Celebrating a Decade of Teaching: From Mogadishu Classrooms to Global Academia

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Farhiya Hassan Mohamed

Somali Teacher’s Day is a moment to celebrate the lecturers whose influence extends well beyond classrooms — educators who guide, inspire, and shape entire generations. For me, this year holds a deeply personal significance. It marks 10 years since I first stepped into a classroom as a teacher.

The journey has been long, layered, challenging, emotional, and transformative. What began as a teenage girl helping young learners in 2015 has developed into a decade of teaching in primary schools, secondary schools, universities, and even an international graduate programme in Japan.

This is the story — and celebration — of a decade that shaped my identity, boosted my confidence, and formed the educator I am today.

2015 — Teaching Primary School (While Finishing High School)

My journey began in 2015, while I was still completing my final year of high school. I took my first teaching role in a primary school (Dugsi Hoose), guiding very young children who were just beginning their learning journeys.

I was young myself, and the responsibility felt both overwhelming and exciting. But in those small, humble classrooms, surrounded by curious eyes and eager smiles, I learned some of the most important lessons of my life.

Teaching young children taught me responsibility long before adulthood demanded it. It taught me to slow down, to explain gently, and to meet students exactly where they were. I learned patience, not from books, but from children who needed time to understand a single letter or word. I learned compassion, seeing how differently children learn and express themselves. Most importantly, I started building a quiet confidence — one lesson, one day, one classroom at a time.

These early years became the foundation of a journey that I didn’t yet know I was beginning.

2018 — Teaching Secondary School (While in University, 5th Semester)

By 2018, I had entered my 5th semester of university, balancing my own academic responsibilities while stepping into the role of a secondary school teacher. Every morning, before attending my university lectures, I stood in front of teenagers navigating identity, emotions, dreams, and academic pressure.

Teaching secondary school students was a new level of responsibility. It required emotional maturity, leadership, communication, and empathy. Teenagers challenged me, questioned me, and expected a stronger version of me every day. Through them, I learned emotional intelligence — how to read moods, understand silence, and respond with the right balance of firmness and gentleness.

This period taught me how to lead a classroom, how to support struggling students, and how to inspire those finding their direction. Balancing university classes in the afternoon and teaching in the morning shaped my discipline and time management in ways I still carry today.

This phase marked my transition from “someone who teaches” to someone becoming an educator.

2020–2022 — Joining University Staff: Teaching Undergraduate Students

As I progressed academically, I was offered the opportunity to teach undergraduate students as part of the university staff. This was a milestone I will never forget — standing in a lecture hall for the first time, facing future professionals, researchers, economists, and statisticians.

Teaching undergraduates required a new level of preparation, expertise, and academic maturity. I began developing structured lectures, designing materials, preparing assignments, and providing feedback that genuinely impacted students’ academic growth.

These years taught me:

• How to lecture confidently to large groups
• How to translate complex concepts into simple explanations
• How to mentor students through academic challenges
• How to build my academic voice and professional identity

This period strengthened my belief that teaching was not just something I did but it was something I was meant to do.

2023–2024 — Graduate Teaching Assistant at APU, Japan

In 2023, during my Master’s studies at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) in Japan, I had the privilege of serving as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. Teaching at the Master’s level, in an international and multicultural classroom, changed everything.

Japan shaped me academically, professionally, and personally. I learned the depth of cultural differences in learning — how students from different countries interpret knowledge, respect silence, communicate, and engage with their lecturers. I observed the discipline and precision in Japanese academic environments, the respect for time, and the attention to detail in academic writing and research.

Being a TA at APU strengthened my confidence in advanced teaching, student support, academic advising, and multicultural communication. It was a global turning point in my journey — one that polished my mindset and broadened my understanding of education.

Japan didn’t just elevate my teaching. It elevated my identity as a global educator.

2025 — Returning Home With a Global Perspective

After completing my studies in Japan, I returned to Somalia with renewed purpose, expanded vision, and deeper academic discipline. Today, I teach full university courses in:

• Economics
• Statistics

I also give mentoring sessions, supervise undergraduate theses — guiding students through their first real research journeys, helping them develop confidence, clarity, and academic maturity.

I teach now with a new level of awareness — shaped by Somali classrooms, Japanese classrooms, and the lessons of a decade. Every lecture I deliver, every thesis I supervise, and every classroom discussion I guide is touched by the growth of these ten years.

Teaching is not just my profession. It is the identity I carry with pride.

The Lessons of a Decade

After ten years of classrooms, cultures, challenges, and transformations, these are the lessons that remain closest to my heart:

Responsibility shapes character

Teaching at a young age forced me to mature early, lead early, and build discipline early.

Emotional intelligence is essential

Teaching teenagers taught me to understand emotions, not just academics.

Leadership is service

Teaching is one of the purest forms of serving others.

Patience transforms learning

Growth takes time — students bloom at different paces.

Cultural differences enrich teaching

Teaching builds lifelong confidence

A deep, quiet, steady confidence that stays with you everywhere.

Teaching did not just shape my career.

It shaped my character, worldview, voice, and purpose.

As Somalia celebrates its teachers today, I celebrate the journey that shaped me:

• the primary students who taught me compassion
• the teenagers who taught me emotional intelligence
• the undergraduates who trusted my guidance
• the graduate classrooms in Japan that refined my discipline
• the colleagues and mentors who supported me
• the many students whose lives touched mine

This decade is not just ten years of teaching but it is ten years of growing, learning, becoming, and serving.

Happy Somali Teacher’s Day.

And cheers to a decade of teaching, transformation, and purpose.