When the government rolled out the new competency based curriculum in 2020, majority of the teachers were swept into unimaginable feelings of confusion, panic. Fear for loss of jobs as some subjects were rumored to face elimination from the Syllabus. This announcement was then followed by a series of teacher trainings on what the competency based curriculum was to be about, how to teach and evaluate learners in this new setting. The trainings went on in various parts of the country to ensure that the teachers get to know what the new curriculum entailed.
I was among the teachers who resisted this new development right from the start. I though that this system was ambiguous since the developers did not consult we the implementers. I clearly believed that, may be along the way the government would drop the idea. Little did I know that the new change was here to stay and what I needed was an attitude change.
I am lucky enough to be teaching in a school where the training on the new curriculum is often done. My school actually has master trainers. I woke up one morning and decided to faithfully attend a session in one of the trainings that was going on at my school https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVOW9dK7IjM&feature=emb_rel_pause.
I was amazed by the ideology behind the new curriculum, being a young and compassionate teacher, the methodology of teaching in this new curriculum where the learners were to be the drivers of their own lesson, interested me so much. This was the method I was already using but I inwardly thought it was wrong. This session proved to me that I was on the right track.
Feeling proud and excited I continued and attended the afternoon session, the rest is history. I then realized that the curriculum is not bad, but rather my attitude and I ultimately had to work on it. This new curriculum colleagues requires a mindset change if at all we are to remain its implementers. It requires a great deal of patience, flexibility, and mastery of the 21st century skills. I must testify that upon realizing that this curriculum is here to stay, I had to unclog my negative attitude and embrace the new education change.
Colleagues lets stop poking holes in this new curriculum, because it is the best thing that can happen to the any Ugandan student in this generation. Let us not wait to be coarsed into changing dear teachers. Our attitude must change for it determines altitude. let us try to rhyme with what the learners demands are. if we are required to penetrate their way of life which is now too technological then we should do that. We are teaching learners that spend much of their time on social media platforms, a lot of joy is derived from Tik Tok, Tweet, Facebook, and Whatsapp.
We might find ourselves in a huge trap of backwardness if we don’t choose to reach out to the learners from their level of understanding. Sometimes all we need to to try and tweet something Educative, Tik Tok can change from being an entertainment platform to equally an educative one. You can reach out to your learners through your youtube channel. This is all possible if we are ready to face the the new change with the right attitude.
I personally have just started on an adventure on Tik Tok ,and the following is amazing because “a teacher affects eternity, you never know where your influence stops”. I went ahead and took an computer course at E-Zone School of computing to upgrade my competency in the computer based learning. It is with this that I have been exposed to a lot of digital tools of learning as a teacher of the Edify E-learning program. This ranges from teaching using Zoom, to using YouTube, Google classroom, and Google earth. I can now confidently thank the President of this country for the lockdown because It has made me a digital teacher . The learners get to relate with you more if they realize that you understand them from their point of need. This is exactly what the new curriculum demands, for the learners to be the priority in all aspects.
The big question then would be “Are you ready to the learners take charge”? if the answer is NO then you need an attitude change. The competency based curriculum is here to stay.
Written by Nangoma Druscilla, a proud teacher at Trinity College Nabbingo.
