What began as an unexpected path for Adeola Akinsulure has since evolved into a deeply fulfilling career spanning over 13 years. Today, Akinsulure is a Biology teacher at Omole Senior Grammar School, Lagos, where she is known for her commitment to STEM education and her unwavering belief that collaboration among educators yields far greater results than competition.
Her impact has earned her national and international recognition, including being a Top 10 Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize, a Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Fellow, and the 2025 Maltina Teacher of the Year First Runner-Up. Yet beyond the awards and accolades lies a teacher whose greatest joy comes from seeing her students succeed, grow, and thrive long after they have left her classroom.
In this edition of My Teaching Life, Adeola Akinsulure speaks with Temitope Kareem about discovering purpose in teaching, the emotional demands of the profession, the power of collaboration, and why she believes a teacher’s true wealth is measured not by money but by the lives they touch.
Teaching, she says, is not merely a job. It is a lifelong commitment to learning, creating opportunities, and helping students see possibilities beyond their current circumstances. From travelling to the United States through the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program to investing personal resources in classroom technology, her journey reflects the dedication many teachers bring to their work every day, often without recognition.
Temitope Kareem (TK): How did you become a teacher?
Adeola Akinsulure (AA): Practically, my mum discovered this gift. I wanted to become a businesswoman but right now I can boldly say that I am selling the best product, which is education.
When my mum discovered this, I struggled with it, coupled with the fact that I had no educational certification or degree. I have a BSc in Biochemistry. However, during Governor Fashola’s administration, he encouraged us to get our PGD because he believed that some people have mastery of their subjects even without educational qualifications.
For instance, some people who studied Chemistry in school may have a mastery of Chemistry much more than someone who studied Education and took many education courses but only a few Chemistry courses. So I got my PGD, and here we are today.
TK: What did you think teaching would be like and how wrong were you?
AA: My dad was a teacher. He taught all his life for 35 years. Even after he retired, he was reappointed as an Education Secretary in Lagos State.
I saw my dad’s struggles financially as a child and I wanted a better life than what I saw. In my mind, I thought teaching would not give me what I wanted. However, I was wrong.
Along the line, I realised that wealth is defined by the number of lives you can touch. Right now, I am more fulfilled touching lives and seeing the students I have taught in better places.
For instance, I once travelled to Dubai and needed to sort out some things at the airport. I turned, saw someone in uniform and approached her. As soon as I started speaking, she asked if I remembered her. Alas, she was once a student I taught while she was in secondary school. She hugged me and everything I needed to sort out was attended to immediately.
Supporting students from various backgrounds has been one of my greatest blessings and responsibilities as a teacher. These students carry on what you deposit in them, and this is worth more than the money in the bank.
TK: Walk us through your side of the classroom. What does a typical day look like for you?
AA: I will say a typical day starts from my dreams, literally. For instance, today started before 6:30 a.m. I live around Mowe and left home in search of flowers in my neighbourhood that would be used for teaching in class today.
Once I get to school, assembly and lessons begin. Even when I am not in the classroom during the day, I am still learning and discussing with fellow teachers about challenges, how we can be better, and questions students asked that we felt were not properly attended to.
Once I get home, I am putting my slides in place, marking assignments, working on questions, videos, and so on. Sometimes, I come up with common songs and infuse them into teaching so that the concepts I am teaching stay with students for a long time.
Teaching is 24 hours for me and for many other teachers.
TK: What is the hardest part of this job nobody talks about?
AA: The hardest part of this job nobody talks about is the emotional health of the teacher.
As individuals, we have our personal struggles. The system has its demands, and then you get to the classroom and meet diverse students with diverse needs.
Once you are stepping into the school gate, you put your struggles aside to attend to those of the students.
I once partnered with a professional from India to come and speak with teachers in the school where I was teaching at that time about mental health because I believe it is an aspect that deserves more attention.
TK: Tell us about the moment that changed how you teach forever.
AA: The moment that changed how I teach was in 2021 when I won the Fulbright Teaching Excellence Award and travelled to the United States.
The Fulbright TEA is a fully funded programme of the United States government that takes secondary school teachers to the U.S. to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to help their students.
That was a major turning point and, in the past five years, everything has changed.
While in the U.S., I had the opportunity to visit, observe, and teach in American classrooms. I saw how things were done and had the opportunity to meet educators from more than 22 countries. It changed my perspective on education and exposed me to various strategies that I brought back home.
COVID-19 was another game changer for me. I took my teaching online, started creating educational content, and met other exceptional teachers. That was when I developed the philosophy, “Collaboration is better than competition.”
I worked with other teachers, learnt from them, and added my creativity and innovation based on my students’ needs.
Read also:
My Teaching Life: “Teaching Is Not a Walk in the Park; It Is a Calling That Shapes the Future”
My Teaching Life: “I Stopped Teaching Subjects and Started Teaching Humans”
My Teaching Life: “I Teach to Rewrite What’s Possible for Every Child”
TK: If you could go back to your first day as a teacher, what would you tell yourself?
AA: When I first came into the profession, I saw it as a stepping stone towards my life goal.
At first, I did not care much about the job and was simply doing it because of my mum. Now that I know better, if I could go back to that very first day, I would focus on impact, collaboration, 21st-century skills, and self-development as a teacher.
I would tell myself to focus on impact above all and to keep building myself professionally.
TK: Have you ever wanted to quit? What happened what made you stay?
AA: Truthfully, there has never been a time I thought of quitting teaching.
Right now, teaching is like a honeymoon to me because I enjoy it. During holidays, I look forward to seeing my students and engaging with my teaching community.
I have had people offer me amazing opportunities, even outside the country, and I have turned them down every single time.
I do not think I will be leaving teaching anytime soon.
TK: What does the education system get fundamentally wrong about teachers?
AA: I think it is the demands the system places on teachers without making the necessary skills and resources available for them to deliver what is expected.
For instance, this is the 21st century and technology is encouraged by the system. While many teachers would like to embrace technology, they do not have access to resources such as smart boards and projectors and still rely heavily on whiteboards and chalkboards.
It takes a teacher willing to go the extra mile.
For example, I invested in a projector that cost about one million naira after participating in the Maltina Teacher of the Year competition and winning about five million naira. How many teachers can do that?
It is not because they do not want to, but because the resources are not available. Before this projector, I had a rechargeable projector, a voice amplifier, a power station, and several other tools I used in my classroom.
Not all teachers can afford these things, even when they are willing. Although I have had people support me with equipment from time to time, not every teacher gets that kind of support.
TK: If you had five minutes with a policymaker, what would you say?
AA: Simple. Most of the policies being formulated are done without teachers being involved.
I would say, involve more teachers in policymaking. We are the ones in the field and we know how things really are.
TK: Has this job affected your life outside the classroom?
AA: Negatively, I can become so engrossed in work that I find it difficult to spend time with my family.
I could be awake until 1 a.m., putting notes together, sourcing content, gathering videos for students, and attending meetings with other educators across different time zones.
What I have started doing now is carrying my family along. When I have programmes or create content, I involve my children. My first son is my cameraman and my second child is my personal assistant.
Positively, I would say the recognition, remuneration, and awards that come with the job have been rewarding. People reach out to me on LinkedIn from all over the world.
I would say the positive effects outweigh the negative. Seeing my students doing great things gives me so much joy.
TK: What’s the student story you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life?
AA: I have a lot. I have encountered many students. One of the stories that will stay with me is that of a young man who was my student. At the time, he was older than I was.
He returned to school because he wanted to join the military, and to do that, he needed his SSCE. When he came back, he was almost in the same class as his first child, but he never gave up.
Through thick and thin, he remained committed. I supported him. He wrote his SSCE, sat for the military examinations, passed, went through training, and is now in the Nigerian Army.
He recently told me he had celebrated his second year after redeployment.
One day after completing his military training, he came back to appreciate me. By then, I had already been transferred to another school, but he came there fully dressed in his military uniform.
That was one of the moments I was grateful I chose to see this job as something bigger than money.
TK: What do you want your students to remember about you, 20 years from now?
AA: I want them to remember me as the teacher who never gave up on them and always believed in them.
I will never look down on my students. I will always support them.
Someone wrote about me on Facebook this week, talking about how I make my students my friends regardless of the age difference.
I want them to see me as a friend, not just as a teacher. I am my students’ greatest cheerleader.
I always remind them that they are competing with global talents, not just with other Nigerian students.
TK: In one sentence, how would you describe yourMy Teaching Life: teaching life?
AA: I will say it is simply fulfilling.