Maybe it's the time of the year, but this profession that I supposedly love is not at all what I thought it was. The students are uniformly and universally irritating, shallow, and disinclined to work or thought.

My colleagues, although mostly harmless, are small-minded and petty. The few that publish are insular and invisible on campus. The ones who bluster and shout don't work at all, but tell everyone that they do. They crowd into each other's offices and convince themselves that they're the anointed ones, the one who really care. And when you turn your back, you can be sure they're judging you.

The life of the mind? My day consists of babysitting and busywork. I race from meeting to meeting with committees that literally do nothing but discuss how much better they are than other committees. My main campus-wide committee has met 9 times this year and we've done nothing but killed time and trees.

Maybe I'm foolish for have expecting more. How did this profession attract so many small people?

And I'd talk about the students more if I hadn't already given up on them. In a class of 30, you can be sure that there will be only 1-2 who actually want to work, actually will respect the process enough to listen. The rest are so reluctant to work or read or listen or pay attention, that I might as well be talking to a pack of yowling pups.

So, what on earth am I doing, and why do I care?

Teacher,
well don't put the heavy load on yourself, I taught as a Youth Corper, did it for free even though i was Paid

N7,500 still i considered it a favor to the community i served. Students are all the same except the few who are in it because

they know the value of education. Just take it easy with yourself as i said early. It sound like you are a lecturer, if so

what i will advice is add fun to your teaching crack jokes to get the attention students for a while and then continue with your

teaching or always tell them they are having a test after the class, it worked for me.

One other way i thought was always asking questions in class especially to those not paying attention, i don't hesitate to send

students out of my class.

Anyway am not going to be teaching in a class for the Next 20 years, the only time i will teach now is in a seminar, if you pay

the registration fee maybe £10,000 and don't want to pay attention I will have no problem with that. So man find your passion or look else

where.

Perhaps you should spend more time trying to understand your students and make them interested in what you're teaching? And perhaps you'll feel rewarded when you see them expressing more interest in learning as a result of your encouragement?

@ Sil,

I feel your pain I know somehow one or two ppl have been in dat position,I taught @ a community primary sch in d creeks of Nembe in Bayelsa, definitely the kids mst be far away from the reality of civilisation if not for TVs sorry for d digression I just think you must be lucky to be teaching on a campus.

I was once employed to to teach in MAPOLY Mech Engr Department after youth service,it never was in anyway different, safe for d different person I was, the other lecturers were already complaining abt my boring past time of reading whenever there was an allowance, of course they engage in chit chat most time.

I actually had a project in plan for online exam preps @ time, and I gues it engaged me alot before I finally left, bottomline get yourself engaged in something you have passions for even though it might not be related to school work.

On your disppointments,

The country has been churning out graduates and school leavers that knows next to nothing abt what they are into,I mean its high time the education policy changed and accomodate pure lessons in creative ventures , the sports are suffering,technicians are still learning on d streets probably having wasted time in school doing nothing but attending formal classes that has nothing to do with vocations.

I mean its ugly, the same scenario is playing out in the goverment, ppl dat got nothing to do or has no clue what governance is about are @ d helm of affairs, u know wat they bandwagon effect,majority are there to make dirty money, the objective of governance has bn thrown on the street just like pure water bags on our street make a lot mess.


U know what? Just form your government i.e do ur own thing,I am a capitalist and right now I think dis is wat dis countr needs.

I`m sure seun is already doing that, peace.

need.

I can feel you. It depends one the students you teach, Another thing that makes it boring is the salary scale. Some private schools will make you work like a jackass, tell u to take 5 classes, pay u peanuts