by
Mwizenge S. Tembo, Ph. D.
Emeritus Professor of Sociology
Souls of Teachers
by
Mwizenge S. Tembo, Ph. D.
Emeritus Professor of Sociology
I was 6 years old herding goats at noon on the edge of Chipewa village 65 years ago in 1960 in the Eastern Province of Zambia in Southern Africa.
“Mwizenge!” Uncle Mzimphu called. “Take a bath and wear the school uniform your grandmother bought you. I am taking you to school.” Schools had been introduced in the British colony of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in the 1920s.
I was very excited and nervous. My grandparents had been telling me for a while that I would go to school soon. The day had finally arrived. My uncle and I walked one and half miles or two and a half kms to Boyole primary school. When we reached about 50 feet or 15meters to the Sub A (Grade 1) classroom door, my uncle held my small hand. I could hear the students singing. My uncle knocked on the door. The teacher opened and my uncle let my hand go as I entered the classroom. The teacher Mr. Mbuzi directed me to squeeze between 5 students on one of the desks. The class had 40 students. It was a religious education class. The teacher resumed drawing a long, big snake on the blackboard as the students were singing.
Teacher Mr. Mbuzi: Adam Adam
Class Response: Adam na Eva (Twice)
(Adam and Eve)
Class Response: Chinjoka cikulu cikamnyenga Adam,
Adam na Eva
(A big snake tempted Adam,
Adam and Eve) (Twice)
Since that first memorable day in the village, I went to school for 20 years from first grade to secondary school, undergraduate, and up to completion of my Ph. D. in 1987. I taught college or university students for 41 years.
As millions of the19 million Zambians and others in the whole world go to school everyday starting from nursery or kindergarten, primary, secondary schools, to colleges to universities, I ask myself: What has been best about my school learning experience? Who are the best teachers in my humble opinion? What are the best classes to take?
My learning experience in school debunked one of the most common myths; the belief that in order for students to learn best, boys have to have male teachers, girls must have women teachers, Zambians must have Zambian teachers, black students must have black teachers, white students must especially have white teachers. I must have been one of the luckiest students because I had teachers from many identities of the world. During the 20 years of my education, I had some of the best indigenous Zambian/African male and female teachers. I had teachers from Britain, United States, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Canada, France, Holland, Norway or Scandinavian countries, white and black, men and women teachers of numerous nationalities. The different English language accents of the wide variety of the teachers are what echo in my warm memories of them.
I found that learning in school was very exciting because the teachers and the new knowledge stoked my curiosity. During one cold but sunny morning at 9 hours, I was in my Standard 3 (5th Grade) class. I was at Tamanda Upper School in June 1964. My geography Zambian teacher Mr. Phiri, who was as tall and slender as a giraffe entered the class. Students had nicknamed him “Interior” because when he taught European influence on African history he would always repeat: “Europeans could not penetrate the Interior of Africa!” His other nickname students gave him was njolinjo as he was so tall.
“Class!” he said as he adjusted his small glasses as a giraffe would on his nose on his small head. “Do you know that right now on this bright sunny early morning here at Tamanda, in another part of the world far away in Japan it is dark and midnight and people are asleep?”
My village classmates and I glanced at each other with bemused astonishment. I was instantly fired up and wanted to learn more and more.
I was able to build on the knowledge from my family and my Tumbuka tribe culture. Often, I kept some of the new school western knowledge separate and parallel from the knowledge from my indigenous Tumbuka tribe culture.
All teachers do their trained best to teach students skills and provide knowledge. This could be writing, science, technology, math, geography, history, reading, English literature, social studies, chemistry, and physics. Virtually all the best teachers share their souls with their students as they teach. This sharing of the soul, which is never in every teacher syllabus, is what philosopher Michal Polanyi would call the tacit dimension of teaching and learning. The soul is embedded in the personalities of the teachers.
I have numerous personal examples. This is why I am not too excited about replacing teachers with Artificial Intelligence (AI) or teaching Avatars because the souls the teachers share with students are very crucial and invaluable. The souls of the teachers perhaps provide the most significant essential part of creating our human lifelong important social bonds and connections that school and learning provide for both the students and teachers.
The classes you take as a student tend to be generic until later in high school and college when you take electives and choose majors. The electives you take in high school can change the trajectory of your entire future education and career. Never choose easy electives.
When I was in ninth grade or Form III at the prestigious Chizongwe Secondary School in Zambia 56 years ago, I talked to Mr. Newton who was my white British teacher. I did not have much confidence yet although I was a smart or intelligent student. I told him I did not know whether I could do well if I took physics and chemistry electives because they were very hard. “Mwizenge, yes take the two electives,” he said. “I know you can do well. You are a good student.” I would never have taken the crucial electives and made it to the highly competitive University of Zambia in 1972 and went on to get my Ph. D. That teacher, Mr. Newton, made such a difference in the trajectory of my education and my life.
Not just lukewarm interest, but passion in the discipline as much as possible must determine the choice of your major in college. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to go to class for 4 years in a major in which you have no or minimal interest. Passion is what is going to drive you through the best and worst or most challenging times in the long four years you will be pursuing your undergraduate degree and perhaps beyond.