By Titlope Ogundele
LAST week, I needed to change the charger of my phone. The one I had stopped working abruptly and I had to buy a new one immediately.
I was careful not to buy from the roadside sellers because I didn’t want to buy a fake one.
I walked into a shop to get one. I believe this particular shop would care about their reputation.
When I got there, I met a man and a young boy. The boy should be about 12 to 13 years old.
The young boy was the one that attended to me.
I told the man that I didn’t want a fake charger and he instructed the boy to show me how to identify an original one.
The young boy gave me the supposed ‘hack’.
Alright.
When I wanted to pay, the young boy dictated the company’s account number off hand.
All along, English was our language of communication and I admired his eloquence.
Then, the young boy told me to come over for my ‘receipt’, clearly pronouncing the ‘p’ in the word.
The Phonics’ teacher in me swung into action and I politely corrected him.
I told him the correct pronunciation and explained that the ‘p’ in receipt is silent. It only appears in spelling but disappears in pronunciation.
However, I told him to check a dictionary for verification.
The boy responded with a calm and polite ‘Thank you, ma.’
As a teacher, I know that learning is not limited to the classroom. Learning takes place everywhere and no one outgrows learning.
Even as a teacher, I am open to learning too.
Whether you are young or old, you should have the right attitude to learning; be open hearted. You can learn from anyone and you can learn anywhere.
As long as you’re alive, you should keep learning.
