Her Green story: Meet Oyinlola, the youth corper who determined not to see her students fail despite how difficult teaching them could be
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them-Albert Einstein
A beautiful youth Corp member Oyinlola Awolesi who was deployed to serve her father land in Edo State as a teacher determined that against all odds her students cannot keep failing.
Oyinlola got posted to Ujabhole Grammar school.
The school happens to be the only school in the community. A total of 9 villages makes up the Uwessan community and one interesting part is that the villages are far from one another. Some of the students have to travel miles on foot making them get to school late, tired and hungry.
The classes do not have sufficient chairs and tables. All these conditions coupled with the emotions and drama of the Teen age makes it difficult for the students to concentrate in class. They find it hard to understand what’s being taught talk less of remembering them.
Oyinlola who studied English and Literature from the Foremost University Of education in Nigeria (Tai Solarin University of Education) understands and knows the importance of education. As a trained tutor she was determined to make them learn.
She said to herself that as difficult as it could be they can’t keep failing so she devised a plan.Her first day in the school was disheartening for her, she wondered what she was doing there. She wondered how she was going to cope for a year in such an environment.
The senior students were taller than her, most of them were huge and even with her average stature she as a teacher looked smaller than them. She made up her mind to make the period she was to spend there on of her best times.
Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better -Albert Einstein.Oyinlola was asked to teach two subjects, English language at the junior school and civic education at the senior school and she wondered again how she would cope. The student’s couldn’t speak a sentence correctly in English and even when taught they forget almost immediately.
This was Oyinlola’s challenge but the plan she devised came as an antidote.
She discovered that despite the stress, hunger, burden and challenges the student of Ujabhole community grammar school faced , they loved songs. Oyinlola loves songs too, she loves to sing and she can sing everywhere and anywhere.
Oyinlola‘s plan was to couple what she loves doing with what her students loves doing into a teaching aid.
So now all her definitions are in songs. Most of which she composes while in class. She felt happy and fulfilled as a tutor when she discovered that her plan worked.
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.Albert Einstein
Now her students can remember definitions of over a week. What they do is, sing the song inwardly and write them down,
Oyinlola said 'I am very happy I could change a little about them, we have just started, more good tidings still on the way'.
Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school-Albert Einstein.
Watch a video of one of her classes below.
