Being a foreign lecturer in a UK education system is a constant learning,
You can see my footsteps from Ave Lira to Barras Lane
I am a lecturer owing to my passion for helping others, and not the earning,
playing with victimisation to get a promotion would be lame.
Decolonising the way of teaching is more than just a reference list,
It is about examples, space, expression of knowledge and emotional connection,
But I’ve been told my teaching approach is not academic, but rather a myth
Engagement rather than attendance is important, but you’ll see it in the next section.
Some days will be seen as King Midas and you will be amazed,
It is an imposter who lives in me and my recurrent ocean of ‘typos’,
Some days it is more important to say the right things and be in the right place
Keep walking, do not listen to those dinosaurs, they are only psychos.
In the centre of the picture should be the student, not the teacher
Learning is playing, the classroom is the stage, and I am a clown
I try to tell students, to doubt everything even me, as I am not the preacher
Life and teaching are like a seesaw, so let’s enjoy it even when we are up or down.
There are amazing colleagues who are part of my community of learning,
when asking for help, very rarely they say never,
Despite the workload and other challenges, we do it not for the earning
They are my role models in teaching and learning forever.
This poem was submitted as part of the LSE HE Blog’s Poetry Amnesty.