There were so many teachers that impacted me positively during my time at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. Today, I share how my former teachers Mr Robert Boateng, a.k.a R Boat and Mr Adraku impacted my life. I may not know where they are currently, but for the inspiration and motivation they gave me, I am grateful. I am Clement Asante Buabeng and this is ‘My Teacher Story.’
My Class, Science One, was a very unique one. We, the students, were very brilliant but also talkative and headstrong. This was very unusual for a Science class. Due to this, my class had literally seen all the corners of the school as a result of different punishments we received. However, our class was also the first group of students to make it to the Brilla Science and Maths Quiz in 1998. We were talkative but we also had the best tutors at the time.
Mr Adraku was a very popular Chemistry teacher in that region. Students of other schools wanted to be tutored by him while on holidays and those who got the chance were glad they did. He wasn’t your quintessential scary thick tall man with a deep voice. He was very jovial, down to earth and very receptive when we had to go to the laboratory for experiments. If there is anything I remember of him, it is his desire to have his students read ahead of him. After every class, he would point out the next lesson and expect us to do our private studies. He always reiterated the importance of reading ahead. I really benefited from this advice when I started practicing it.
“I can feel from your faces that this is not what you expected with regards to Elective Math, it’s a difficult subject, but when you give it your best, you’ll excel. There are more things to come, but always brace yourself for future difficulties.” These were the first words of advice we received from Mr Robert Boateng aka R Boat during our first Elective Math lesson with him at St. Thomas Aquinas. This was truly the mark of R Boat; an honest man who never sugar coated anything to make us feel good. He was blunt and this made us see life practically and with a problem solving attitude. It translated into our elective maths classes with R Boat. His physical appearance was also one for the books; always impeccably dressed and neat with a nice tuck-in.
These teachers stood out for me because they both made me love their subjects. They made their lessons interesting and spiced it up with some life experiences that would go on to help us whenever we faced similar situations. We still revere these teachers whenever we talk about them on any school platform. We owe our success in our SSCE and where we are in life today to these men.
Senior High School years are the formative years for any adolescent, so I would entreat all teachers to pay attention to the academic and personal growth of their students. Aside from stuff in the syllabus, sharing your life lessons motivates students. I believe this is something all teachers can learn from R Boat and Mr Adraku.
“To Rev Father Batsa our headmaster at the time, To Mr. R Boat, Mr Adraku (May his soul rest in peace), Mr. Tagoe aka Attoranks, and all the other teachers of St. Thomas Aquinas at the time, I really appreciate the impact that you all had on me during my juvenile years, for the inspiration and motivation to become better persons in future, I am grateful.”
Clement Asante Buabeng attended St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School, Cantonments Accra from 1996-1998. Did you attend St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School, too? Were you a student of Mr Robert Boateng and Mr. Adraku? Share your experience about how they impacted your life in the comment section.
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