Today, we have a dynamic duo delivering effective professional development programs to help teachers shape career-long learning and promote growth mindset within the classroom. They teach us that Educators’ collective growth has a greater impact on student learning and nation building. Meet Teacher Emmanuel and Teacher Ogechi.

Teacher Emmanuel

Emmanuel Adejuwonlo Tugbiyele is a multi-talented educationist: a teacher, a voice-over artist, an actor, a writer and a podcaster.

He teaches at Children’s International School, Lekki and has been on this teaching journey for over six years. He teaches the Year Three class.

My passion is to bridge relevance with means, using technology to facilitate education.

Every single day as my class starts at 7:30am, the children and I read an 11-commandment mantra which reads thus: ‘In CIS, I will follow directions quickly. I will raise my hands for permission to speak. I will raise my hands for permission to leave my seat. I will always make smart choices. I will always keep my dear teachers happy. I take responsibility for all of my belongings. Everyday, in every way, (child name) gets better and better!

Also, I always encourage my children to embrace the use of technology in learning. At 7-8 years old, a good number of my students already know how to edit on PDF and can engage in shared writing on Google Docs.

What drives me as a teacher is my ability to soar on the wings of technology, while facilitating learning for the children. Technology/IT is a big inspiration to me.

I run a podcast series titled ‘Pay Attention!’. This podcast series is a memoir created to gear teachers towards excellent service delivery in education. It can be listened to at anchor.fm/emmanuel-tugbiyele.

Also, my fiancée and I co-ordinate the AdoredOge Education Consult, together with The TABETER Platform dedicated to the continuous professional development of teachers.

At first, I became a teacher because I thought that I could use my knowledge to make some money for myself; since I was naturally ‘gifted’ in English Language, and I did not have a job at the time, I just thought it would be wise to stop waiting for the ideal job and start making money teaching English in a school in my neighbourhood.

However as time went on, I discovered my love for technology and also discovered that children learn differently, and as such they would need more than the orthodox means of learning to be on task. Now, my focus is gradually shifting from being in the classroom to being in the decision-making process, where the curriculum and modes of learning are beginning to get redefined, using technology to deliver unforgettable learning experiences.

One of my favourite teachers was Ms. Ngozi Nwanya (now Mrs. Esumobi). She was my Biology teacher at the time. One thing that struck me at the time was her brilliance. She could teach any aspect of Biology without having to look through her lesson notes. She was passionate; she had an excellent subject knowledge and motivated me to know more than I should. I became so interested in her classes and always looked forward to it.

My most meaningful day as a teacher was when the students organised a full blown surprise party for my teacher and I in class just within the class party we had in appreciation of our awesomeness towards them!

They knew our birthdays – 14th and 24th July for my teacher and I respectively, so they organised a party for us right in class, baked and brought a cake each for my teacher and I to class without our knowledge, made crowns for us, bought us gifts and had every other part of the ‘party within the party’ sorted out.

They also gave us cards with beautiful words that we both can never forget.

It made me realise the importance of relevance and usefulness towards our learners.

I love teaching anything on Grammar and Punctuation! It just gives me this shrill feeling because I love the topic so much and keep developing mastery over it by the day.

The best teacher resource I have ever come across is the Epic! app. This app is so wonderful, that it infuses facetime (like Zoom), an assignment section (like Google Classroom and Edmodo), ability to download some tasks as worksheets or answer them directly on your computer by typing out the answers in the provided box. What’s more, you can also submit voice notes as your task, as long as that is what is expected of the learner. A close second would be Microsoft Teams, with the key feature being the ability to read out the tasks for SEN or visually impaired learners.

I don’t particularly have a favourite food because I love to have a touch of everything, so yes, I am a foodie! But I can tell you that when I see the following, I almost can not resist: Golden Morn (I can exhaust a pack in a day!), Pounded Yam and Egusi/vegetable soup, Orange and lemon drinks, asun, small chops, spaghetti, beans and gari (perhaps this is my favourite food)… I just love crunchy, exciting food.

What do I do on a non-school day? Ah! Na sleep sure pass, because I wake very early every day. If not that, watching movies. I’d rather watch your book in a movie. I am a movie enthusiast.

Strategies I use to recharge and refresh are to study the Bible, pray, or better still, watch some more movies. I see many things that ordinary viewers don’t see and get inspired through them. Some things I’ve embarked on started from inspirations from movies. I have this ‘second eye’ that I use to watch.

One great advice I will give a newbie teacher is to first secure a second, third and maybe fourth stream of income. I have seen some excited teachers who just put all their eggs in one basket, without delving into other areas of life. People get this thing wrong, that teaching is only about what you can do for them in class. No! Teaching is modelling! What other skills can you encourage your children to have? If they ask you what else you do, or if there is any other thing you do with your life, what would it be? The children already have eyes to detect that it seems our job is so boring, looking after other people’s children. They think we don’t have lives! Create one by having other means of income to add to your salary to make yourself look good and not beggarly like they think of us.

My teaching mantra is: eXcellent, Celestial and Inimitable: be an unforgettable teacher by being an excellent model, using technology.

You can find me on: Facebook: Jayde Curlz; Twitter: @JaydeCurlz; Instagram: @jaydecurlz

Teacher Ogechi

My name is Ogechi Favour Nwoke. I am a native of Amiyi-Obilohia village, Isiukwuato Local Government Area in Abia State, Nigeria. My parents moved to and settled in Ojo Local Government Area in Abia State, Nigeria when I was two years old. I had my primary education in a private school called Patbest Nursery and Primary School from 1994-1999, Afromedia, Okokomaiko, Ojo, Lagos. I attended a Government secondary school called Ajangbadi High School from 1999 – 2005 in Afromedia. I proceeded to Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Ijanikin, Lagos to study Economics and Mathematics and bagged my NCE certificate in 2010. Then I studied BSc Economics at University of Lagos from 2015-2018 at Akoka, Yaba, Lagos. I’ve lived all my life here in Lagos. And I practically have no regret about it. Lagos is a big city that helps you to concentrate and compete with top guys in the job.

I became a teacher because I want to cause a definite change in the lives of Nigerian and African children. I am interested in the welfare of children living in Low Income Communities in Nigeria and Africa who have no access to the beauty of digital education. I grew up in a Middle income community, I had neighbours whose parents are not too learned. My mom was a teacher and businesswoman while my dad worked as a Building Engineer. Most of my childhood friends came to our house to do their homework after school. Majority of them finds their way to our family house on weekends. I enjoyed every bit of those activities, because they usually come back beaming with quality smiles all over their faces because they scored great scores. There are times, I’d just be teaching myself and make the walls of our house my board. I’d say everything my teacher taught me in class the previous day. One day, our landlord at the time called my parents to a brief meeting. He told them that they should not divert my attention from teaching. That he has watched me over the years and saw that I don’t struggle to teach the children that comes to me for aid. They both said they have been observing me too. In 2004, while in SS2 I made up my mind that I’d become an educationist. Meanwhile, I wrote notes on the board for my classmates from JSS1-SS3. I served as the class captain and because of my writing skills, I became the favourite of my teachers. It’s safe to say that I started seeing the contents of a lesson plan from 1999-2005. I want to make indelible marks in the lives of any child that crosses my path, either in the classroom or within the school environment. I’m a strong pioneer of making sure that children are taught with age-appropriate learning materials so that they’d become the best they can be per time. I love teaching Literacy. I enjoy teaching Grammar, Comprehension and Creative Writing. This is because, teaching these three aspects has taught me to pay attention to my speaking skills, writing skills and word collation skills.

The best teacher resource I have ever come across are Twinkl.com, primary resources.uk etc. They give me the needed resources to cater for the categories of learners in my classroom.

I teach Literacy and Social Studies in Year 2. My school operates on Subject-teacher basis. I teach all the aspects of Literacy from Monday to Friday alongside Social Studies. Now, I enjoy teaching Grammar and Comprehension a lot. I share my children into different learning levels – High Achievers, Middle Achievers and Low Achievers. I also prepare differentiated worksheets and videos so that my children will truly understand the concepts taught. I do so while teaching all aspects of Literacy. While teaching Social Studies, I usually love to come to class with real life learning materials, I remember teaching my children about aspects of the ethnic groups in Nigeria, I had to dress like an Igbo woman. I love Independence Day celebrations in school a lot, it helps us to truly learn all aspects of the minor and major ethnic groups in Nigeria. Now, I remember teaching my children some folklore songs, I had to sing a popular Yoruba song, my associate teacher helped me with the songs, I danced happily to the beats made by both my children and her, the children were at loss whether I’m an Igbo or Yoruba.

Funny enough, I refer to myself as a Passionate and Certified Classroom Teacher, Education Consultant, Serial Entrepreneur etc. Now, I started out as a care-giver fifteen years ago. I saw the way my Supervisor at the time related with children from rich and poor homes. The segregation and attention was too visible. I vowed not to practice same. My boss at the time saw my dedication and hard work, he kept me in charge of typing question papers before taking me into the classroom. From there, I taught in another primary school, and then a secondary school before relocating to the Island in 2012. Over the years, my major drive has been to teach, mentor and help children to be adequately informed to compete favourably with their peers both here in Nigeria, Africa and around the globe. The same energy is what I infuse into my teacher training programmes both paid and on volunteer basis. I have seen tremendous result over the years and I don’t intend to stop until I breathe my last. Today, I see my past students and Mentees doing exceptionally well in all areas of their endeavours, it leaves unending joy in my heart.

As a teacher, it is my hope that children living in Low Income Communities in Nigeria and Africa who do not have access or have hope of having access to the beauty of digital education will someday become inclined to the beauty of digital education. It is my hope that I will use my education subsidiaries to mitigate the gap between the rich and the poor.

There are three major quotes that has helped me over the years as a 21st century educator: a. I can do all things, not some things, through Christ who strengthens me; the Matthew 6:33 code: Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, all other things – others are dying to get shall be duly added unto you;  Stay away from negative vibes and energy. Negativities blur the beauty of any great adventure or investment in life;  No matter what you go through in life or within the school environment, don’t let anybody tell you otherwise, You ARE THE BEST!!

During the Ebola breakout in 2015, I started the AdoredOge Education Consult on a pro-bono basis, I reached out to three schools, two on the mainland and one here on the Island. I used these schools to test-run all the skills I had gathered over the years. I organised teacher training programmes for teachers and school owners. In January, 2018 I became the Co-CEO of The Tabeter Platform (Towards a Better Teacher) together with my Fiancé – Emmanuel Adejuwonlo Tugbiyele. This platform has helped over 500 teachers both on WhatsApp and Telegram to uphold best practices in their various learning environments. It caters for teachers within and outside the shores of Nigeria.

On Saturday 18th July, 2020 the AdoredOge Education Consult organised the Eastern Educators Summit 1.0 for educators based in South Eastern, Nigeria. The aim is help us to mitigate the learning gap in low income communities in that region. I embarked on a five years research that ended recently, I found out that these teachers need to come up to speed with their counterparts in South Western, Nigeria.

Educators are encouraged to register for subsequent summits on the Eastern Educator Summit Group: https://t.me/easterneducatorssummit

The most meaningful experience I have experienced so far is during this dreadful Covid-19 pandemic. No one has ever lived or taught in a pandemic era before. During the outbreak of malaria, HIV/AIDS etc. was not as stand-still as it is right now.

I have to hail educators worldwide, for standing strong and solidly behind their children and ensuring that proper and adequate learning takes place across boards.

I remember my volunteer project with one of the education teams I serve as the Chief Operating Officer in March, 2020. I travelled to two local government areas in Ogun State, Nigeria to train over 500 teachers living in Low Income Communities on the importance of integrating digital education in teaching and learning processes. This is because, the 21st century child or children are digital natives that needs a digitally-aware educator to navigate their learning experience in and outside the classroom. I reminded them that the world had become a global village. Soon, everything we interact with in the classroom will go online. I did not know that those days were closer than I thought.

I started learning how to use different apps like: The Zoom App, Google Meet, Google Classroom, Epic App etc. so that I’d remain relevant in the education sector. We had to organise series of free trainings on the Tabeter Platform on WhatsApp and Telegram every weekend so that other teachers will be able to acquaint themselves with the relevant knowledge needed to teach online effectively. I remember how uneasy it was for me to use the Zoom App to teach my children for the first time, however through those trainings and some organised by my school, I was able to brace up and meet up with the new system of teaching my pupils.

Teaching in this era has taught me not to close my mind to new possibilities. It might be challenging at first, but with constant practice, you’d become a professional using these apps.

If our children can navigate these apps without stress, teachers should do more. The more you know the better you’d deliver your lessons and wholesome learning will take place. While teaching, I encourage my children to participate actively by using the chat section. This will enable me to know what level a child is. Now, some children can tell you the meaning of an Adverb verbally but might not type out same correctly in the chat section. Also, I use the break-out rooms feature on zoom, it helps me to share my children into groups and engaging them in different tasks to test their knowledge. I send out videos on a particular topic a day before to their parents so that they’d watch it and have a fore knowledge about the next day’s work schedule. I prepare beautiful slides that makes learning a captivating and unforgettable experience. I made an award-winning video containing a brief write-up about each child’s non-academic abilities with a soft music playing on the background using the ‘In Shot App’ on my phone. It caught the attention of the whole school. My Head teacher applauded my effort, same with my colleagues and Year 2 Ruby parents.

My favorite teacher growing up? Wow! I had lots of favourite teachers while growing up. While in primary school, Mrs Esobe was my favourite teacher. She taught me in Nursery 1 and Nursery 2. She was very hospitable and she taught me very well. Ms Joy Clement was my favourite teacher in primary 2. I remember how she took good care of us and ensured we had total unity, co-operation and became as joyful as possible. I remember her teaching us a song titled: ‘You have to try a little kindness’. As I type, I remembered all the lyrics of the song. I had a great time with my Ghanaian teachers, Mr Asu and Mr Adjei of blessed memory. In secondary school, my favourite teachers were: Mrs King – she was a banker turned teacher who taught us how to do the right things at the right time and in the right situation. She made us love English language a lot. She modelled great communication skills for us. I had a great time with Mrs Owoturo, she taught us Physical and health education. She was very agile and active. She practically taught me patiently on how to write using her lesson plan.

I had great times with Mr Adé Fasanya, he made Introductory technology a worthy adventure for us. Mrs George taught us Home Economics, infact she prepared our minds for puberty. When I started seeing my monthly flow, I went to her for advice and I was glad I did. In her words, if I visit your house as my students, I’d visit your toilet, the condition of your toilet will tell me if you’re neat or not. From there, I’d decide whether I’d drink water or not. Growing up was fun and the classroom was a great place to go to every school day.

On Sunday 13th July, 2020 The AdoredOge Education Consult introduced her newest subsidiary called ‘Education Media Hub’. The main purpose of creating this subsidiary is to encourage all stakeholders in the education industry based here in Nigeria and Africa to reach a wider audience about their upcoming projects, programmes and services via paid advertising. You will agree with me that adequate and targeted advert placements is a very important feature in creating the needed awareness for upcoming events.

For more enquiries, kindly click the link below:

t.me/educationmediahub

Or send us private message on:

08178758661 WhatsApp only

08069481933 Mobile

08165265175 WhatsApp & Mobile

adoredoge@gmail.com

emmanuel.tugbiyele@gmail.com

You can find me on any of my social media handles below:

adoredoge@gmail.com – email

Ogechi Favour Nwoke – LinkedIn

Ogechi Nwoke – Facebook

@OgechiFavourNw1 – Twitter

@adoredoge_educational_empress – Instagram

AdoredOge Education Consult – My Official Business Page on Facebook.