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Teaching - The Fruits of My Labour.
Image Source. https://www.pexels.com/photo/sliced-fruits-on-tray-1132047/ **I** am always excited by Jonica's prompts. She knows how to dig deep and make her prompts relational to every aspect of life. One of the major reasons why I always love participating in it. I wish you strength, always, mama. Anyone can participate and there is no time limit to it. To participate: Tell all of us all about the fruits of your labour! The rules to the prompt are simple. Write anything about **The Fruits of Labor** Write **100% original** content Write at least **600 words** so Rusty will come to reward you Submit your story to **PromptlyJonica** here. https://read.cash/c/promptlyjonica-b4a0 **Tag** me @JonicaBradley **Have fun**! I think I must have mentioned before that I taught briefly in 2009 and ended it in 2010. My first experience with teaching was after graduation and there is this thing we do here in Nigeria called **National Youth Service Corps** *(NYSC)*. It's a mandatory one year service to the nation where you will be posted to another state to learn the culture and ways of living. It's a way of making everyone bond and blend to foster the '*One Nigeria*' and '*Unity*' tags. The idea has been thwarted now because when most people are posted to another state, they 'work' it back into another state of their preference. I was lucky to be posted to a place that wasn't far off but civilization was far from the place when I 'served'. That was when and where I had my first encounter with teaching. Teaching was a challenge there and I must say that I didn't enjoy any reward of the fruit of my labour in teaching those students. They favoured farming over coming to school and it shows in their attitude the day they **DECIDED** to show up in school. I couldn't live that way and that's why I got another part-time job in a commercial bank. I still wanted to understand how teaching works and because I love connecting with others, I got a teaching job shortly after I finished my service year. I taught Economics and I must say, I love my students. I had so many classes to teach but I was enjoying it. I didn't complain really but the major stress is when you are about to grade their scripts hahaha. I was given senior classes and we had back then, 3 senior classes which I was taking. The first senior class that we call **S.S1** had three arms, the same with **S.S2** but only **S.S3** had 2 arms. So, I taught **8 classes** back then. My students loved me. They would always flock around my table in the staff room that made so many teachers complain. As expected, the females were coming more than the males and it made some teachers uncomfortable hahaha. They felt I was having something to do with the students. I laughed anytime I see their reactions because how is it possible for someone to have something to do with how many students again? It shows you the kind of society we live in. So, I was dedicated to my students so nothing they said matters to me. They even changed my staff room to a distant place and still, the students were undeterred 🤣🤣😂. There were times either due to public holidays that our classes didn't hold, anytime they had free time, they would rush to my table and ask me to teach them. I felt bad one day when another teacher told them he wanted to use their free time and they lied that I had already booked it. They ran to my table and asked me to come. It was when I was halfway teaching them that the teacher came to verify and I got a wind of what happened. My reward came - what made the whole thing a wonderful experience and I was delighted. For the few ones in **S.S2** that joined the **S.S3** in their government examination, none of them failed. Not even a single **F**. They all passed, even the students I felt wasn't strong enough at that time based on my interactions with them. I felt so fulfilled and excited. It required even the Principal and the Proprietor to call me into their office to appreciate my effort to make those students pass. I feel it was easy because they love me so they paid attention to everything I said just like when you hate a teacher, even if that teacher explains in the best way possible, no one would get it. I felt justified, rewarded and happy, not because I was given a monetary reward (even though they promised it but they still didn't give it) nor because I was receiving a huge salary but because I put my heart there for those students, I put time and effort out even beyond my job description because I saw them as my brothers and sisters and I was rewarded with their efforts too. One of them messaged me many years ago and told me he went to the university to study Economics just because of me - my kind of person, the way I taught the subject and make him fall in love with it. Funny enough, I still chat and speak with a whole lot of them even to this day. It's funny how life works and I feel I got the reward for the labour I put out there. The fruit of my labour came in handy and I milked it to perfection. 😍😍😍 *Thank you for your time.*
23 comments
Teaching is am interesting job and very much special when you are teaching. That is my profession and I love it so much. My students equally loved me alot.
That's amazing. It's rewarding to know you are imparting knowledge on others.
Çongratulations! The whole faculty must have been surprised and wondered how you did it. I agree with what you said there that when students don't like the teacher, they won't understand a thing because I experienced it myself. No matter how I tried, I couldn't so I ended up dropping the subject, lol! Glad to know that you're still milking the fruits of your labour up to now as you still maintained communication with your students. Amazing!
Yaaaaaay! Thank you so much, my friend. I am glad we still have that line of communication. Funny enough, I saw an old picture of one of them and sent it to her also tonight.
That's really great! Have a good night out there!
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Thank you so much.
It's really good in the heart when you know your students love you, right my friend? Same with you my students also love to incircled me during our vacant time. They will always love to be with me and have chitchats and have tecahing time during their vacant time.
That's absolutely cool, my friend. Yes, it's a good feeling and I am happy with their desire to learn everything.
This answers why you are so good at writing 😁 hello there teacher..
🤣🤣😂😂🤣😂 Hello, Janey ❤❤❤
This was beautiful and powerful, you sowed into their lives big time not really you reaping in terms of money but complete happiness....this shows the love they had back for you cuz of your dedication towards their improvement. This is a good prompt
Thank you so much for your kind words. I feel really excited.
You're welcome Ola...
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So good to hear teachers who poured out their lives to their students. The enthusiasm and welcoming 'aura' show. I can recall back that I will only feel comfortable approaching teachers who have a friendly demeanor and whose 'well scrutinized' daily actions weren't that of a disciplinarian. That's how a learning environment should be - welcoming. Teachers have a heavy responsibility not only to teach but to impart enthusiasm, positivity, and purpose to the students so they are prepared to take on the brutal world they are about to encounter. Seems like you have been successful in doing so. Well done.
That's so true. We are to provide a conducive learning environment that will make them thrive in and out of school. Thank you so much for your kind words.
From my childhood i idealized teaching as my profession. I love teaching so much. Its a good profession for everyone especially for girls. Now i am a teacher ❤
That's amazing and I am glad you chose that path to impart knowledge. It's highly fulfilling. Well done.
Your students were very fortunate to have a dedicated teacher like you. That they sought you out even outside of classes showed how much they appreciated what you do for them.
Absolutely. I feel blessed. Thanks a lot for this.
You are an awesome teacher for your students love you. It just shows what kind of teacher you are and how you give importance to educating kids. I hope more and more teachers will be as passionate as you are so more students will be as learned. We can't solely base in on purely academics alone but it's also on the interaction and treatment we give to the kids.
Absolutely... It shouldn't be based solely on academics. We should prepare them also for the future. Thank you so much for your kind words and also for your sponsorship 😭😭😭. Your kindness touched me. Thank you so much.