I was in a state of euphoria when I checked the calendar and realized there would be a lot of holidays this term. I felt this intense happiness knowing what lies ahead of me and I couldn't stop getting overjoyed because of it.
The holiday started today with my country celebrating democracy day which is always slated every June 12. Aside from this, the mid-term break follows suit which is Thursday and Friday. Then, another break which is the Muslim celebration coming up on the 17th and 18th of this month and that is next week Monday and Tuesday. In a nutshell, the holiday will be over on the 19th which falls on a Wednesday. In total, there would be a break for a week after which everyone would resume back to work on the 20th of the month.
Just like every other person, those in the teaching sector are always excited when there is a holiday coming because to tell you the truth, being a teacher isn't something easy, although it is fun especially when you are a teacher in a public or government school. Being a teacher there, you are assigned to a subject or two that you will take on different days depending on how the timetable is structured but in a private school? Oh my! You will have to work more than you are paid, you get to take all subjects in a class or sometimes two classes and it's sad getting a salary at the end of the month which cannot satisfy you as a single, not to talk of having a family.
I am a teacher who is taking English language as a subject for senior secondary students 1 (SS1) and I take them on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I don't go to school on Thursdays, instead go for my CDS which is a community development service meant for all serving corpers.
Just for clarification, NYSC means National Youth Service Corps which is a service for all Nigerian Graduates below 30 years and I am one of them. It's a one-year program; while some are sent to schools to teach just like me, others are lucky to work in different companies or organisations, mostly it is schools.
The stress of having to wake up very early in the morning around 5 am to start preparing for work is something else for me. A lot of people say teaching is a daunting task, yes, I would agree but it is fun too. What makes it a hard one is the aspect of writing and compiling your lesson notes and marking notes especially when you have over 100 students in a class which they are divided into three departments; commercial, art and science.
The English language is a general subject and merging those students becomes a hassle for me as there is no public address system to speak louder and I find it difficult to control such a class to keep quiet, therefore, my voice gets strained and sometimes cracky by the time I leave the classroom.
Marking their notes, tests and exams, recording their scores in the record attendance book is daunting and it makes teaching a hard one but I would say I enjoy doing the job. But when the holidays are approaching, I feel the euphoria knowing how much rest I will have, a lot of free time to myself at home, not shouting at the top of my voice, "Keep quiet, go out of my class now! settle down everyone etc, and also the thought of not waking up early to prepare for work.
Since last week, I have been feeling excited and the countdown to the holiday started for me. I felt so relieved discussing these positive events coming up with my colleagues, same as them too, and thinking silently about my plans for the holiday. When the new week started, I knew there were just 2 days and I would have enough time to myself, sleep as much as I liked and do activities I had prepared.
...and yes, the holiday mode was activated today. I had gone to the market while returning from work the previous day, got all I needed in the house and earlier this morning, I woke up late (I intentionally did) did my devotion and moved into the bathroom to do some laundry, then opened my Spotify app to play music which the vibe was flowing.
I was echoing everywhere in the house, "Holiday is here" even while the music was on. I wasn't paying much attention at first because of the intense happiness that filled my heart. It was as if I hadn't been given a holiday for a long time and I felt so free like a bird, knowing there was no work to do aside from eating, sleeping and playing on my phone.
Moving to the kitchen, I got my stew prepared as I danced to the music, my face lightened up like someone who won a jackpot. After that, prepared my meal and ate. Right now, it's me and my phone ready to go wild in my engagement on Hive. This is my state right now because the holiday runs all through next week for me 馃コ馃コ
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