"T" As In Teachers By Aishat Elusogbon

Rasulullah (May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said "Seek knowledge and train to be dignified and calm while seeking knowledge, and humble yourselves with those whom you learn from."

You might want to ask why. Well, perhaps this is why.

Imagine sitting down, and having someone, A tall someone, pouring knowledge into your open skull.

Crazy, right?

Believe it or not, that's what teachers do. The only difference is, some people have difficult-to-open skulls.

Now, that's on a lighter note. The point is that transferring knowledge is what teacher's do. And much as it seems like a task anyone can take, here's a reply to that.

_it's not_

You can't just walk by the road, pick a child and say "Come here. I'll be be teaching you from now on." Then you go about pouring the words into his head.

It doesn't work that way. 

Have you ever watched a professional carpenter, artist or tailor at work?

Do you see the way they study their respective materials, concentrate, then begin cutting and shaping?

It's a wonderful sight, really. Especially for those of us who aren't knowledgeable about the field. It amazes us, right? One minute, the carpenter is staring at a pile of wood, and an hour later, you're staring at a chair.

One minute, the artist is staring at a blank paper, the next, you're staring at a distinctive sketch.

That magic called Skill is something Teachers possess too, if not better.

Teachers, Good Teachers, study their students: which one needs a lot of attention? Which one needs little? Which one needs me to sprinkle the knowledge? Which one needs me to pour it? Which one needs constant reminder? Which one needs time and space? Which one has a retentive memory? Which one forgets the next minute? Which one is puts his brain to work, and which one is better with his hands?

All these are considerations teachers take before they begin dispense full knowledge. They have to study their students and know what works for each of them. For they are also very aware that using the wrong method would lead to the one thing that teachers detest: Failure.

 It is important to note that not all teachers are the same. They all can't be soft and quiet and calm. As a matter of fact, there are as many different personalities of teachers as there are of students.

Some teachers are lively, funny, creative, entertaining, Some are thoughtful, compassionate, strict, observant. The variety of people in the teaching profession makes learning fun and exciting, as sameness is boring and tiring.

However, no matter how unique a teacher is with his personality, he or she has to possess some general qualities to have the right impact on most, if not all, of the students. For example, he or she has to be considerate, understanding, intelligent, observant, smart, stubborn, caring, knowledgeable, amongst others. These qualities make their work easier, just as oil eases machines.

Speaking of which, the above listed qualities should strike a cord in your memory, as there are some people in this life who naturally and generally possess these qualities. And funny enough, they are the first teachers of every normal child.

The Mother.

Of course, teaching cannot be compared to Motherhood, as the latter contains a wider variety of other professions. However, it is important to point out the similarities between them.

Mothers teach children almost everything they know before they are sent to school: what to say and what to not, what to do and what to not, when it is to be done and how, even why it should be done, (even though some times, the reason doesn't go beyond "because I said so")

Mothers dispense first hand knowledge to children before anybody else, even fathers don't get to do this half as much as mothers do. Which is why children with good mothers are difficult to misguide: 

 roots are made of stone from their mother's lessons.

Rasulullah (May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said "Teachers are the best! Every time truth is forgotten, they are the ones who revive it.”

Let's face it, like teachers, mothers excel greatly in this area. Before, it was easier to forget. But now that cell phones have been invented, it's easier for mum to remind you to "read the Qur'an before you leave the house!" even if you're miles apart.

Let's be honest, Teachers are amazing creations of Allah.