💔 “Nwa Teacher” — A Pa!nful Day I Can Never Forget… In my early days as a teacher, I was burn!ng with passion. I would read deep into the midnight, researching and preparing—just to give my best to my students. Teaching wasn’t just a job to me; it was my calling. One day, I taught my JSS1 students the topic of prime numbers. We laughed, we learned, and the class was so lively. I felt fulfilled. I gave them an assignment and marked it with care. One brilliant girl — one of the best in the class — scored 9/10. Just one mistake. The next day, her mother stormed into the school. Without greeting, without respect, She walked straight to my classroom and shouted, “Why did you fail my daughter?! She’s supposed to get 10 over 10!” I calmly asked for the book to explain. Her daughter had listed all the prime numbers below 40. But mistakenly added ‘1’ as a prime number. I pointed this out and gently explained why 1 is not a prime number. She continued arguing that one is a prime number. That a prime number is a number that can be divided by one and itself. I tried to correct her and tell her why she is wrong. Then… it happened. In front of the students, She yelled: “You are a usele$$ teacher! Don’t you ever in your life fail my daughter again!” I tried to speak — she screamed louder: “Shu.t up! What do you even earn? I can pay your 5 months salary comfortably!” “If you were intelligent, you would’ve been a medical doctor by now! Look at you — nwa teacher!” The class burst into laughter. The same students I stayed up all night preparing lessons for. The same students I give my heart to every single day. I stood there, broken… Smiling weakly on the outside. But bleeding heavily on the inside. That day, a part of me d!ed. And till today, Each time I remember those words. “If you were intelligent, you would’ve been a doctor… Nwa teacher…” I feel the pa!n all over again. Dear parents, We are human too. Teachers are not punch!ng bags. We sacrifice more than you know. Please… Mind the way you talk to teachers.