Coach Masters Arena

My name is Mbielu Anurika Chioma.

I graduated with a Second Class Upper Division in Mathematics from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State.

Whenever I see people ask, "What exactly did I go to the university to learn?" I just smile.

The mode of training I received at the university is exactly what I am now mildly inculcating into the students I tutor today.

One thing about me is that I do not believe in spoon-feeding students.

If I present a student with a question on a topic they have learnt before but have forgotten, I will use every skill I gathered during my years at the university to guide, question, encourage, and sometimes gently pressure them until they find a way to solve it themselves.

Many students think I am being strict.

I am not.

I am training them.

When introducing new topics, if there are related concepts they have learnt previously, I deliberately connect the topics together and allow them to discover patterns for themselves rather than doing all the work for them.

This is one reason lazy students may not like me.

But life does not reward dependence.

Life rewards problem-solvers.

Looking back today, if we had been spoon-fed at the university, I am afraid many of us would not have become who we are today.

We learnt how to write project topics.

We learnt how to write academic papers.

We learnt how to carry out research.

We learnt how to solve academic problems with very minimal supervision.

Many times, we had to figure things out ourselves.

Special appreciation to my late friend, Nicholas Stanley, of blessed memory, who played a role in shaping that journey.

Interestingly, while we were students, many of us thought our lecturers were punishing us.

Today, I know better.

They were building our confidence.

They were building our resilience.

They were teaching us how to think independently.

They were preparing us for life beyond the classroom.

That is exactly why I do not spare my students.

Not because I want to stress them.

Not because I enjoy seeing them struggle.

But because I know what awaits them at higher levels of education and in life itself.

The student who is constantly spoon-fed today may struggle tomorrow when nobody is available to hold their hand.

The student who is trained to think will always find a way forward.

To all my lecturers from Year 1 to Year 4, thank you for the impact you made on my life.

And to my students:

Trust the process.

The struggle you experience today may be the very thing that gives you confidence tomorrow.

School is not a scam.

The right training can change the entire course of a person's life.

Parents and students, let me ask:

Do you prefer a tutor who gives answers, or a tutor who teaches students how to find answers?

Let's discuss.