My “Good Teacher”

You can see that my “good teacher” is in quotes. I have put it in quotes because, it eventually boils down to my perspective and so, what a good teacher is to me might not be what it is to another.

Mr. Okrinya comes to mind when I reflect back on who my good teacher would be. He was my mathematics teacher and he sure made mathematics as simple as ABC.

Mr Okrinya was charismatic, he came into the classroom with so much energy as if to conquer any phobia for mathematics. He composed songs that were like victory/ war chants that were sung before any class would begin. These chants automatically gave us indomitable spirits.

He was also very disciplined; he had his rules and we would abide by them and were in no way under any type of fear. He made the classroom comfortable. By comfortable I mean that there were no smart or dull students in Mr Okrinya’s class, everyone was a solution provider.

One of his popular charges to us was “ You were born ONLY to solve problems”. That got us ready; we knew why we were born and we were already living it- right there in his class.

Technology in classrooms had not been this good and yet Mr Okrinya made history. He was the first teacher in the history of my school to lead the Junior class, (that would be year 9 in the National curriculum) in an external examination where everyone of us had undisputed As across board.

I must mention that Mr Okrinya did not have the qualification to teach that level. He eventually did have all his required qualifications and taught my class all through to the end of our secondary school.

May I mention that his methods of teaching, personality and charm didn’t change as his qualifications grew. To this effect, I still hold my reservation as to whether qualifications make good teachers.

My take remains the same and I have no reconsideration as to what makes Mr Okrinya a good teacher. In our annual alumni meetings and reunions, Mr Okrinya still unanimously emerges the best teacher; that goes a long way to show that others have the same conclusions about him.

Carita Osteen-Ejiasa

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Bluestocking, Humanitarian, Counsellor, Educator, critiquer per excellence, Rebuilder of our world!