Teacher Elita Zimba (Malawi)
‘I have always been passionate about working closely with children. My favorite subject is English. It enables children to communicate with different kinds of people. I also like to teach life skills. It teaches the children about moral values, behavior and issues like HIV and AIDS.
I am a social, kind and creative teacher. I want the children to learn something every day. To do so, I have to think critically and be creative. Also l have to interact with the learners and the community as much as possible. This means I have to be aware of who l am and what I do all the time.
My biggest learning point so far, occurred when l encountered a lesson on population figures (social and environmental sciences). The teacher’s guide contained figures of 2004. This meant l had to look for latest information on the internet and in the library at Kamuzu college of nursing in Nkhoma.
My best teaching moment was when l was able to combine 3 participatory methods in 1 English lesson on future continuous tense. I used a mind map at the beginning of the lesson. The learners had to name verbs. Then l started a group discussions on changing sentences from present tense to future continuous tense. After that the learners sung a song with verbs in the future continuous tense. They all participated actively.
My favorite time of the year is the last term, from May to July. The students who have worked hard, are happy, because they are moving to another class. It’s also a time l have remedial classes for slow learners.
One thing I’d like to improve at our school is the administration. Also I’d like the commitment of teachers to improve. Now, most teachers are not punctual in terms of time, lesson preparations and interaction between teachers. If these things would be fixed, the teachers would be punctual and the learners as well. I think this will result in all the lessons being completed in time.’
Tip from Elita
‘Read, research and be prepared when you enter the classroom!’
Elita Zimba has graduated at the Teacher Training College in Lilongwe, Malawi. She taught standard 7 at Chigodi primary school.