Akau commits to teaching

By PHOEBE GWANGILO
AS the saying goes, teachers are parents to students, nurses to them when they are sick, mediators to solve pupils’ differences and even spiritual leaders.
Being all of these in a day to suit individual students’ needs is a daunting tasks, yet it takes a person who is passionate for the job to mould youngsters year after year.
But again teaching in lower primary, especially educating the age group between seven and 10 is even more stressful as these children need to be constantly reminded.
Lodie Jonda Akau, 50, from Malamai village in the Saidor district of Madang has been teaching at Lutheran Day Primary School in Madang for the last 20 years and was known to be very good with these group of students.
Like potter’s hands on a clay, she is passionate to mould students towards having a decent future.
In the course of discipline, students were reminded of bible characters which they learnt earlier during their Christian religion lessons – these convicts them that they admit and accept correction.
Over the years, Akau has met many of her former students who are better off.  One thing they would talk about was the kind of discipline they had with Akau.
“I feel blessed seeing them being successful. That’s the kind of life I want my students to be,” she said.
Akau is married to a ship captain and has four children.
At times she has to take on her husband’s duties at home when he is out in the sea.
She is a full time mother and a teacher, sometimes a dad to her children and a nurse, parent, mediator and chaplin to her students.
Like cedar standing firm and tall, her faith is planted deep in God’s words so she does not grow weary.
In 1985, Akau, graduated from Madang Teachers College with a certificate in primary teaching.
She then taught in five schools in remote areas of Madang before transferring to Lutheran Day Primary School in 1995.
While teaching at Lutheran Day, she furthered to a diploma at the Papua New Guinea Education Institute in 1999.
In 2005, Akau returned to PNGEI for a two-month course where she graduated as an upper primary assessor and was given certificate.
With that, she was selected among few who travelled to different electorates of Madang in-servicing teachers about the previous curriculum (Outcome-Based Education).
Akau planned to resign at the age of 50 which was last year but due to her husband loosing his job with the Lutheran Shipping last year, she continued to sustain her family since all of her children are currently attending tertiary and secondary schools.