, and like it or not, their standards or performance are the making of the society. Treating them shabbily or without regard will only make matters worse. As a product of two teachers, I grew up being called fondly ‘Akpan Teacher’ (teacher’s first son) by everybody around us, and I was very proud of that fact. The same is not the case today where teachers are regularly bullied by parents and students and generally looked down upon by society,” he stated.

Ukpong instituted the Best  Principals Award beginning 2017 in memory of his late father, a one-time history teacher at Hope Waddell Training Institution, Calabar, and Nigeria Military School Zaria. He was former deputy commandant, Nigeria Military School, and assistant director of Army Education Corps.
 
Guest Speaker at the event, and Chief Executive Officer of Seven Energy Exploration and Production Limited, Mr. Phillip Iheanacho, described education as a tool that helps to unlock the minds, thereby creating opportunities. He said, “As a person who is involved in hiring people, what you look for is discipline, hard work, intelligence and education is the best measure to see these qualities.”

He charged students to read wide and not underestimate the power of writing. “If you write you are even more powerful because no organised institution, whether government or private makes decision orally, decision are made in writing, the person who writes influences the decision and that is very powerful.