Radio season Teachers in Africa

	Mr Kaweireku made the class feel like a group of refined Englishmen at a Shakespeare sonnet recital

Looking back over my school years I can safely say that no one teacher influenced my life more than the man who taught me English in the run up to my O level exams.

These are the first four years in secondary school in Uganda where I come from.

Mr P. Kaweireku; that was the name we knew him by.

Why did I find him such an admirable teacher?

Well, it could have been any number of reasons.

Perhaps it was because the way he spoke the language made it clear to me that he was a man who practised what he preached.

Perhaps it was the easy manner in which he weaved his way from topic to topic in the text books.

Or perhaps it was that he was a man in whom I detected no pettiness.

Well, whatever other reasons there may have been, one that I know for sure is that he was a man who had me convinced that he believed in me.

Did you know? The global average state expenditure per child on primary education is US$629 a year; in Africa it is US$48 Govender and Gruzd 2004

There was something about the way he passed on his knowledge during lessons that made us, his young teenage students, feel like a group of refined Englishmen at a Shakespeare sonnet recital.

I find that, because of the way he taught, he earned my respect as opposed to some of my other teachers who demanded it.

As a result of Mr P. Kaweireku's teaching, I decided that I had to excel at English not just so that I could pass my exams but so that I could live an eloquent life.

Do you have fond memories of a teacher from your formative years? Do you have a favourite teacher, one who really inspired you? Why not tell us about them? Simply send us your memories via the form on the right and we'll publish a selection of your contributions.

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