November 2012
I have been asked numerous times; after spending more than a decade in the corporate world, why teaching? Indeed, I had my fair share of triumphs in the world of business; clinching deals both big and small.
In the course of my career, it gave me joy whenever I could share my knowledge with colleagues. Even when I was in Management, mentoring a staff never failed to put a smile on my face.
Hence, now that I am coaching the young minds and helping adult learners, the satisfaction from being able to enlighten people is beyond words. Unlike the achievements that gave me pride which inevitably led to ego in the rat race, the sense of fulfillment in my teaching pursuit gave me motivation. Where there is passion, there isn’t a need for carrot…
Let me begin by sharing some interesting encounters since embarking on this journey…
Foreigners made up a sizeable pool of my students. They are wizards in numbers but when it comes to the English language, they are struggling. I always inspire them with a personal story few people knew about. When I entered school, I could not speak a single word of English. It didn’t help that the school was bent on excellence in the language. No kid wanted to be my friend and I was never liked by my teacher because of this inadequacy. I was spurred to do something. I pushed myself to use the language daily (however difficult then) and read as much as I possibly could. I persisted amidst the knocks and mockeries. Eventually I aced the language in the GCE exams and even became a debater in the international arena.
Very often, what seems impossible in the short term becomes very possible in the long term if you persist.
