FOR THE LOVE OF TEACHING!

I really did not want to be a teacher. Truthfully, my siblings and I derided my mummy for years for choosing to be a teacher considering all the well-paying jobs out there. We would look at her struggles—teaching, marking, invigilating, setting questions, counseling, mothering—and wonder why she chose to "punish" herself. Please, tell me why she would leave high-profile jobs and decide to be a "Glorified Nanny" and get paid a mere pittance with a sprinkle of insult from the principal who was bestowed the power to decide her fate. I remember watching her sweat over scripts she brought home and how we graciously offered to help, hoping to be partakers of the reward she would be getting in heaven because how else would I have seen the beauty in working like an elephant and eating like an ant? Every time people said that I had the attributes of a teacher just like my mum, my "God forbid" rose to high heavens. I just was not having it. You know what made it worse? Even house-owners abhorred the profession and saw them as liabilities, so why were these people telling me it was my calling? Why were they not hearing oil companies, banking industries, and the likes for me? It must be the earwax.

CALL NA CALL!

So how did I end up in this noble profession with this mindset? It is simple- a shift happened within the education space. A shift happened when individuals, who understood that teaching is the mother of all professions, took over the table. A shift materialized when organizations like the Nigerian Breweries PLC - Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund yielded to the call. Like they say - if the mountain will not go to Mohammed, Mohammed will go to the mountain. After all, call na call! Teaching, which for years, has been seen as the dregs of professions is now considered one of the most valued career choices.

You can argue with your keypads if you think otherwise, because tell me, what other profession will offer you a cash prize of 10 MILLION NAIRA, A CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT TRAINING ABROAD, and A BLOCK OF CLASSROOMS/COMPUTER LABORATORY for doing your job? Not just that, the first and second runner-ups also get 3 million and 2.5 million respectively. Not leaving out State Champions getting 1 Million Naira. No, counter me with one profession that will take your story from grass to grace in a day and let me swallow my Maltina-filled words. For every time others want to up the ante, MTOTY will say hold my can... because what in the world is this celebration of teachers? The strategic positioning that comes with this competition is mind-blowing. Trust me when I say MTOTY will turn you into a siren because your daily mantra will be - Wow! Wow! Wow!

The opportunities, the publicity, the support... PLEASE, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? What is taking you away from the beauty of being celebrated?

FEAR

I know, I know! The fear of the unknown outcome. What will people say if you do not eventually win? Are you good enough? You have not achieved enough to beat out others? I have been there and I will in no way invalidate your fear, but trust me when I say, I will pick a 1% chance of winning over not trying at all. What is the best outcome - You win, if you do not, you emerge runner-up and you take your beautiful prizes. If you still do not get this, you become a state champion and win your sumptuous 1 million Naira. Worse case scenario - you learn and try again later. Who would know? Was I singing like a canary when I was trying in 5 years and my calls were not picked? Who knew? For the times I was not getting in, did life cease? Was I not prepping for the big YES? If you let the words of naysayers get to you, you are only depriving yourself of what could be and listening to people who are afraid of the possibility of your victory. Pick up that APPLICATION FORM!

The Maltina Teacher of the Year Competition is one of the most impartial and unbiased competitions I have been in. It is never about your grandiose packaging or status. The objective is to get THAT ONE TEACHER that defines the true essence of the profession, not the most awarded prior to the competition. We have had relatively unknown people win - it is about the content and not the container. So, why are you afraid to pick up that APPLICATION FORM? Okay, you do not like writing essays, neither do most people. Nobody said the competition is looking for another Chinua Achebe or Wole Soyinka. Write your truth and give it to the right people to edit it. We even have software online that will help you edit for free. You do not speak good English? The one you speak in class is what? Egun? You see, that small quiet voice you are hearing is not from God, it is your own native voice drawing you into failing to try again. Pick up the Maltina Teacher of the Year Application Form today! Do not wait until it is too late and you see your colleague who told you they are not interested, lift the trophy.

It is my privilege, it is your privilege, it is our privilege and we will all enjoy it because we have worked hard and are deserving! Entries for the competition opened on Thursday, May 16, 2024, and will close on Friday, July 19, 2024. See you at the top.

Public Service Announcement

I will be organizing an offline and online workshop for this competition and other competitions in June. The date and time will be communicated soon.

Yours MTOTYly,

Adeola Adefemi