Teaching is one of the less-paid professions in my country; however, some people who have passion for teaching still take up the job anyways. But many people who are very good at teaching are either in another profession with a better salary or they are learning other skills. Most private schools here usually pack several subjects into one teacher, irrespective of whether the teacher is a master of the subject or not. I guess they are only running away from employing more teachers, which will incur more expenses for them, but it's never a good choice, though it happens. For government schools, they always hire subject teachers, which is good; however, the salary isn't encouraging. Teachers receive meager pay here, thereby discouraging other intending teachers from joining the profession. Only if our government can open the chapters of this noble profession and review their salary for good, will we have more teachers come on board and the issues of some lack of subject teachers will be forgotten, thus improving the quality of teaching as well.
I graduated as a dental technologist, did my internship in the military hospital in Lagos State, Nigeria, with a good pay, but during my National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC), I requested to be posted in a school; weird, right? Lol. Originally, I was posted in a hospital, but I told the hospital to reject me because I wanted to serve in a school setting because of my passion for teaching. I wanted to have a teaching experience to satisfy my love for the profession, and so I got what I wanted. Within my first month in the school setting, I started my postgraduate diploma in education (PGDE) immediately. I was combining both programs (NYSC and PGDE). The lectures for my education program were on weekends only, so I had time during the week for my students. It was a nice experience, undergoing the program and teaching at the same time.
When I was through with both programs, I applied for teaching jobs and got an offer from one private school. I expected to teach only my favorite subjects, but I was made to teach all subjects to primary 3 and 4 students. In total, I was teaching 21 subjects; such a strenuous job... it was draining. The only motivation I had to continue was the lovely and brilliant students I had. I am good in their math, civics, home economics, health science, and agriculture, but I was forced to take "all" the subjects they offer, both practicals. It was a bit challenging, stressing myself so much learning some subjects I wasn't comfortable with, but it was my fault. I went for the job due to my love for teaching, but the stress I went through with the underpaid salary made me lose interest in the job. Imagine preparing lesson plans daily for several subjects and teaching every minute from one class to another; my brain almost got burst... lol
So overall, my favorite subject that I thought them and would love to teach whenever I get the chance again is "agricultural science."
Agricultural science is the subject that deals with the growing of crops, soil science, and the rearing of animals. I believe everyone needs adequate knowledge about this subject. Imagine having practical knowledge on how to grow some crops for your family's consumption. This will be one of the things I do to ensure my students learn.
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The study of agriculture will not only make one know how to grow some crops for family consumption but also how to go even into commercial farming and make money through it. Gone are those days when farming was more hectic; with the use of modern agricultural farm tools and machines, farming is now easy.
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A lot of people rear animals for commercial purposes. This knowledge was made possible through the study of agriculture. Agriculture as a subject helps in providing food for the whole world, and humans cannot do without food.
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While in school, I loved agriculture as a subject and would always get high marks on it. I started farming at a young age with the help of my grandmother, and to date I still own a small farm in my home.
This is a subject where, when students are properly equipped with the knowledge they need, some can become entrepreneurs after school, creating jobs for themselves. I know some graduates who own some commercial lands for farming purposes, and that's great. No one can go wrong with practicing farming because it's something that both the rich and the poor need every day.
In conclusion, agricultural science is a subject I would love to teach in order to encourage farming for both family consumption purposes and for commercial purposes.
This post is in response to the #hivelearners community contest on the topic titled The Subject
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