By Victor Ochieng’
director@godspenconsultancy.co.ke
Mrs. Rosemary Kuto, the pleasant principal of Ossen Girls in Baringo County is one of the politest principals I have come into contact with in my school itineraries. When you meet this brilliant belle, the mile-wide smile she wears on her fair face leaves your world bright like light. This winsome woman is wise and well-cultured to the core. She is a perfect personification of politeness: etiquette courtesy or good manners.
To be blunt, in my school visits, I have met some principals who are full of themselves and whose egos are big like inflated balloons. These principals strut with heavy hubris because they think their plum positions make them larger than life.
There are principals who are on a cross purpose with students, staff and stakeholders due to abject lack of politeness. Ironically, they expect their subjects to be void and devoid of aberrant behaviour. Yet, it is always: Monkey see, monkey do.
In the whole scheme of things, the likes of Mrs Kuto are a different kettle of fish altogether. Sobriety, sanity and sensitivity make them understand that to lead yourself, you use your head, but to lead others, you use your heart.
I first met Mrs Kuto in Paul Wanyonyi’s WhatsApp group. She was being interviewed by that polymath during the school stasis caused by the Covid-19 contagion. When I contacted her to apprise her of the mentorship programmes I roll out in schools, she never dithered to nod to my proposal to work and walk with Ossen Girls.
Since schools re-opened, I have visited her nascent school three times to address the staff and students.
During my first visit, Mrs Kuto was holed up at home because she was under the weather. Her deft deputy was steering the school with the help of the dedicated and devoted team of teachers.
When I arrived in the school, I saw marks of etiquette in students and staff, which possibly have trickled-down from the polite and pleasant principal, who is also an excellent teacher of English language and literature.
Since I have mentioned marks of etiquette, I know you’re eager to see some of them cited. By and large, it’s easy to point out without a tinge or tad of struggle when someone evinces etiquette.
Polite people are pleasant, have a sweet spirit, are polite and diplomatic, they dress decently and are prone to polite use of language. Polite people are professional and polished. Courteous people are well-cultured citizens. Aptly put, polite people are good and gracious and gentility, is their trade mark.
Mrs Kuto oozes with all these colourful qualities. With foresight, I can see TSC promoting her to lofty leadership positions.
During my second and third visits to the school, I finally met Mrs Kuto. Through the meetings, I got to know that when she was still young in the teaching profession, she taught English language and literature at Moi High School-Kabarak. Teaching in that institution groomed her to be a legendary leader.
Somehow, teaching as a noble profession always require two things: Knowledge and experience.
A beautiful blend of the two makes a teacher to scale prodigious heights. No wonder, in my own view, I think a teacher should not just teach in one school in their entire teaching career.
Tutoring in different schools attract a cache of excellent experience and exposure. It also feathers someone’s cap with distinction. It expands someone’s thinking and worldview. It makes a professional to be a well-cultured citizen like Mrs Kuto who has done exploits in two top-tier girls’ schools perched in Baringo; the far-flung county of mysteries and miracles.
Mrs Kuto is the one who applied oil on the face of Pemwai Girls when she found it pale and ashen as ash. Her short stint in that school, hidden in a valley, placed it on the hill in terms of academic performance, diligence and discipline. The projects she spearheaded gave a face-lift to that centre of excellence for the girl child. Pemwai Girls is now a shining example in Baringo, the county that birthed and brought up the Kenyan second president – Moi – the sobriquet professor of politics.
After transforming Pemwai Girls, Mrs Kuto was transferred to Ossen Girls, which is a top girls’ school in Baringo County alongside Kapropita Girls.
There is a plausible plan to make Ossen Girls the national girls’ school in Baringo County. Plans are underway and the polite principal plus her dream team are fast-tracking it.
When one visits the school, they can spot qualities of a national school. The qualities are inherent and intrinsic in the staff and students.
The face of the school in terms of infrastructure, structure and culture is growing and glowing. Systems and programmes put in place are having a puissant impact on academic performance.
The graph of performance is on an upward trend – exponential. The polite and pleasant principal is doing it because this disposition in particular, is spectacular and peculiar.
All in all, as we all know, the school is the principal and the principal is the school. A principal can make or break a school.
My favourite self-help author, Dr. John C. Maxwell argues that everything rises and falls on leadership and leadership rises and falls on communication.
The writer rolls out pep talks and training services in schools.
