A few months after graduating from the Accra Academy, I applied for my first ever paid job as a preschool teacher. Before applying, I had imagined my greatest struggle would be having to handle the stress from multitasking and many others, but I never thought the simplest act of teaching rhymes and poems to kids would become one of my biggest challenges yet greatest teachers.
On my first day of teaching, I was introduced to the kids as their new teacher and there was some kind of excitement among them — they now had a new teacher. I tried as much as possible to be as fun as I could be. I recited some rhymes I could remember with them and for the first few minutes, they responded with enthusiasm.
Five minutes later and they seemed to have lost the energy they began with and were yawning; an indirect signal of how boring I was. For days, I laboured endlessly, only to watch the strong yet small pieces of my pride diminish each time I tried. For some reason, teaching preschool rhymes and poems always left me in a quandary.
As the weeks progressed, I persisted, watched YouTube videos and sought feedback from fellow teachers - resulting in an improvement in my rhyming skills. The seemingly trivial task of teaching rhymes and poems had clearly proven to be not trivial at all. The difficulties that I encountered teaching simple rhymes and poems was proof of this.
This experience has become the foundation of whom I have grown to become as a person. Through this experience, I've leant that the most gratifying victories come from tenacity. And the art of tenacity has pushed me to become a better person in all facets of my life - graphic design, studies, and what have you.
I'm Joshua Eyram Wordey, and tenacity is the word that best describes who I am. I sometimes sit back to imagine what life would have been like without tenacity or anyone failing. Perhaps, we still would not have the light bulb.
Last updated: February 2022
