Today, as I sit to write at the Penman Centre in Nairobi, my mortal mind takes a mental flight back to 2015. As a teacher of English Language and Literature, I was preparing a candidate class for KCSE at a nascent private school in this trendiest town where roads such as Express Way have evolved to storeyed status.
I joined the school as a teacher of English. After teaching there for around two years, the deft management of the school promoted me to be the Deputy Principal of the school. Being young with modicum experience in teaching and school management, I must admit that it was a challenging job. In my moments of reflection, I always look back and thank God for propping me up.
I may not opt to write about how I handled discipline cases as the man who was at the helm of that department assisted by the dedicated Disciplinary Committee. In this essay, I will just say that pertaining to my short stint in that school as a teacher of English Language and Literature, I tried to create more contact hours with my students. I woke up early and slept late. Meaning, that apart from the normal lessons splashed on the Block Timetable during the day, I tried to create ample time to teach the students early in the morning and late in the evening. Of course, I prioritized the candidate class.
So, in 2015 I had a class of bright boys and girls. Unfortunately, there were glaring gaps in matters of character and discipline. This manifested in the form of stupid pride. As the KCSE exams edged closer, we reached a point where my disciples frowned at discipline and thought that they were done and dusted. They felt they were home and dry.
Therefore, some of them, due to what I term as stupid pride, started sliding into indiscipline cases like defiance of authority, skiving lessons, absconding duties, abusing drugs and use of vulgar language. Some became prone to unacceptable hairstyles, wearing of wrong school uniforms, refusal to sit for exams, sleeping in class, noise-making, coupling, vandalizing school property, absenteeism, theft, incitement and assault, et cetera.
Unfortunately, during the last lap, instead of polishing pale parts in the sphere of academics, we spent eternity solving indiscipline cases. Instead of reporting to the school to implement the main curriculum and instruct candidates on how to pass KCSE with flying colours, we allotted a lot of time reminding students to toe the line.
Somewhat, the school now looked like a police station and court of some sort.
Then, there is this episode: Based on my KCSE predictions, in English Paper 1 (Functional Skills), question 1(Functional Writing), I came up with a giant list of documents to go through. I remember, very close to KCSE, there is a day I went to class to tackle Minute Writing. Sadly, in a class of 50 students, only 15 were in attendance. Meaning, around 35 students were perhaps sleeping in the dormitory that morning.
Maybe, they thought at that time they could choose to clamour for comfort and free time as there was no need to attend more lessons. They thought they knew yet they knew very little, and the little they knew, they did not know it well. When KCSE 2015 came, to their utter surprise Minute Writing came as question 1 in English Paper. Advisedly, the sage said that we should let bygones be bygones. Albeit, I always take a mental flight back to 2015, and I feel for the caboodle of candidates who perhaps missed quality grades in English because of stupid pride.
How does this stupid pride manifest? We see it when some candidates choose to take the path of indiscipline. They refuse to listen to the administration and teachers. Then, when teachers cry about the candidate class, a curse can cloud their path of excellence. Then as we all know, curses are like chickens, they come to roost. When teachers who are elderly people, cry about children in the candidate class, this has a negative impact on what I call the ‘favour factor’. For apart from getting quality grades in school, students should strive to leave school with the bountiful blessings of teachers.
Consequently, stupid pride also manifests in candidates who are top achievers. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 8:1-2 that knowledge puffs up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. Therefore, candidates who ‘think’ that they know better, can be tempted to rely on their own limited effort. Some fail to know that there is nothing that can subrogate the place of a teacher. Once a teacher, always a teacher. A teacher may look young, even with modicum experience, but apart from the advantage of age, the teacher knows the right buttons to press, which can entice peak performance.
Then, top achievers in the candidate class should avoid hubris — excess self-confidence and pride. In addition, they should shun chutzpah — extreme self-confidence and audacity. For if they succumb to such, they will not make wise use of every minute to add some shine and sheen to their grades.
Interestingly, due to stupid pride, some top achievers just celebrate mediocrity — average grades. Instead of scoring maximum marks, they become complacent and just remain on top of the bottom or at the bottom of the top. It is stupid pride, which makes a top achiever to score an A of 80 points instead of an A of 84 points. A of 80 marks is not the same as A of 100 marks.
Stupid pride is bad. It is what sank the Titanic Ship in 1912. Shiv Khera writes in his heroic book titled You Can Achieve More that Titanic was the world’s largest ship. It weighed 46,328 tonnes, was 882 feet, and could accommodate 2,500 passengers. The Titanic was equipped with all the luxuries including a pool, gymnasium, mini-golf course, lavish dining rooms, et cetera. Ostensibly, it was the talk of town in those distant days. Mrs. Sylvia Caldwell, with her better half, boarded this behemoth vessel in Southampton on Sailing Day, April 10, 1912. She asked the crewman of the colossal ship who was still on the dock whether the vessel could sink. Stupid pride made him respond that even God could not sink it.
Sadly, in the evil hours of the night, the Titanic struck an iceberg ripping a hole through five of its sixteen water-tight compartments. The Titanic sank. 1,513 people died. The Captain and crew did not heed to the wise words ‘fore-warned is fore-armed’. They were warned earlier, but they totally ignored. Stupid pride made them sink. Apart from refusing to heed to the stern warning, they did not carry lifeboats. This begs the question: What sank Titanic? Stupid pride sank the Titanic.
Finally, in the years of yore, Greece, hubris was excessive pride towards gods. Apollo the King of Greece wanted to know the wisest man in Greece. Therefore, he sent his oracle into the streets to hunt for the wisest man that brought glory in Greece. When the oracle arrived in the streets, the oracle met a man called Socrates. The oracle asked Socrates about the wisest man in Greece. Then, Socrates responded that he was wisest man in Greece. When asked why he asserted that. He defended that he was the wisest in Great Greece because he knew that he knew nothing.
© Victor Ochieng’
The writer rolls out academic, career, leadership; talks and training services.
vochieng.90@gmail.com. 0704420232
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