The fine art of imparting education

I stumbled into the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and have not looked back since. Initially, I started off with my first degree in the Faculty of Social Sciences and enjoyed my programme. I was taught by some of the best lecturers who were both academics and practitioners in their respective fields of political science, administration, and sociology. However, I was just not sure what my next steps would be. The question occurred to me then, about twenty years ago, as I am posing it to you now: Why not teach?

Coming from a long line of teachers, this seemed like a reasonable idea. I went over to the School of Education at The University of the West Indies, Mona, and made inquiries. I wanted to teach English. Since I had no academic background in English, I would have to do three to four courses in the Faculty of Humanities and Education as a specially admitted student over two semesters before starting the programme. This was a hurdle I was prepared to take. I did the courses in linguistics and literature, and again, as before, I had very good lecturers. I was now prepared to start my postgraduate diploma in teaching.

Having had the linguistics and literature content, the MAT programme now equipped me with the appropriate teaching skills, the pedagogy. Some of it felt intuitive, and I understood, but other aspects seemed difficult to grasp. My lecturers were competent and challenged us towards greater creativity in our teaching. Some of the content I would only begin to really appreciate and understand once I started teaching. In addition to content, the teaching internship was arduous but so critical to my development as a budding teacher. And then, within about a year and a semester, the programme was completed, and I was now a qualified teacher.

EYE OPENER

With my first degree in hand and my teaching diploma, I set off to teach at one of the preparatory schools. It was the first job opportunity that opened for me. The two years were an eye opener into the realities of teaching beyond teaching practice. The hours that teachers spend planning, the multiple roles that teachers take on, and the administrative tasks to be accomplished, in addition to instruction delivery, were aspects of teaching that only come to life in the real classroom.

As a lecturer now in the School of Education, I reflect on my journey to teaching, and I am glad that I took this path. I can say that my university degrees at UWI were of an international standard as I was able to keep abreast of my academics at both the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where I did my master’s, and the University of Iowa, where I did my PhD work.

There are multiple routes to teaching. One way to become a qualified teacher is to do a Bachelor of Education degree straight out of high school. For those, unlike me, who are sure of what they want to do, this is a good way to start a career in teaching. For those of us, who, after having finished a first degree, are still searching, then the MAT option is an excellent route.

This second route to teaching is through the postgraduate diploma of teaching. There are four benefits to choosing the postgraduate degree in teaching. First, it equips and qualifies you as a trained teacher. Second, schools appreciate the maturity that comes with a person who has both an undergraduate degree and a postgraduate certificate in teaching. Third, there is a salary increase as a result if one works for a government-funded school. Fourth, on the job market, persons identify you as being capable of conducting training workshops. In fact, when I went on to become a research assistant on a project at The UWI, I was given the task of conducting workshops with the teachers.

Indeed, teaching is a noble profession. Now, with the pandemic, virtual classrooms are being zoomed in and out of our homes. Hopefully, this means that parents have a greater respect for teachers and what we do. Teaching is indeed hard work. Teaching is skilled work. Teaching is a viable option as a career. With online teaching, there are multiple opportunities opened to those who have the energy and creativity to make teaching a career. And in this season of time, one does not have to teach for a lifetime, but for a period. So whether long term or short term, consider making teaching a career.

Yewande Lewis-Fokum, PhD, is a lecturer in the School of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Education, University of the West Indies, Mona.