EPISODE 1
The Internship
Millson decided to become a teacher. He went to the university and soon was posted to a remote village to do his internship with his friends.
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{Dzifa’s Point of view }
“Aww,my God ,this new teacher is simply hot and handsome. I need to get closer to him. Maybe he will even propose to me. I can’t take him off my mind. It’s like I’m going crazy—-”
“……The word government can be explained from three perspec
tives,”my sensual thoughts were interrupted by the teacher’s lesson.
“The first one is Government as an institution of the state ,secondly Government as an academic field of studies and lastly Government as a process or function. I will take each of them one by one and explain to you what they mean. Before we delved into the explanation I will like to tell you the etymology of the word:Government ”
The word “Government ” originates from—-”
My mind drifted back to my sensual thoughts. I look at his musculature. Everything is on point. Nice biceps, amazing triceps. Superb Physique.
Goosh, this teacher is a rare specie of a man, one of the very few Ghanaians who look more like….a non-Ghanaian. My God, this teacher is so sexy. Look at his eyes. I felt naked before him. It’s as if he’s looking at me ,beyond my school uniform. “Wow.” How I wish it were true. I can’t just imagine him making love to me. I hope he’s good in bed. Yes. This teacher is my dream man. Surely, he was the cause of my sleepless nights over the years. The man I always see in my dream… Aww. Dzifa, you don die naa”
[Millson’s Narration ]
My name is Lamptey Millson. I attended Presbyterian Boys’ Senior High School . When I completed my high school, I decided to go to the teachers’ training college because I found teaching very exciting and interesting. Of course, my choice of profession was heavily condermed by my parents who wanted me to become a doctor. To them the word teaching is an anathemaℹ in their ears.
I stood firm and politely told them I would rather stay at home than going to the school of medicine.
I didn’t really blame my parents for opposing my choice of profession
In Ghana teachers are not respected. The profession is seen as a poor man’s job. Besides it’s not attractive to the youth who want big money. Why waste time earning a meagre salary in a profession often denigrated by others, even the students themselves.ℹ
To put the nail on the coffin,?
most teachers behave in a manner that do not command respect; like dating and sleeping with young underage girls. I intended to change the narrative , at least from my side.
There was a quote that I love so much and it had become my guiding principle. It states , “Everything you do in this world, do it with a difference.”
I saw a lot of sense in this quote, if I do things just like the ordinary person , what would make me unique?”
“Nothing.”
My father eventually changed his mind and agreed that I could choose any profession I wanted.
He suggested that if I want to teach , it should be at the secondary school level and not at the basic level so instead of sending me to Accra college of Education, he sent me to the University of Education , Winneba. This University specialises in training and churning out professional graduate teachers of high calibre and good moral training.
I went to that University to offer Political Science Education. I was highly enthusiastic at my academic work and the affairs of the school. It therefore came as no surprise when I was elected the president of the University. Soon it’s time for my internship programme.
In level 400 , We were posted to the surrounding villages to do our internship under more experienced teachers so that we could acquire pedagogical skills in our noble profession. While some of my friends were posted to more urban communities, My friends and I were posted to the typical remote village called Tutukpene.
Tutukpene is a small village in the NKwanta District of Oti Region in Ghana. Before I embark on the Journey, my father called me and gave me a simple but powerful advice. He said, “My son, before you travel, I will like to share with you a few words of advise that could make you different from your colleagues. One , as a teacher , be a lifelong learner. You can’t teach what you don’t know.
Two, be morally discipline and avoid dating those adolescent girls. They can lead you into big problems and a lot of male teachers have fallen prey to this sad but avoidable phenomenon.”
Three, trust no one. Not all those who smiles with you are your friends.”
“Four, work hard but expect no thanks or compliment and lastly , live a modest life. Don’t pretend to have money when you have not.”
I said “thank you father” and left.
Our journey to Tutukpene was a long tiring one. The road was dusty and bumpy. It forked through thick canvas of forest , interspersed with streams .Finally we reached a spot on the road where the bus couldn’t go further. The driver explained to us why he couldn’t go further . I realised we had to continue the rest of the journey on feet. I couldn’t believe my eyes we still have just level of undeveloped places in my country. Anytime I watched Nigerian movies and I saw some typical villages in the movie, I asked myself, how can this villages still exist in this 21st century rose especially in a famous country like Nigeria, noted for famous players like Jay jay Okocha and authors like Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, poet and professor. Oh, lest I forget Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, known as Wole Soyinka, who was a Nigerian playwright, poet and essayist. He was even awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature. I don’t want to mention the super-stars in the movie industry.
Well, I was faced with the same reality now in my mother and fatherland, Ghana.
Walking through the beastly looking forest on foot seemed like a herculean task but we soon realised the reality when the bus sped off, leaving us in a quagmireℹ of confusion.
My nine friends and I started walking through the thick forest. My bags hanged loosely around my shoulder, others put theirs on their backs and yet others carry theirs on their heads. After four hours of tiring journey, we reached the small village , Tutukpene.
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GLOSSARY●☆●☆●
*Anathema
Something which is vehemently disliked by somebody. A curse; a malediction.
* Denigrated
To treat as worthless; belittle, degrade or disparage
*To put the nail on the coffin
It means to help bring about its end or failure.
*Pedagogical
The activities of educating, teaching or instructing.
The strategies of instruction.
*Quagmire
figuratively
A perilous, mixed up and troubled situation; a hopeless