In a very interesting conversation we had with one of our fairly new English tutors, Ms Susan Nwachukwu, she said a lot about her passion for engaging students, whether they are classified as difficult or not. Let’s dive into a summary of this conversation:
Tell us about yourself
My name is Susan Nwachukwu, and I’m a graduate of Linguistics from Unilorin. I teach English Language and literature in a Secondary school in Ibadan. I’m also currently getting my PGD in Education from the University of Ibadan. I’m a businesswoman, and I am also very passionate about my work as a teacher because I have a great ability to relate well with different kinds of people; children, adults, teens, name it. Let me state an example.
Recently, I had to stop tutoring one of my SS2 students, Shawn, because he had to go to the boarding house. Then I got a new student that had apparently been giving other tutors issues. It was quite funny to me because I honestly don’t believe that there’s any difficult child. I eventually began to tutor him, and I honestly don’t think he’s difficult. I’ve come to understand that kids will always play, and it’s up to me as a teacher to know the right way to pass my message across in the midst of their play.
Why do you teach?
When I was in the University, I wanted to become a principal. I didn’t really want to teach or lecture. But my great ability to relate and engage people quite well has helped me embrace it. It’s just quite unfortunate that teachers in Nigeria aren’t really respected or flourishing as they should. Teaching is so beautiful for me. The way my students are always super excited to see me in school every morning and always have one story or the other to tell me. Being able to just give children free access to you and get them to trust you and trust your judgement is what really stands out for me.
Tell us about your teaching journey with one of your students on Gradely.
I can tell you about Sean. Shawn is a very interesting student because he always anticipates our sessions. Teaching him literature was so beautiful because it became a reality; it was more than just reading books. We sometimes even forget that we’re just talking about books because the class is so fun and we’re learning so much. We talk like friends during our tutor sessions and he’s really good at taking the initiative, even when I don’t expect him to.
And to be honest, students can also be quite funny. When you’re pretty down-to-earth with them, they can begin to take you for granted; I don’t condone such and there are ways I’m also able to manage it. But it made me super glad that Sean wasn’t like that in any way. There was a time that he wasn’t in a very good mood in one of our sessions, and he was quite unresponsive throughout. But in the next class, without me pointing it out, he apologized and explained himself.
And with one of my new students, Joshua, I’m having a very good feeling about him. We’ve had one class so far, and he was very excited. He was a bit fussy, but he’s quite sharp and interesting to speak to. I really enjoyed the class.
What class do you teach in your physical school?
I teach JSS3, SS1 and SS2 classes.
What’s your day-to-day life as a teacher in the traditional school system?
I get to school in the mornings, have the assembly, and then I begin teaching. I take classes, prepare my lesson notes, and then I have to monitor my class as a JSS1 class teacher. I also do extra lessons sometimes, and when I come home I tutor some students on Gradely.
How do you prepare for a tutor session?
I simply just work around the scheme of work for the particular grade that I’m teaching. I use it to prepare my notes and materials and deliver them in class. I also sometimes share these materials with them and I give homework and tests with the assessment tools on Gradely.
If you would like to get a free 60-minute tutor session with Ms Susan or any of our committed and experienced tutors on Gradely, please book one here.
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Eniola Makinde
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