CELEBRATING IMPACT:- MR EMMANUEL

Mr. Emmanuel was one of my favourite teachers in secondary school.

He was our Christian Religious Studies (CRS) teacher. HE WAS A VERY GOOD TEACHER.

That subject he taught; CRS is a subject that most students usually find boring and uninteresting . But I can assure you that CRS is not boring, only the teacher teaching it can make it appear to be so.

THE WAY AND MANNER A TEACHER TEACHES A SUBJECT CAN DETERMINE WHETHER STUDENTS WILL LIKE IT OR NOT. Also, have you noticed that if a student dislikes a teacher, it affects the student's attention span on that subject and by extension affects their performance in that subject?

That takes me back to Mr. Emmanuel. There was never a dull moment in this man's classes despite the fact that he teaches one of the subjects students term 'boring'. Muslims or Islamic students who saw how he explained the topics in Christian Religious Studies and gesticulates always snuck into his classes so as not to be left out of the fun that is usually enjoyed in his classes.

TEACHING WELL ALONE DIDN'T MAKE HIM A GOOD TEACHER. NO! He always noticed the students countenance and jeered them up whenever he noticed they felt sad. I believe he did this because he knew all of his efforts will be wasted if he teaches a sad student. Hmmn, WISDOM! He knew a sad and unhappy student can hardly assimilate anything, so he works on your countenance before teaching you.

All these and more made him the favourite of many!

He wasn't just a good teacher, he was a good mentor as well, because I ended up being a CRS teacher too. I WAS ABLE TO PUT ALL I LEARNT FROM HIM TO USE AND I BECOME THE FAVOURITE OF A WHOLE LOT OF STUDENTS.

Apart from that, Mr. Emmanuel succeeded in contributing to my healthy self esteem and I guess I was one of his favourite students too because he usually sang to me a song that goes thus:

"If you marry better wife,

Na ororo!

Ororo no dey fade,

Elizabeth no go fade!".

Most of you can testify that there is TRUTH in the lyrics of that song .

Whenever he sang that song, I usually danced and grin from ear to ear out of excitement. Why wouldn't I love such a teacher? He made such a huge impact in my life AND HE CAN NEVER BE FORGOTTEN even though he is no more.

Take note, SOME PEOPLE ARE NATURALLY GIFTED IN TEACHING WHILE SOME ARE NOT! If you are not gifted in teaching and you find yourself in that profession, go for trainings, attend seminars, BE A BETTER YOU BECAUSE THE LIVES OF HUNDREDS OR EVEN THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS DEPEND ON IT.

Mr. EMMANUEL LEFT AN INDELIBLE INK ON THE SAND OF TIME.

As a teacher, what impact are you making?

Are you building lives or you are pulling lives down?

Are you mentoring students or you are busy crushing their self esteem? It is more than 22 years now yet, I and many others can't forget Mr. Emmanuel.

Dear teacher, will you be remembered for the lives you touched positively or for the ones you destroyed?

This is a FOOD FOR THOUGHT. If you have been doing it wrongly, IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO DO TO DO THE RIGHT THING.

Kindly, do the needful. May God help us all.

Written by

© Elizabeth Oduwaiye

Life Skills/Youth Counsellor

Writer and Author