Today has come with a lot of surprises. I can't really imagine that people watch us so keenly. Even though they may not talk, they certainly observe and see every bit of what we do.
This morning, as I was returning to work from home, which is quite far from my workplace, I arrived later than usual. I typically get to work by 7:00 a.m., but today, I arrived at around 8:00 a.m. When I got to work, I found several tasks waiting for me. I had to supervise some students and ensure they swept the school compound and thoroughly cleaned the toilets. Before the students were done with the cleaning, the assembly had already ended, and the students had to quickly return to their classes to avoid missing the first lesson of the day.
At that point, I had to rush to my own class to take attendance. While marking the attendance, I remembered I had a class scheduled to teach during the first and second periods. I quickly completed the attendance and headed to the class, which lasted about an hour and twenty minutes, as each period was 40 minutes. Once the class ended, I returned to my office to eat and prepare for the next class, as I was scheduled to teach from the fourth to the sixth period before the break.
For the next class, I taught SS2 students. This was the last period before the break, after which I returned to my office to finish my food and regain some energy for the afternoon lessons.
After the break, I went to teach SS1 students who were offering literature. The two classes I had taught earlier in the day were English language lessons. When I finished the literature class, it was already closing time. I returned to my office to wrap up my day. Some students had been unruly during the lesson, so I took attendance to determine how many had stayed in class, as some often sneak out by scaling the school wall. The unruliness of some students sometimes compels one to resort to corporal punishment.
Finally, when I returned to my office, I began preparing for the external students who are planning to write JAMB this year. Not long after, two of my students came to see me. They mentioned that they had noticed how I had been going around teaching in multiple classes and advised me not to overwork myself. They added that if anything happened to me, I could easily be replaced.
While I appreciated their concern and thanked them, I explained that I felt fulfilled whenever I did the work I was employed to do. I assured them that I knew when to take a break and that I didn't like sitting idle as if there is nothing for me to do. The students then pointed out that other teachers don’t seem to push themselves as much. I responded that we are not all the same, and I will always try my best for the students to the best of my knowledge and capacity.