Alumni Association Trains Lagos Teachers

• EKOHOTBLOG, 21ST NOVEMBER, 2020
• The United States International Visitor Leadership Programme Alumni Association has said expectations of pupils will not be met if teachers do not make a conscious effort to equip them.

The IVLPAA President in Lagos State, Ms Adetoun Tade, who spoke at the Leadership Workshop for Teachers on Friday, underscored the importance of grassroots development.

The association, which organised the workshop with the support of the US Consulate General in Lagos, noted that it had engaged in mentoring public school pupils aged 13-19 and graduated over 600 pupils “in about five schools” between 2018 and 2019.

Tade said, “We have realised that grassroots development is crucial to attain the kind of society that we desire and deserve, which is why we have been engaged in community development programmes and engage state governments at some levels.

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“We have a lot that we do at the grassroots level, but one of our major programmes is the mentorship programme, where we mentor senior secondary pupils on leadership, decision-making, importance of peer influence and more, so that when they get out of school into the real world, they know what to do.

“We have heard different stories about these young ones that are shocking, encouraging and mind-blowing. The quality of input always determines the quality of the output. If we do not make a conscious effort to groom these ones correctly, then those expectations we have will never come true.”

The Public Affairs Officer of the United States Consulate in Lagos State, Stephen Ibelli, in his remarks, described teachers as role models to pupils.

Ibelli, while addressing the teachers, said, “It all starts with teachers. I think if you ask anyone, they would always say, ‘I remember this teacher. This teacher inspired me. This teacher really changed my life.’ Whether you want it or not, all of you are role models and inspiration to all of the pupils that you teach.

The work that you do is so hard, especially when budgets are tight and there is no funding. But we hope that this training helps give you some tools which you will be able to use with the pupils because the next generation that’s coming is really important.

“As we saw with some of these protests, it was all young students that started these things. So, it’s really important that the next generation has some inspiration and idea about how to do that, and that is all because of you. You are the ones that will make this change.”