I’m not a physics teacher, I’m a teacher.
By Abdulrafiu Arikewuyo
Arguably, teachers are supposed to be the most successful people on the planet Earth.
Why?
Because nothing and I mean nothing works without knowledge. That means, life actually ‘starts’ with teachers.
But, why is the opposite the case?
Don’t tell me teachers’ reward is in heaven because heaven is meant for all of us including you — your reward is also in heaven.
I don’t know how the teaching profession gets to this point but I believe the table has turned to our advantage now. If only we are smart enough to observe it.
As a teacher, your earning capacity can only be limited by your creativity.
So, to solve this we have to redefine who a teacher is.
In the fourth industrial revolution, one of the leading economic factors is knowledge. Meaning, the more meaningful skill you have, the better your earning capacity.
This is where it gets interesting. Knowledge will not come on its own, someone has to impact it. And who is best at imparting knowledge if not the one that had been trained to do so — the teachers.
Therefore, as a teacher, since you are trained to impart knowledge to people and the people can only succeed with knowledge then, your success too is limitless.
What that means for you as a teacher is never to be limited to your domain knowledge, learn new skills all the time, and mix that with your teaching prowess to impact it in others.
The fact that you are an English teacher does not mean you can not be an expert in communication and train company staff in communication skills — one of the skills of the 21st century. As a math teacher, you can develop your skill in spreadsheet applications and develop a training path for that. Don’t just be a math teacher, be a teacher.
Understanding the world around us, expanding our horizons, and redefining our role as teachers is the solution to our current situation.
You have to deliberately change your role from that of a mere classroom ‘academic’ teacher to a versatile teacher. That way, you serve a wider audience with your teaching skills.
Therefore, I’m a teacher, not a Physics teacher.
Hopefully, in my next post, I will discuss the different ways you can take your knowledge to the market as a teacher.