Welcome to another exciting interview on The Teachers’ Lounge.
Introducing our 6th guest on The Teachers’ Lounge – Olatunde Balogun. Enjoy!
Q1. Your name, where and what you teach.
A1. Ibrahim Olatunde Balogun
I teach at Tender Years Preparatory School, Abuja. I am a Year 6 Class Teacher, Physical Education teacher for KS1 and Assembly coordinator for KS1 and KS2
Q2. What is your most memorable and saddest teaching moment?
A2. Most memorable moment of all time is watching my Year 6 graduate. I have been a Year 6 class Teacher for 5 years now. Unfortunately, it is also my saddest moment watching them leave knowing that they are moving on without me.
Q3. What were your best and worst subjects as a young student? Why?
A3. As a young student, I dreaded French and Music. Why? The teacher never got through to me. It was just business as usual for those teachers. So anytime it was French or Music time, I would use the window and skedaddle.
My best subject was P.E.
Q4. If you were not teaching, what do you think you would have been doing?
A4. If I wasn’t teaching, I would probably opt for a marketing job with a car company. Probably Mercedes in England.
Q5. Why do you teach? What inspires you….tell us what we call your ‘TEACHSPIRATION’?
A5. I teach because of the vibe I get from the kids. I have always loved working with kids and young people right from 16 years of age. I did some voluntary work for Stoke-on-Trent Youth Club. It was fun because I got an opportunity to work closely with the Asians at Shelton and Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent.
TEACHERSPIRATION – I guess this simply is my Belief system when it comes to working with kids. I belief all children should a decent opportunity and shot at a good and quality education. This is why I teach kids in a fun and loving way by being silly and acting like a 5 year old.
Q6. If you had the wheels to redefine teaching profession, what will you do? How would you go about it?
A6. I would first rebrand the Nigerian Curriculum by making sure it is dynamic and updated. No point in teaching kids stale or irrelevant things. There will also be an opportunity for scholars to acquire some form of skill (sewing, learning another language, elocution, painting, and computer literacy in all sector either it be the public or private education sector) which will become useful to them.
Q7. What does Education mean to you?
A7. Education simply means bringing light into darkness (GURU). Education means knowledge, education to me means power. It means breaking down complicated information into small bits and pieces to suit all the different aspects of learners.
Q8. Tell us about the favorite book you have read (apart from the Bible/Quran) and why.
A8. The Falcons Maltese’s by Anthony Horowitz. Why? It’s so realistic and funny at the same time. I can relate to it because it was set in England which takes me back to my late teens.
Q9. What is that one thing you’d like parents to know about teachers and teaching in general?
A9. Teachers should be trusted enough to make certain decisions when it comes to children.
Q10. What are the some of the real problems faced by the children you teach and how could you solve them if you could?
A10. The transition Year 5, 6 and 7 girls go through when battling with their hormones and balancing it with learning. Teachers should be more realistic when dealing with these set of scholars. Schools provide sex education but then don’t know how to follow through. For example, a year 6 female scholar responds in a brash way to a teacher. The teacher should think of technique to solve and combat the issue instead of showing her who is boss, in control and age.
See another picture of Olatunde.
Special thanks to Olatunde for stopping by! He is special….isn’t he? 🙂