The Importance of Being Extra

Teaching style depends on personality type. Some teachers are quiet and cool, they speak slowly, get their point across and manage to keep the students interested. My goodness, I’ll never know how they do it, they are the real MVPs. You see me, I am extra. No, scratch that- I’m extra- extra LOL. If you pass by my class you’ll hear a lot of productive noise and above all, lots of laughter. My class has to be fun; otherwise, I’d bore myself to death, not to talk of my students. In my opinion, to successfully get young people engaged in learning, you’d have to be crazy, humorous, cool and innovative all at once. Let me tell you about my typical lesson.

In real life, to those who do not know me well, I seem introverted and shy but I kid you not, the moment I walk into the class the let's-run-this-show spirit comes upon me and I immediately transform into this energy goddess no matter how bad I was feeling before class time! I walk into the class mouth first, chat the students up, and sometimes I dance to invisible music in my head as I set up my computer. Note that the class hasn’t started yet, the students still have about five minutes prep time so, they’re looking at me and already laughing, wondering what this crazy teacher has in store for them today, I make sure I never disappoint. I try to bring in something new that they’ve never seen before. 

One thing that has worked for me this week has been the use of Bitmojis to spice up my lesson. Bitmoji is an app owned by the same company that runs the Snapchat app, and it allows you to create a Bitmoji character that looks like you, just like the "so extra" picture in this post. Imagine the excitement and surprise when “I” showed up on the screen LOL. You can use Bitmojis to spice your lessons in any imaginable way and I'm thinking of making stickers from them too. Sometimes I use hilarious GIF images that move around on the screen when I’m running my slide show. I can’t stand “normal” lessons, you guys.

Today I wore extra big, star-shaped glasses that made the kids laugh out loud, they didn’t see it coming. Amidst good mornings and laughter, the students who bumped into me at the entrance tried to make comments about my glasses in English. While teaching the grammar point “What do you think of ….?” / I think (that)…”, during the introduction stage, after several examples using pictures, I turned my back to the class for a minute then I put my glasses on, turned around, struck a pose and asked: “What do you think of my glasses?” ”Ha-ha, I think they’re crazy”, “I think that Lola is cute” “I think it’s funny”. See? Target language used, lesson aim achieved, we all laughed, end.of.story.  Look, a little silliness never hurt anyone.

Sometimes my silliness is spontaneous, in response to the tempo in the class; most times it begins at the planning stage. I have a good time planning my lessons, especially when creating resources and visuals. I imagine how it’ll play out and make necessary adjustments. By the time I’m done, I’m so pumped up and excited and this translates into my lessons. I know I’m blowing my own trumpet but hey, it’s mine!

Oh, I enjoy my students, genuinely laugh at their jokes, and I am very generous with praises, and sometimes I get so emotional when they have done very well as a group and I put my hand to my heart and tell I love them. Of course, there’ll always be those naughty ones who try to hijack your lesson, I dramatically roll my eyes and bless them with a look that says “really!” and they adjust immediately. Balance is very important.

I realise that not everyone can be energetic and extra like me and I’m not asking you to become who you’re not but no matter your personality type, enthusiasm is one ingredient that you can never do without. Don’t be dull and never sulk no matter what you’re going through at that time; nobody likes a teacher who shows up in class sucking lemons. Do all you can in the best way that agrees with your personality to let your students know that you’re interested in them and that you’re happy to be their teacher.

Phew, this week is almost over! Tomorrow I'll tell you about my bloopers, all the many things that didn't go so well this week and how I handled them. 

Please leave a note and let me know which part of this post resonates with you the most.

Thanks for stopping by, see you next post!

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A Great Teacher Makes Puzzles

My finished product

Azul Terronez’s TED Talk, “What makes a good teacher great?” inspired this blog post title. In the talk, he recounts how every time he would ask his students this question and he shared a few of the interesting responses he’d collected over time. One that I really like that has stuck with me, which I now use is “A great teacher sings” but hey, this post is not about that talk so go and look for it and have a listen- right after you’re done reading this post of course LOL!

Anyways, “A great teacher makes puzzles” wasn't part of the responses Azul spoke about but I’ve added it because I successfully created jigsaw puzzles for an activity this week. Yayyyy.

So, this week the JTE asked me to plan for a lesson which wasn’t part of the topics I’ve been scheduled to teach and which was also kind of boring to teach. I took up the challenge, happy that she trusted that I could make something out of it and I put my thinking hat on and set to work. You see, I’m never one to shy away from lesson planning, though I work in a setting that has already-made lesson plans available for teachers still, most times I find myself tweaking and making my own stuff not because those plans are not good but because they weren’t designed specifically for MY OWN students.

So back to the lesson which was about the present perfect continuous tense with focus on Japan’s World Heritage sites! Wait a minute, I couldn’t understand why such a complex topic was included in JHS 3rd graders textbook when they clearly didn’t have enough English yet to grasp this but anyways. After much deliberation, I decided to make a jigsaw puzzle activity to keep my students interested especially because one of the classes was scheduled for right after lunchtime when the food is travelling around their body and making them sleepy.

The process

After making my lesson plan game tight, I began to wonder how to successfully make this puzzle business a reality. I searched all over the internet looking for apps or websites where I could create downloadable and printable puzzles but I didn’t find any. I knew I could’ve just printed the pictures and just cut them into jigsaw style pieces but I wanted actual, traditional jigsaw patterns. I finally got an idea and downloaded a 16 puzzle-piece pattern, printed it on one side of the paper and the picture on the other side, laminated and cut along the jigsaw pattern and that was it! It was very tasking to cut the pieces out as I had to do a lot but seeing my students actively participating and enjoying the activity made it worth the while. The activity woke them up and they worked in groups, competing to be the first to complete the puzzle. I realise that my method may be a “no-brainer” for very sharp-witted teachers but for someone like me who overthinks and over plans, it was a big deal, a kind of “Eureka” moment LOL! So, I’m putting this on here to make the job easier for overthinking teachers like me who might want to do a jigsaw puzzle activity. I hope you find this tip helpful.
I should also add that completing the puzzles wasn’t the main goal, it was just a fun activity I used to achieve my main aim. After completing the puzzles, they had to write four sentences about their picture, one of which was written in the present perfect continuous tense. Of course, I gave them questions to guide them and a model of what they were expected to do. 

To reiterate a very salient point, don’t do an activity if you have no way of using it to achieve the goal of the lesson. Can you justify why your students are drawing in an English lesson when they're supposed to be learning about “Imperatives”? And after they’re done drawing then what? 

Yes, a great teacher makes puzzles slash any other fun activity and uses it as a means to an end. I hope this post makes sense. Leave me a note to let me know if it does and please do share other ways of creating jigsaw puzzles if you know any. 

Ok, you may now go on YouTube and listen to the TED Talk I mentioned earlier! I would've posted a link on here but for copyright issues. 

 Thanks for stopping by, see you next post!

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A Girl Has No Name, But Your Students Do!

This has got to be the corniest blog post title of all times but hey, I’ll go with it. If you don’t watch Game of Thrones then you probably don’t know that this title is GoT-themed and inspired by my favourite character Arya Stark, whom I consider the most rounded and consistent character from the beginning till the end of the epic TV series.  Oh no, I digress.

What’s in a name, you say?

Some teachers go through the school year never learning their students’ names or worse, calling them by a different name. This wouldn’t matter if they were Arya Stark the girl who has no name. What’s a major teaching faux pas is just pointing randomly at a student and saying “you”. The unwilling student goes “who, me?” and turns around to look at, or point at someone else. Imagine the minutes you lose going “No, you, I mean you behind him.” Participation would be more effective if only you’ll simply say their name. Needless to say that calling your students by their names shows that they’re important, that they matter and are not just a face in the crowd.
Learning the names of your students may be tasking if you’ve got so many. And, if you’re like me having just one lesson period every two weeks’ contact with each class, then you’ll have a problem memorising the names and most especially putting faces to the names. So, here are some things that I’ve been doing to try to learn the names of about 700 students that I meet only once every week at different times, in the two schools that I’m assigned to.

First thing I did was to request for the seating chart and rewrite the students’ names from Japanese characters to romaji, then I went about using this seating chart like a boss LOL.  So, I would put the chart out of sight, look at a student and their name on the chart, go close to them and say something like "How about you, (student’s name)".  The smiles and surprise on their faces when I called their names were nice and heart-warming. One cheeky boy who tried to cover his name badge with his hand, thinking I was reading off the name badges, almost jumped out of his skin when I addressed him by his name. If you’re familiar with how Japanese people react dramatically when something surprises them I’m sure you can picture this very cute scenario.  Also, when a student participates, I say “well done (student’s name)” to boost their confidence. One time I went to a class and wasn’t aware that the seats had been reshuffled and the JTE forgot to tell me. The first few minutes were hilarious as I looked at one student and called them by another’s name. They gave me this puzzled look, glancing at the real owner of the name while the other students erupted in laughter. Uh oh, boss moves busted.

Of course, using the seating chart doesn’t mean that I always manage to match the students’ faces with their names afterwards. Ah, bless the cheeky ones; I learn their names faster for very obvious reasons. So now, I take advantage of my lunchtime engagements (I have lunch with a different class each day) to learn a few names, making a mental note of the faces at the same time. Each class is broken into lunch groups and I can only sit and talk with one lunch group of about 8 students at a time so, let’s say in a week I manage to memorize about 72 names and faces out of 400. I’m slowly making progress and soon when I meet a student in the hallway and they enthusiastically say “Hello Lola” I’ll be able to say hello and call their name too. If you have any ideas about how I can learn names faster please drop a note in the comment section.

Names are important. Learning the names of your students is a very big deal. I cannot reiterate this enough.

Dear teacher, how many names and faces of your learners can you remember off the top of your head right now?

Thanks for stopping by.  See you next post!

Photo Credit: Photo found on Google photos.

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Restored To Teacher Settings

Hello! It’s been a minute but now I’m back! I have been away from this space for too long, so please forgive me. It’s amazing to see how the number of views increased even when I was on my self-awarded sabbatical. Wow, thank you so much for hanging in there, I’ll make an effort to be more engaging. 

So, let me try to fit in the past six months or so into this blog post. Since the last time that I posted, I’ve received my TKT results- Band 4, 3 and 3 respectively, I took the CELTA course and got a Pass B, completed my teacher training program and graduated from Hokkaido University of Education, Asahikawa and I am now a Language Instructor with Interac Japan, assigned to two Japanese Junior High Schools to teach English. Phew! 

My one year of teacher training sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education was great. I learned a lot from observing English language lessons but I did not get any chance to teach English. I am so elated and grateful for another chance to further understudy the Japanese Educational system, this time as an EFL teacher. This is a career-dream come true for me as I have always aspired to experience teaching abroad, learn all the good stuff as a means to achieving my main career goal- contributing to the professional development of teachers in Nigeria and invariably, to building the educational sector. I will be sharing my experiences and try to carry us along on this journey and I suggest you turn on your post notifications so you don’t miss out on the yummy stuff. 

That said, let’s get down to it. So, this week I reverted to default settings as I returned to the other side of the classroom. I was surprised to feel the heebie-jeebies, I mean, I’m a CELTA certified, experienced English teacher!  At least that’s what my LinkedIn profile says LOL! It was so bad that I barely slept a wink as I worried about whether or not my school will receive me well, I wondered if my students had ever met a black person before and if they’ll respond to me well and blah blah blah. Note that I was fully prepared for my first lesson, with more than enough materials but I guess anxiety happens to the best of us. 

Anyways, my school received me warmly! The welcome notes left on the table and the shoes and coat lockers calmed me down a bit. Still, I couldn’t wait to meet the people I was employed to serve. Fast forward to my first class, first grade class of about 40 students. As the JTE (Japanese teacher of English) readied the class and introduced me, I got a moment to breathe and smile as I scanned the classroom. Spurred on by the curiosity in the shy eyes that looked away as our eyes met and the daring ones who stared back as if to say “bring it on”, I bellowed “hello” in my most impressive teacher voice and history was made! My first class was fun, and every other class after that- well all but one. Getting one of the third-grade groups to respond was like pulling teeth!  They seemed more resistant but no worries we’ve still got one whole year to go!   

Let me quickly say that teaching English in an EFL setting could be very frustrating as you desire to reach and connect with your students who do not speak English at all and are resistant to learning a language which they have no chance to speak outside the classroom and consider an extra burden. You are their gateway to this whole new world shrouded in a foreign language and the only chance they probably get to practise is with you so do your best with it and help them to love learning English!

To cut the long story short, all my experience and training didn’t fail me as I used gestures, a lot of pictures, ICQs, acted silly, and danced at some point to reach my students. Of course, I pulled out my trump card: showing great interest in the students’ interest which worked out well as always. The atmosphere lit up as I asked the students about their favourite anime/music/games. Lots of hands went up when I asked them to recommend me good ones to pass time during the golden week (10-day holiday from April 27th till May 6th) and I passed a book around for them to write their recommendations in. One student took it a step further and brought me three of her favourite comic books the next day. 

Ten lessons later, 5 lunchtime engagements in between, I am fully back to English teacher mode and going to rock the golden week like a boss as I prepare to meet my other students at my second school after the holidays. 

I need to end this post now because I’ve got a busy holiday schedule ahead you see. I’ll be reading comics, watching anime and listening to music recommended by my kids. 

Please leave a note in the comment section, let me know you got to this point. 

Let's travel this road together!  

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Genius In Nigeria, Stupid In Japan- My Japanese Intensive Course Experience

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid."This is a quote attributed to Albert Einstein and is very popular in Education circles and what it simply means is that "Ëverybody is a genius depending on the context in which they find themselves."
The truth of the above statement truly hit me when I arrived in Japan in September 2017 to commence my teacher training program sponsored by the Government of Japan, I was a complete idiot in the Japanese language; could neither speak, read or write. I was so eager to begin the Language course so I could enjoy living in the Japanese society. And then the course began and for at least the first month I couldn't understand what was happening. I, who was so "educated" in the English language became an utter fool when it came to the Japanese language and so a huge wave of panic hit me. If you checked my browser history during that month you would see a lot of google search on "Is it possible to be dyslexic in one language and not in another?" To make matters worse, I had learners from China and Korea in my class and except for just minor pronunciation issues that they had, they made the Japanese language look too easy and further heightened my feelings of stupidity! 

To cut a long story short, last week I completed the course in flying colours and became certified in Japanese language. Right now I can read, write and speak the Japanese language at the basic level. There are still many more levels to attain but at least for now I am no longer illiterate. So how did I cross the hurdle? I immersed myself fully into the language, reading ahead of lessons, watching Japanese animes and practicing whatever Japanese I learnt in class with native Japanese speakers. The most important factor that helped speed up my progress was the せんせいたち(pronounced senseitachi-meaning teachers). No matter how much I studied on my own, the concept only became clearer when I got to class and the teachers explained it using several interesting teaching methods. Every time we struggled, Yamashita Sensei would encourage us by saying "Don't worry, you still have 16weeks to go!" The place of a good teacher is indispensable in Education and more than ever before, I am proud to be a teacher.

Now in a few weeks, I will be commencing my teacher training program and I will be surprised to find out that I am a complete fool when it comes to teaching. I am sure I will learn a lot of new things but that I will be completely illiterate will be out of the question. This brings me to my main point. Genius is relative but it should be global. Language studies aside, if a child is a genius in science, maths, or Arts in Nigeria he should be a genius in America, Japan or Europe in the same field otherwise there is something wrong with the Educational system. So while we are waving the Albert Einstein quote around and working hard to help our children find their strengths and build their own niche we should ensure that we school them well using global teaching methods to ensure that they fit in any part of the world. They cannot be gurus in ICT in Nigeria and be stupid in Japan. 

But then, how can you give what you do not have? Start by exploring how teachers in other parts of the world are teaching your subject and incorporate these methods into your lessons as much as possible; you owe humanity that little. Remember, a lot of parents have no clue what quality education is like but they trust us-teachers to give the best to their kids.

Cheers to global teachers raising global geniuses!

じゃまたね‼

Image: Google Image tweaked by Teacher Lola.

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Becoming A More Hireable Teacher

The teaching career is becoming more lucrative and highly competitive and good schools who are doing it right insist on getting the best hands in the industry and are willing to pay good money. Aim for schools like that and build your self up to measure up to their standards.

Recently I heard the story of a teacher who went on a job hunting spree and was being pulled in different directions because his hire-o-meter was very high. Two major schools want him so badly and have kept on jerking the employment benefits higher and higher to outdo themselves. As at the time of this post, he is torn between which employer to select.  Now, that is what I am talking about!  

So, how do you become an irresistible teacher that every school is fighting over? How do you slam your desired job in that top school?  Yes, some teachers earn even higher than bankers, how did they get there and how can you? I have outlined four steps to help you increase your hireability so that you can land your dream job.

#1: Assess your skills: Good schools will not take any teacher without the knowledge of modern teaching skills. You cannot be aiming at getting a job in 21st Century schools and still be stuck in the rut of chalk and talk methods. Are you tech savvy? Can you plan engaging lessons? Are you abreast of current teaching trends the world over? Take a critical look at your CV  and ask yourself if you even know about the curriculum your dream school uses and have any relevant qualifications to fit in the system. Most schools do not want to hire teachers they will start to train, they want teachers who already have it and can hit the ground running so do not go saying " I am a fast learner", it is either you have it or you don't! 

#2: Grow as fast as you can: Although most schools, like any other organization, look out for experience, some employers will also overlook experience and take into account the fact a candidate is upwardly mobile and forward-thinking. An administrator once told me that he would choose a teacher who is inexperienced but shows prospects of creativity and growth over one who has been in the trade forever but not current. So, if you are inexperienced, perhaps in your first to the third year of teaching, you can still dazzle your prospective employers and ace that job with a very impressive teaching portfolio. Gather certificates from relevant training sessions, get recommendations, your statement of teaching philosophy, students' work examples and even pictures.  

# 3: Look the part: Ever heard the phrase "dress for success?" Having done all of the above, ensure you look sharp when you are called for the interview. Gone are the days when teachers look shabby and downtrodden, schools are on the look out for teachers who can model decent and proper dressing for students in this age of torn jeans and sagging pants. No one is asking you to break the bank to do this, work within your means, invest in a good suit, smell nice, look tidy and no mouth odour, please. 

# 4: Work on your presentation skills: Most importantly, build your communication skills and be able to sell your self with your mouth. Some teachers have great CVs but are not able to sell themselves enough to get the job. Take a course in communication skills if need be,  do not be stiff during an interview session, use jokes and anecdotes but not overtly so. Take an elocution and diction course to improve your pronunciation skills and sound polished when you speak.  Every International school wants a teacher who sounds almost like a native when they speak.

If you are yet to land your dream job in spite of meeting the criteria above, do not feel bad and give up. Like I said, the market place is almost saturated so, while waiting to get that job why not begin from the point where you are and make a difference? Besides, there is always room for improvement and no knowledge gained is wasted. Keep working on your self, keep building your CV to the point that even if there is no available role, one will be created just to keep you.

Become irresistible! 

CIAO,

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Teacher Training Alert- ONYENKUZI 10.0

Listen - as a TEACHER...You Play one of THE most IMPORTANT roles in society--especially in Nigeria and across Africa! Why? Because day after day you can be a CHANGE AGENT, purposefully investing in and raising up young future leaders in your classrooms.

Onyenkuzi 10.0 is an INCREDIBLE virtual coaching program that will help TEACHERS feel Purposeful and EMPOWERED in and outside the classroom. Only 10 spots are offered at a very low price. So, GET ON BOARD.

Share with the teachers you know who need a boost of encouragement, inspiration and direction. This program will increase vision and expose teachers to POSSIBILITIES for making an impact and feeling more fulfilled in their work.

This coaching program runs for one month and is entirely online. Participants would have direct one-on-one access to a coach via email, will be in a WhatsApp group with other teachers and take part in group discussion and brainstorm sessions and be part of an internet-based research project. Successful participants will receive a certificate of completion.

May/June Batch begins 17th May 2017. 

To get more information and registration details, send a mail to Joy@teachtoleadng.org

Get Empowered,

CIAO

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Education Buzz Words Every Teacher (And Parent) Should Know

Do you speak teacherese or do you edubabble? 

There are key terms that define educational policies and should be used and implemented frequently by teachers. Knowledge and usage of these words give you an edge and sets you apart as a teacher who is aware. 

Differentiated instruction

Higher order thinking skills

Project based/inquiry based

All-inclusive classroom

Flipped Learning

Tech-Savvy

Grit

Rigor

Blended learning

Mastery
Collaborative learning
Life- long learners
Active teaching
Personalized Learning
Assessment for learning

This list is by no means exhaustive and I have explained some below. Research is one of the hallmarks of teaching, this post is just to point you in the right direction and I hope it motivates you enough to try to find out more buzz words and use them.


Rigor : When your students find your academic instruction, tasks and expectations challenging enough, irrespective of the level they are at, the result is rigor. When you are thorough and all-inclusive you have rigor. Rigor is an educational term that has been around for a while and will help you as teacher ensure that the high flyers in your classroom do not find the work too easy, boring or not challenging enough while the low achieving students are not frustrated and pushed too hard so that they give up. With rigor, every child gets a chance to deepen their knowledge and move up from where they are to the next point.

Differentiated Instruction: Simply put, is the vehicle that drives rigor. It is an instructional technique that provides different learning options so that every child in your classroom can come to understand and own information in their 'own' way. A differentiated classroom is one that responds to the learning level of each child. Most teachers are very familiar with this term but how many teachers actually practise it in their classroom? 

Grit: Endurance, perseverance, consistency, resilience, ambition, determination, focus...do these words define any child in your classroom? If yes, then that child has got grit! Wikipedia defines grit as "perseverance and passion for long-term goals."  Children with high level of grit can succeed both in and out of the classroom, they can endure, work hard, fail and dare to try again, it is a life skill. We need to foster grit in our students by teaching them to be optimistic and emotionally-intelligent, help them realise the value in hard work and tell them stories of perseverance and never forget to celebrate every tiny step of achievement.

Tech-savvy: A 21st-century skill every teacher and student should possess since digital literacy has since taken over the chalk and talk method. Teachers should use technology in the classroom- powerpoint, google education apps, blogs, Edmodo- to achieve greater input and impact. 

Mastery: The ability of students to own and apply what has been learnt even beyoond how it was taught. Why do students do well in your class and answer assessment questions excellently right after you have finished teaching the topic but fail to succeed after a few weeks of learning or on tests? Mastery. Always aim for your students to learn for mastery by setting clear objectives, providing feedback and using different levels of questioning.  Ensure that your student has achieved mastery before moving them over to the next stage, about 80% level on a test suggests mastery then the student can move on to the next level.

Life-long learning: An educational system that cannot motivate learners enough to be learning driven beyond the classroom walls, what kind of educational system is that? Students should have the drive to know, they should be aware of the wealth of information out there and how to have access to it so that they can become better people. "When you stop learning, you die" is not a cliche and the importance of continuous learning can never be over emphasised. 

Teaching is a lifelong learning process the more we practise, the more we become better at our craft. Aim to know more but don't be a knowledge junkie- always storing up knowledge but never really putting what has been learnt to practice.

Be in the know!

CIAO

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All The Back To School Emotions You Can Relate To

Hiya! Christmas is over, we've crossed over into a new year and we've got a few more days before school resumes. My brain has activated work mode but my body is just a little bit slow in catching up, who can relate? Do I love teaching? Absolutely! Am I still a teacher by calling and profession? Certainly!
Singing "i'm only human...lalalalala"

I have been surfing and goofing around the internet looking for #teachspiration to jumpstart my mind into work mode and I found the following memes very relatable and absolutely hilarious! They lifted my spirits and I hope they put you in the mood too.

1. That part of me that wants a vacation every 6months, twice a year:

2. Last minute finishing touches frenzy....:

3. The battle of lesson plans is about to kick off: 

but....

4. And that grading monster always out to get me?

5.  First day of school miracle...at least I can still enjoy some moments of sanity

6. On the downside, the students seem to have gulped down all the class rules with the Christmas turkey....

7. Keep calm, otherwise this will be your story:

8. Relax you've got this!

We can do this!

CIAO,

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Teacher Blogging Series- Part 1 [Setting Up your Blog]

Finally, the blogging series for teachers is here! Over the next few weeks, I will be putting up blog posts to guide you on how to set up your professional educator blog. To read up on why teachers need to own a blog and what can be done with it, check out the review of a WhatsApp training which I organised for teachers here. 

You can use any blogging platform you like such as Wordpress, Blogger, Edublogs but this tutorial is suited to Blogger which is the platform that I use. In my opinion, blogger is easier to use, especially for new bloggers. Tutorials on how to set up a blog on other platforms may come later.
Tech-savvy teachers may not need the step-by-step guidance below, hopefully, in subsequent posts, you will get to learn new things.

Creating Your Blog

1: Get a Gmail account
You need to have a Gmail account to be able to create your blog. If you do not have one you can create one here.
Your Gmail is what you'll use to sign into google blogger which you can access here.

2: Title, Blog URL and Template
As soon as you sign into blogger, click on "New Blog"if you see the screenshot below, then you are on the right path.

Type in your blog name in the Title Box e.g Teacher Lola's Blog, My Maths Fun Blog, Diary of a Science Teacher etc. 
Choose an address for your blog, this is what your readers will use to access your blog. Be sure to choose an easy-to-remember blog name so your readers can keep finding their way back. The blogspot.com will be added automatically to any web address you choose and will remain until you purchase your own domain name. For example, my blog used to be oneteacher2anoda.blogspot.com when I purchased my domain space it became www.teacherlola.com. More on domain name purchase in subsequent posts.
Next, choose a template. From the screen shot above, Simple has been selected. You can always change the look of your blog as many times until you get one you are satisfied with.
Click on the orange button "create blog!"

3. The Dashboard
You will be taken to the dashboard environment as shown in the screen shot below.

The dashboard is the blog management centre. A list of the things you can do here has been highlighted in green.
Be sure to start off  with the settings tab to complete the setting up of your blog. The various options under the setting tabs are explained below.
Basic- Here you can change the title of your blog, type in a few words to describe your blog and click on permissions to change the privacy settings. If you want others to edit your blog, in the "Blog Authors"section click Add authors and invite whoever you want using their Gmail address. To select who can view your blog, under Permissions, edit the "Blog Readers" section, choose your preference and Save Changes.

Other sections under the settings tab are Posts, Comments and Sharing, Email, Language and Formatting, Search Preferences, and Other. Go through each section to select your preferences and be sure to Save Changes as you go along. I will advise that the Email, Search Preferences and Other sections be left at default settings although you may want to click No in the Adult Content section under Other.
Change the Time Zone section under Language and Formatting to suit the country in which you reside. 

Now we are good to go! Next blog post will be exclusive tips on how to change how your blog looks. Be sure to follow by email so you never miss a post. 

After all said and done, make my day send me the URL of your brand new blog and I will add you to networks where you can learn more and be inspired to do more. You can post the blog address in the comments section or email it to me. 

Let's get blogging!

CIAO,

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About The Ongoing British Council's Teaching For Success Online Conference

Today is Day 4 of The British Council's first Online CPD conference for teachers and teacher educators. Over 40 scheduled talks delivered so far from speakers across the world, the conference has been quite engaging and interactive with insightful presentations covering all aspects of professional development for teachers in all contexts.

Participants at the TFSOnline Conference Abuja

I was privileged to be a part of the opening forum put together by The British Council Abuja for teachers and teacher educators. It was an insightful event as major stakeholders in education joined the online conference streamed live by the host and afterwards participated in facilitated discussions on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for teachers and how it can improve the teaching and learning process in Nigeria. 

Facilitated discussions at the TFS Online Conference @BritishCouncil Abuja

It's 2 more days to go and all teachers and teacher educators need to be a part of this conference. The theme for today's scheduled talks is "Assessing and Managing Learning." The schedule can be accessed here. You can gather teachers together for the remaining two days of the conference, stream live and have facilitated discussions afterwards. Note that there is a link for certificates after each talk. 
Also, if you missed the first three days, you can catch up on recorded talks here.

This is an opportunity that should not be missed. Kindly tell a teacher to tell a teacher.

CIAO

Conference Banner Image Credit: www.teachingenglish.org.uk
Conference Images Credit: www.teacherlola.com

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Free Teacher Training Alert: "What is the real 21st Century Teaching?"

Good news for Primary and Secondary School teachers in Abuja!
Serviced OfficeHub Solutions (A Service of MaxSecure Technologies) is pleased to bring to you the first One Day Free Teacher Training as a way of contributing to the growth of the Nigerian education system, even as we celebrate Nigeria at 56, bearing in mind that “No education system can rise above the quality of its teachers".

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Reducing The Stress Of Teaching

Phew! I finally made it here today! I had to practically abandon and tear myself off all things school work. I have got a lot of things to blog about and I even did a couple of posts- in my mind(LOL). It's usually like that when school/work resumes, I find it hard to leave my first love-teaching. Thanks to the dear readers who checked up on me via email to find out what's up with me, you are a great source of motivation and I value you totally. Thank you for hanging in here. So, from this day forward, I do solemnly swear that I will try to put up at least one post per week. And hey, I am starting a new and hot blogging series this weekend so if you are interested in setting up a teaching blog you want to stay tuned to this page or better still, you want to follow by email so you never miss a post.  

It's just one week and three days into the new school year, who's been counting? Meeeeeeeee! Somebody just rolled their eyes at the word JUST because it feels like forever.  A lot of teachers are tired and are looking for a way out already! I can bet that so many teachers are crossing off each day and looking forward to the half-term break. It's alright, you are not alone.

If you have never known stress, you probably have never been in the teaching profession. Not many people know stress like teachers do. You see, teaching requires a lot of heart so you can never be impersonal about it.  There is so much to stress about- the plenty things to do and not enough time to get it done; the pressure of management on you to perform your magic by all means to raise the grade level of every single child in your class; behaviour problems and nonchalant parents; not to forget the anxiety faced in ensuring that you hand over the kids back to their parents at the close of school, not just in one piece as you received them but better in character and in learning; add to that the load of your own personal problems that you have got to deal then you have a whole melting pot of stress! 

The good news is that you can totally have all of these in control. That stress is akin to teaching doesn't mean you should go through it. Do you often wonder how some teachers still manage to look crisp and all together at the end of school while you are looking like you are sucking lemons, your shirt tucked out, sweat marks around your armpit area and your hair flying all over the place? Wonder no more, the difference is that those teachers have successfully learnt to handle stress.

For me, this is how I keep stress at bay: 

• I do-it-afraid! I take my tasks on head-long and I go through the day with the tenacity of a bulldog after meditating and speaking affirmations. A copy of my affirmations can be grabbed here. 
• I usually have a to-do-list and check things off as I go along and I try not to waste too much time on one task. I also do not kill myself if I am not able to achieve all that I set out to achieve as long as I have achieved the most important tasks I move left-over tasks. 
• I do a lot of multi-tasking, though I find myself wondering if this is OK as I usually have to do a lot of things at the same time and sometimes the jobs are done but not as perfect as I'd have loved them to be. 
• I take some 5 minutes to laugh and play, I stop to share a joke or two with a colleague and I never carry my problems on my shoulders.  Yes, I do have my fair share of issues but can you tell? 
• I look in the mirror whenever I get the chance to visit the restroom and perk up my appearance. A dash of powder here, some lipgloss there...
• Recently, I started eating breakfast and it has helped me to keep my fuse burning much longer. I also have a bottle of my favourite drink around me to keep me going. 
• I try to organise my stuff in a way that I know exactly where to look when I need something so I don't drive myself crazy. 

One habit I am trying to cultivate is catching enough sleep, especially on weekends and this will definitely impact on my caffeine boost. I also hope to start drinking more water and arriving at school earlier on some days so I can have some extra minutes to plan and set my day in motion. On the whole, I may not be where I want to be but I have a growth mindset so I am ever learning and evolving. 

How do you keep stress under control? Care to share, please drop a note in the comment section.

Stay stress-free!

CIAO,

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It's September- The New School Year Is Almost Upon Us!

Welcome to September, that special time of the year for stakeholders in Nigerian Education! The beginning of a new school year is just around the corner. Is everyone ready?

  Parents, are your children ready?  School Uniforms? Check. Books? Check. School bag? Check. School Fees? Er... The list is endless. You can click here for a checklist of things to do for a smooth transition into the school year. 

Teachers are we ready? Classroom arrangement? Check? Wall displays? Check. Learning resources? Check.Lesson plans, and please add coffee and painkillers to that. A handy back-to-school checklist for teachers can be accessed here.

There is also something for School administrators to ponder upon here, as they put things in place for the take-off of the school year.

Do not wait for the last minute adrenaline to kick in before you start rushing. Take advantage of the last few days for a great headstart. 


#Anticipate!

CIAO,


PHOTO CREDIT: GOOGLE IMAGE

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