Bayo Fasuwon

While in the primary and early secondary school, yours truly was much more concerned about the grades recorded in my ‘report card’ at the end of the term. When the marks are written in blue ink, even if low, the enthusiasm to go home was very high. However, whenever the marks were ‘bloodied’, the lies to justify failures naturally concoct itself. Looking back now, one remembers that there were times when the marks were written in blue, and the canes came heavy, and ironically, there were times when the red ink only procured encouragements and more coaching classes. It was not until the latter years of secondary school education that the reason dawned.

The reactions of my parents then were determined more by my ‘Class teacher’s remarks’, than by the actual results of the examination. The remarks had in truth contributed in shaping my present day character. In reminiscence, the common remarks then had included, ‘this is a fair result, try harder’; ‘good result, try harder’; ‘he is too noisy in class’; ‘he is too playful’; he could perform better if he reduces his play time’; ‘he needs extra coaching in Mathematics’; and many more than one could recall. For all these remarks, the reactions of my parents were different but effective. When being a talkative seemed incurable, one was thrown into the literary and debating society and so blessed was one. Therefore, the reactions of my parents to these remarks rather than the scores ultimately resulted in better grades in subsequent terms.

The teachers’ remarks in those days showed that teachers had first hand information about their students. The loco-parentis aspect of teaching was executed with deeper sense of commitment and closeness with students, more of than not, the remarks were usually accurate, although some may be exaggerated. Nowadays, teachers’ remarks are often written ‘as led by the spirit’. Possibly due to the increased number of students in the classrooms, the ungrateful attitude of parents or the quest to make ends meet, only few teachers have first hand information about their students.

Class teachers’ remarks now are dependent on the student’s academic performance, or in some cases, same remarks are written in all the students’ report cards thereby keeping the parents in the dark concerning the character of their wards.  In some schools, where the use of red ink is an anathema (some have argued that it depresses the child), few parents check the teachers’ remarks and are often fixated on the examination scores.  In later years, parents are often taken aback at the unwholesome behaviour of their ‘well behaved’ children but are ignorant that certain tendencies which ought to have been curbed since infancy were left to take root and become stubborn trees that bore poisonous fruits.

In relation to government and governance, the people’s remarks ought to be taken seriously by those in power if they really want to serve the people. Human beings are naturally configured to focus more on the negatives than the positives, hence the reason why there are more critics than thankful observers of government’s activities. While Presidents and Governors would like us to focus on the scores of achievements during their one hundred days in office, the populace would focus more on the deficiencies and character flaws within those periods. A government doomed to fail would ignore the scathing remarks, describe the people as ingrates, and deteriorate within a period.

Every critic (whether mischievous or factual) often help a good leader become better in the long run. Being on the street, and recipients of the aftermath of government’s actions and inaction, the people are able to write remarks that depict more accurately the impact of governance. There may be the need for more enlightenment, policy appraisal, and reversal; change of methods or even the continuation of particular action plan all these would culminate in improved governance and better service delivery in the end. Therefore, the jettison of the people’s remarks, and treating it as the ‘rants of a lunatic’ would only result in bad governance in the end.

Truth be told, some teachers comments have had devastating effects on students in certain cases. These statements howbeit may be truths written out of faithlessness, frustrations, doubts, and void of love. Some teachers have written off students, and gullible parents had accepted the verdict thereby truncating the student’s education. The story is told of a mother who having received a written report on her son, withdrew the child from the school, and home schooled him. She told the son that the school had written that the boy was so brilliant and intelligent that the school lacks the facilities to help him grow and become the great man he was destined to be.

Years later, when the boy had become an inventor of great repute, he stumbled upon the piece of paper given to her mother several years ago. In it was written that the boy could never assimilate anything, and may never become anything worthwhile in life and so must be withdrawn from school. The boy turned man, wept in gratitude for his mother’s faith and hard work. It is expedient for teachers to choose their words when commenting on a student’s report cards as words have the capability of ‘death and life’.

Even in stating the obvious, care must be taken not to destroy a leaking pot. Words must build up and not tear down. Therefore, people who pass remarks on government must also do so in such a manner as to strengthen and encourage them to perform better and not to denigrate them. Just as teachers’ remarks should succinctly identify the student’s problem, and proffer solutions, critics of government must in few words, identify the shortcomings of government and thereafter proffer workable solutions.

A bad remark is not a death sentence, often it is based on myopic judgment of current facts. The story from above however portrays how government and parents ought to react to ‘damning’ reports. Rather than fight the teachers or critics, a positive mental attitude must be developed to generate ideas on how to employ the facts in the comments, work on it, and make lemonade out of the lemon. Therefore, many government policies, which may be dead on arrival in its present form, can metamorphose into modified indispensable developmental tools if the right attitude is injected into it.

In other words, ‘murderous’ remarks can be building blocks for an enduring legacy. It may demand that government changes the timing, the methods, the words, location, and people initially saddled with the responsibility of implementing the criticized policy. Not every ‘bad’ remark about governance must be taken as an affront and handiworks of the opposition. The truth is that oppositions are in place to prevent the derailment and or slumber of the people in power. Handled with a positive mental attitude, the opposition often helps to sustain the ruling party in power. Therefore, while the admonition remains that caustic remarks must be avoided, the receivers of such must also ensure that all stones thrown at them are collected and used to build bridges.

Note

May the Almighty God, from whom life and good health flow, extend the air of wellness to Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, and grant him full recovery, more vitality and grace to perform his sacred and constitutional duty to the people of Ondo State in particular, and Nigeria.