That Public School Teacher

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH                                 MOMENT OF TRUTH Some weeks back, a student I haven’t heard from in a while told me, “You always WIN at everything! 🤣 🧐  Child, - For every WIN, I have LOST a couple of times. - For every ACCEPTANCE letter , I have got a REJECTION or 2 - For every YES, a strong NO. Only difference- I NEVER QUIT! Young man, remember the day you came into my office with your friends to give me the gist of what happened in your class and I was all smiles and laughter. Well, I just cried my eyes out because I was rejected at the Stage 3 of a competition.  🤣 🤣   🤣 Terrible right? Horrid? But did I let that shatter me? No! I picked myself up,tried AGAIN and I got in. Young girl, can you recall the day I left school early and came back a bit sulky? I was rejected for the 3rd time because the LADY in charge probably felt I was undeserving. Don’t even let me talk about how many “ We are sorry to inform you...” mails I’ve got. Does it affect me? Of course y

        COMFORTABLE IN YOU R SKIN? Beauty is being confident in your skin! In a country where the skin tone is often store bought, it is poignant we talked about the importance of self esteem and dissuade what the media has imposed on this generation. It tears me apart when I see some of my students fall into this quagmire. How do I tell them that MOST of our musicians are being myopic in their celebration of just the FAIR skin? How do I teach them to celebrate all natural skin tones when we bow at the altar of washed out celebrities? So many names given  to it - toning, bleaching, cleaning up- but it still boils down to one thing- MENTAL SLAVERY.  Beauty is skin deep! The jars of bleaching cream, the frozen soaps and  the loads of filters can never define you. The moment you abstain from self deprecation, the moment you are liberated to see the beauty the world needs to celebrate. Beauty comes in different colours. #blackisbeautiful #thatpubl

WISHES ARE HORSES February 2015, I called Ogooluwa(my student) to my office and asked him to apply for an Essay Competition. He burst into uncontrollable laughter ‘cause he knew 'we both knew' he had issues with his writing. Then, I asked a simple question- “ Do you see yourself traveling to The United Kingdom? That piqued his interest but he laughed some more. OUR CONVERSATION Me: Would you like to travel to UK? Ogo :  Me? How Aunty, how? Where can we get the money? You know how things are now...  Me : 💆🏾‍♀ Ogo, it is a yes or no question please😩 Ogo : Okay! Yes, I do. But how... Me :  By preparing for an Essay Competition that will hold in 2 days time. Ogo : When hell freezes... Me : Over your mouth. Now have a seat, we need to teach you how to act on a plane. Trust me, you are winning this competition,. That day, was the turning point for both of us. We worked on his writing and Ogo read till daybreak. He qualified for the

                YOU WERE NOT RAPED! WHY DIDN'T YOU SCREAM! Tayo :  Aunty, I am useless. Me :  No! You are powerful and you know it. Tayo : So why can't I get behind this pain. It was just rape. Me : It wasn't just rape. It was a crime, an abuse that we should report. Tayo : Maybe I caused it. I may have tempted him. Mummy said I didn't scream, Me : You did not cause anything. It was his crime. NOTHING JUSTIFIES IT. About 6 years ago, one of my students suddenly started hitting her head against a large stone on the school field. Before help could get to her, she had terribly injured herself. Why? One of the monsters she called  UNCLE  was forcefully having his way with her and HER MOTHER did not believe her. Prior to that time, she had confided in me that she was raped.  Trust me, I was all fire and brimstone , ready to take it to whatever heights , but she pleaded against it. I was naïve , I agreed- GREATEST MISTAKE. 

How do you react when you hear the phrase "like a girl'? #LIKEAGIRL Recently, the conversation below ensued between  an old school mate and yours truly. MICHAEL :  A man must be above his wife in 3 things : AGE, KNOWLEDGE and CASH  but  his wife  must be above him in 5 things: Patience, Neatness, Love, Planning, Prayer       ME : This is the most misogynistic crap I have had the displeasure of listening to in a while. MICHAEL: Why? What should be corrected there? ME :  N.O.T.H.I.N.G. Absolutely nothing. MICHAEL : Why? ME : Because a list like this shouldn't even exist in the first place. You see, this kind of reasoning is not only archaic, but also myopic. If you take your time to read between the lines, you will deduce that it has the PATRIARCHY that was forced down our throats by customs, traditions and religious beliefs written all over it.  Why should my knowledge, financial status and age be inferior to a man&