Infamous Heroes in School Are Never Heroes in Life

There’s some intuitive justification for what sounds like a whimsical, sentimental literary device; infamous heroes in school are never heroes in life. And this is why…

There is a crop of unamenable, stiff-necked and deviant students in any school worth its salt. And they do all manner of negative things from bullying other students – shoving and teasing, stealing, noise making, refusing to do manual work. But the most important aspect peculiar to this group is the disrespect of teachers.

Talking about this group is talking about those people you schooled with. Fellow students we could shudder in their presence. Who made it difficult for us to enjoy the educational process. They trended in almost every ugly incident there was.

While other students came to limelight by sheer hard work, getting paraded for presents and gifts, this lot’s social identity was earned by doing the most uncouth and reckless of things, unbelievably annoying stuff. The former’s fame rested on solid personal achievements: on books, sports, debates and contests.

Almost everyone in school knew them like the back of their hands because every assembly day, we could hear their names called out – for bad reasons of course. Expressing a desire for more control in the classroom, and acting inappropriately made them feel powerful.

They meted out violence on other students, often expedient, crossing lines to be served first in the kitchen and water points. Menacing bullies we could not stand their force. We often shrinked before them.

Relating a personal story, I schooled in a remote primary school in the backwaters of Bondo town. And we got this freaking lot, only we got them in excess. They hid machetes in their clothes, walking around with sagged shorts, feeling important yet in the actual sense, they were all show and no substance.

Any teacher who dared confront them was in for a rude shock, infact no teacher could properly handle them except the headmaster who was often out of school, leaving them marauding like stray elephants.

They could not bring themselves to understand the value and power of school, they had the reciprocal of their priorities.

As a consequence, most of them got expelled from school, devoid of basic education. They have hitherto remained illiterate, unemployed and unemployable, living shaky and desperate lives. They have ultimately dipped themselves into oblivion, they are nolonger heroes!

Those kids who used to be cool, vulnerable and quiet have continued to tower, influencing lives, shaping communities and building the nation.

#Writing Is A Labour Of Love ☺