My Teaching Life: “Teaching Is Life to Me and Runs in My Veins”

TK: If you had five minutes with a policymaker, what would you say?

BA: Teaching qualifications should be enforced for anyone who wants to go into the profession through the TRCN.

Anyone who is not professionally qualified should be banned from teaching in both public and private schools.

Teaching is a profession, and I believe people who want to practise it should have the required training and qualifications. Professional standards should apply to teachers just as they apply to people in other professions.

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

BA: A lot, especially in the way I behave and dress in public.

There was a day I dressed shabbily on my way to work, and when I got to the Okada park, the Okada riders, who did not even know me, began to beckon at me, saying, “Teacher, teacher.”

I felt bad. That experience reminded me that as a teacher, you may be recognised anywhere, even in places where you least expect it. So, teaching has made me always conscious of the way I dress and behave in public, knowing fully well that I may unexpectedly meet students or their parents on my way.

The profession has, therefore, influenced how I present myself outside the school environment.

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

BA: There are different encounters and stories I will never forget based on my interaction with students over the years.

However, I will never forget the day a student walked up to me, looked at me boldly, pointed at me and said that I would die the following day.

Initially, I was scared, but I later rejected her so-called decree, called her and disciplined her. I continue to live today by the special grace of God, after so many years.

It was one of those unexpected encounters with a student that stayed with me because teaching exposes you to different personalities, behaviours and experiences.

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

BA: I want them to remember my stance on examination malpractice and discipline.

I have always believed that students should achieve success through the right means. Discipline is also important because it helps students develop the right attitude towards learning and life.

I hope that, even many years from now, my students will remember that I stood firmly for doing what is right and discouraged anything that could negatively affect their character and future.

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

BA: I am satisfied and happy as a professional teacher.