Corona schools honour outstanding teachers, others

IN keeping with its tradition in every January, the Corona Schools has celebrated its teaching and non-teaching staff who have demonstrated extra ordinary commitment to accomplishing the mission of the school.

  The occasion featured various forms of entertainment by the staff and climaxed with giving award to different categories of workers. The most outstanding is the Model Teacher of the Year Award.

 In the 2014 edition, Mr. Innocent Oaikhena won the Corona Model Teacher of the Year Award in the secondary category; Mrs Oluwatosin Balogun, Corona Model Teacher, Elementary; and Mrs Naomi Izakpa, Corona Model Nursery Teacher.

  Narrating the teaching methodology that gave them the edge over their colleagues, Oaikhena stated that for adequate learning to take place, teachers must see their students as projects which must commence with solid foundation, well floored, erected and monitored to a complete structure.

 “For effective teaching to take place, teachers must see their students as projects, like the engineering designs and set up a structure. Your students, their happiness and their success is your project.  So if any student doesn’t do well, if any student is sad, and I’m there as a teacher without any significant impact, it then means I am failing in my project.

 “Also, you must act like a teenager to be able to work with these students. Most of the things they go through, we have passed through them before and as adults, we should try to guide them right without condemnation. That is why you are there as a teacher, if they knew everything, they will probably not be in school,” he explained

  For Izakpa, who has been teaching in the school for 17 years, every teacher in Corona is good, very dedicated, hardworking and loyal. “But for me to have won this award, it means greater work and commitment, because getting the children to understand what you are teaching them at that formation age requires strategic action.

 “Nursery education is a level where pupils have to gain background knowledge, and so it is a point of duty for a teacher to bring the lesson to their level and ensure they understand the right thing. A teacher at this point should be very careful so as not to inculcate the wrong learning or culture into the pupils.” 

  Balogun, on her part, informed that her passion for teaching has been a strong drive. “I love teaching right from when I was in school, I studied Geology and I used to teach my course mates who call me professor. I also have passion for children. The fact that I love Mathematics, and I realised most children have phobia for mathematics, I looked for creative ways to make it real fun, as much fun as possible because what you love you want to do it over and over again.”

  Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of the school, Mrs. Olufunto Igun, said Corona is endowed with people of diverse strength and skills drawn together by a common passion which, according to her, is the education of a total child.

  “This strength of ours has continuously made our school to remain very relevant in the education sector. This year, we celebrated the 60th anniversary of this great institution, the journey so far has been remarkable. We are not just known to deliver world class education, we have carved a niche for ourselves in the industry and this is by no means a task achieved by a few individuals, rather by everyone.”

  She stressed that the award was designed to reward and recognise deserving staff who, during the past school year, took advantage of the immense opportunities within the system and excelled by sustaining their professionalism, creativity, commitment, ethics and self-development.