My Teaching Life: “Teaching Has Been a Lifelong Journey of Turning Knowledge into Transformation”

TK: Has this job affected your life outside the classroom?

TSE: Absolutely. Teaching has shaped the way I parent, lead, communicate, build relationships and even conduct business.

It has taught me patience. It has taught me to listen. It has taught me that people learn differently and that one approach cannot work for everyone.

It has also influenced my entrepreneurial journey. I eventually realised that my knowledge, experience and passion could be transformed into programmes, books, consulting services, coaching and other platforms that could reach people beyond the physical classroom.

Teaching didn’t remain my profession. It became the lens through which I see life.

TK: What’s the student story you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life?

TSE: I would be careful not to invent a particular student’s story that isn’t mine to tell publicly.

But the stories I carry most deeply are those of people who initially doubted themselves and later returned to tell me that something I taught, said or modelled helped them see themselves differently.

For me, that is the real reward. I may not remember every lesson I have taught, and my students may not remember every topic I taught them, but when someone tells me, “You made me believe I could do this,” that stays with me.

Those moments remind me that teaching is ultimately about human transformation.

TK: Has this job affected your life outside the classroom?

TSE: Yes, profoundly.

Teaching has influenced my leadership, parenting, entrepreneurship, writing, consulting and relationships.

It has also expanded my understanding of impact. I began by teaching individuals. Then I started influencing groups, schools, teachers, leaders and organisations.

Today, I am thinking about something much larger: How can the knowledge accumulated from decades of teaching and leadership contribute to better educational policies across Africa?

That question is shaping the next chapter of my life.

TK: What do you want your students to remember about you, 20 years from now?

TSE: I don’t necessarily want them to remember every subject I taught.

I want them to remember how I made them feel about their own possibilities.

I want them to say:

“She believed in me.”

“She challenged me to become better.”

“She didn’t just give me knowledge; she helped me discover what I could do with it.”

And if I can influence educators and policymakers, I want the impact to go even further, so that generations of learners I may never personally meet can benefit from better teachers, better schools and better education systems.

TK: In one sentence, how would you describe your teaching life?

TSE: My teaching life has been a lifelong journey of turning knowledge into transformation, one learner, one teacher, one leader, one institution and now one education system at a time.