Efio-Ita Nyok|21 December 2017
Mr George Odok Jnr, a Cross River correspondent with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recently narrated his experience with his 12 years ago Mathematics teacher in secondary school. He narrates his encounter with him though he didn't tell us the name of this awesome hero. He says how he used to dislike this personality but now the narrative has changed. Hear him out :
'12 years after, I met with my high school mathematics teacher today and we have reconciled our differences.
'I disliked him back then for the very reason that he was my mathematics teacher. I did that wrongly. While I treated him to a sumptuous native meal today at the 'Native Restaurant' in Calabar, we discussed at length, not as a teacher and his student, but as pally pally.
'Whenever it was his period for classes, I was praying he should miss the class. I told him, that the reason why I hated mathematics then was the very fact he was performing magic with the figures by putting X and Y together to get the answers. In some cases, when he usually give us class work and ask us to find X, I was always lost.
'I gave him reasons why I choosed literature, English language and Government over science subjects, because I knew I won't make it sciences. Knowing too well that mathematics was a compulsory subject for the WAEC class, I had no option than to bury my head inside the subject.
'At a point, I stopped greeting him because mathematics was written all over him and his cane was as long as his X and Y. I was comfortable with him today because he no longer teaches me mathematics, but rather others.
'I doff for him, I respect him because other students who took interest in sciences are doing very well in their respective fields.
'We had a nice time over the meal, discussing politics and other sundry issues.
'There won't be a time again for me to find X and Y and the square root of numbers.
'My teachers, lecturers and counsellors are my heroes and heroine', Odok concluded. What's your hero's name journalist Odok? We are waiting.
Teachers are the best things to happen to society, from the family to other spheres like formal educational system to religion and the list continues. However, It's disheartening how public policy is not such that allows their job rewarding. Hmmmm!
Efio-Ita Nyok
Is a Blogger, the Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of NegroidHaven
