Says No Student is Entirely Useless as Perceived by Many.
Teaching, though very vital to humanity, is a profession that is fast losing its relevance in the society, especially now that most youths show little or no interest in the prestigious profession. This has been credited to a number of reasons which include poor remuneration and recognition of teachers in the society, poor educational system in most African countries, the get-rich-quick syndrome bedevilling the present day African society and numerous other reasons.
However, among these youths, are still very few others who have refused to throw in the towel in giving their all to offer quality teaching to African children. Nigeria’s Teacher Chike is one of those youths who have dared all consequences and embraced teaching with so much passion. A young, vibrant and passionate teacher, Chike did not only choose teaching above medicine which his family and friends chose for him, but defied all odds and “buried” himself in the rural community of Ubuluku, Delta state, where he now impacts several lives with his fun-teaching techniques.
In a chat with Biografrica during its weekly Spotlight Series,Teacher Chike revealed how he has been persuaded severally by his family and friends to find a more befitting job for himself. He also revealed how his desire to provide quality teaching to children in rural communities has kept him going even while his mates chose the greener side of the profession.
Who is Teacher Chike?
I am a Nigerian teacher fromObio in Aniocha Local Government Area of Delta state but I was born and bred in Keffi, Nasarawa state Nigeria. I had my basic education in Nasarawa but my secondary school education was in Abuja.
I further studied Education Biology at the University of Benin, Edo state Nigeria. I started teaching in the year 2012 during my compulsory Teaching Practice programme as a young teacher. I started full-time classroom teaching in 2016. I have taught in several classes in Benin, Nasarawa, Abuja, Ebonyi states and Delta where I am presently. I have also taught in places where parents are well-to-do but I thought about going to a place where my teaching can be valued more, a place where I will know that what I am going to do there is service and sacrifice. So when the opportunity to teach in Delta state came, the adventurous nature in me spurred me to grab it at once and I’ve been here for some months now. I have always been adventurous. That’s why you hear about the Adventure of Teacher Chike.
From your videos online, we discovered you wanted to study medicine but ended up as a teacher. How come?
I will not say, I chose teaching, rather, teaching chose me. (Laughs)…You know, growing up, I was privileged to be among the intelligent ones, and in most African homes, if a student is intelligent, it is either he/she becomes a doctor or a lawyer or sometimes, an engineer because those are the professions they look up to in terms of finance. So I grew up with that mentality. Along the line, a prophecy came to my mother that I was going to be a doctor and that she should do everything possible to send me abroad to study medicine. Reality dawned on me after I applied to study medicine severally in different Nigerian universities but I was denied admission. I had to accept Education Biology offered to me by the University of Benin, with the hope of continuing my application to study medicine, and then abandon Education Biology once medicine clicks. As my studies progressed, I continued to write Nigeria’s Joint Admissions And Matriculation Board Examinations-JAMB Post-UTME till I wrote it four times. During one of my teaching practices in one of the schools I taught in back then, I saw a different kind of teaching. The fun and great joy I felt while I taught the students was immeasurable. And to cap it all, when it was time for us to leave after our TP programme, the kind of gifts I received from the students and the school made it appear like I was the only one who went for Teaching Practice at the school. And they were begging me to come back and do more for them. Watching them, I was moved and felt I should do more for these kids.
As a vibrant teacher who chose to be a village teacher amidst other greener opportunities , what is your greatest motivation?
I was in a class in 2012 and my students told me “you are not supposed to be a teacher but a medical doctor”. Very shocked, I asked them why, and they said “because teaching will not pay you so be a doctor”. Then I told them that I look forward to a time I will be moving around and see all my learners very successful. So I want to be in that position where I can mould these destinies to become useful to society. This is my greatest motivation.
As a village teacher who had desired to be a medical doctor , do you have plans of returning to go study medicine later on in life?
No, I gave up on that dream long ago. The plans never crossed my mind afterwards. Even when I tried to work in the hospital those days to try my hands on what it would be like to be a medical doctor, I couldn’t spend more than four days there. It was then I began to realise that medicine isn’t my thing. I love having students around me, people that look up to me and I’m like a model and mentor to them. Something within me at the hospital back then told me I was in the wrong place, so I couldn’t continue with the hospital.
Recently, the UK Government had an opening for teachers, just as there was for doctors, is this something you will consider at a time?
Sincerely, I have been tempted sometimes to go for it and I would like to say “I will never say never” because when you talk about the adventures of Teach Chike, it is only an adventure when you tour the world. Maybe it is something I will consider but not in this close time. It may be later on just to go see how the place is, but right now, I am focused on the responsibilities of moulding these students over here. You know people are scared of coming to this part of the world to teach because of the low economic benefits. In fact, many still think I don’t know what I am doing for choosing the village over township. But I have found purpose here and this is where I want to be for now.
Although there are distractions to leave but despite these, I still see light at the end of the tunnel here. That light at the end of the tunnel is what is pushing me to still be here.
Being in the village has been the most rewarding moment of all my teaching life. Because being a city teacher, parents feel that you are being paid well for the work you do and even people that look up to you see you as a privileged person because you are in the city but coming down from the city to village, the scope has been changed. I am valued more for the things I do for the students here.
My presence here has attracted some appreciation and gift items to both me and my students from people who follow us online. Infact, I never knew teaching could be this rewarding until I came to the village.
Since I came to the village six months ago, they’ve not started paying me but I’ve not come online to shout that Teacher Chike is needy, because God has been blessing me through people.
On a lighter note, how do you manage your work life, social and personal life?
Teacher Chike is a very jovial person but I am also an introvert, I love my space very much. When I’m done with the public; the students and the crowd, I return to my house for ‘me time’.
Balancing my activities and personal life has not been very hard because my teaching and content creation life have become my personal life. So I do not have any other life aside from this. I hardly have time to socialise. Me going to see a friend is either for a business or for content shooting. I often schedule time for every one of my activities and sometimes I give extra efforts just to meet up with what I have to do depending on the workload.
How do you make your students advance academically in this computer age and time?
The greatest desire of learners is to be heard. Most times, teachers just teach without giving attention to hearing from the students to know what they want or have in mind. And I found out that every learner wants to do something that is interesting to them and that they are gifted in. Unfortunately, the school system in Africa does not permit that. All we care most of the time is to just teach these students what they should know not knowing that these students also have something they can do beyond what we teach them in class. Reading culture is largely on the decline among 21st century students because they now watch what happens on the internet. They go on TikTok and by the time they see their mates get rich for just dancing in front of a camera for TikTok, they’ll begin to wonder why they should bother themselves with reading. I found out that generally, they all want to start doing something that can give them the ability to express themselves out there and equally earn money like their mates on TikTok and the rest.
During our time, most of us learnt because our teachers had canes but the world isn’t like that anymore. So I had to devise a means to make school interesting for them and succeed in life. Some of them who participate in content creation with me, I ensure I monitor their performance academically and ensure that anyone of them who doesn’t do well academically is excluded from my shootings and before you know, they are all excelling in their academics. You see, no student is entirely useless. They all have something to offer. I remember how one of my students who performed very badly in mathematics made an A in the subsequent term just because of this strategy.
Again, I tell stories most of the time to get the students interested in what I teach them.
If you weren’t a teacher, what else would you have been doing?
I love animals but coming to Delta state I paused my activities with animals because I do not know their perception about animals here. I used to have dogs, rabbits, and rats most especially.
Although rearing them is quite expensive and I’m not financially stable for them now but when I become stable, I may incorporate it again and even begin to create contents with them.
During my relocation to Delta state, I had to let my rats go because I could not muster courage to kill them. I had black, white, brown, white and black, white and brown, white and yellow rats as the case may be. It was during the experiments I conducted on the rats that gave birth to the multiple coloured rats.
Is Teacher Chike Married, or Single and Searching?
(Laughs)…Teacher Chike is not married yet. But each time I have an opportunity to discuss this side of me, I always try to emphasise the fact that Teacher Chike is a village teacher and hasn’t got as much money as he should. You know, many people like Teacher Chike but not many people like what Teacher Chike is doing in the village. So, if they can remove me from the village, it will be fine for many but unfortunately, we are married to the rural setting already.
So, when I see the one who’s ready to accept the village part of me, I will marry her and once I do, you all will know.
Your message to aspiring teachers in Africa
One major thing about teaching is that the remuneration is quite poor, and I can’t advise anyone to avoid the path that brings money, because we all strive to get money at the end of the day. But in all, I advise aspiring teachers not to be distracted by the poor remuneration, but, see the myriad of needs to solve within the education sector, equip yourself well to solve those needs, push out what you do, and let people see them. Believe me, once people see what you do, you’ll get the necessary contacts you require to grow.
Coming from Abuja to this village, my salary dropped to half of what I was being paid. But that’s the sacrifice we have to make. And making this sacrifice at some point is not easy but there’s something we hope to achieve in the lives of these learners, and that’s what is pushing us. So when you have something to achieve, it shifts your focus from how much you are going to earn but if you are more concerned about what you’ll earn, then teaching is not for you.
Again, follow people who do well in the field you desire to be in. Watch and read about them.