As posted by the super woman Beryl Wanga Itindi
Back in boarding primary school, our school had this day called ‘Education Day’ where parents were expected to come to school and discuss the performance of their children. Teachers always waited for this day to crucify students before their parents. You can imagine the parents of the early nineties with their strict nature. A parent could even beat you before the teacher just to show the teacher that beating you was very okay in case you messed up.
We were still new in the school. We were about 6 months old in the school. On this Education Day, together with their parent, a student was supposed to go to each teacher and spend at least 20 minutes just discussing the performance. My older sister Janet was a top performer, always topping her class. On the other hand, I was an average student in general but I always failed terribly in Maths. Janet was a very quiet person. Only talked when necessary. I was the loud one, always getting into trouble 🤣🤣🤣. I topped the list of noise makers, I was always caught dancing in class when the teacher is absent to break the boredom or swinging from one bed to another like a monkey in the dormitory in a bid to entertain introverted students 😅😅
So when this Education Day came, teachers were eagerly waiting for my parents to come so that they could skin me alive 😅😅😅. As we moved from one teacher to another, my parents sat there listening to every rebuke I was getting. The teachers kept saying “Beryl should be like Janet”. After aaaaaaall the talk, it was now the time for my parents to speak. My father said “On this, I will let their mother speak”. My father was a very sharp introvert and a man of very few words. He was the chairman of the Board of the school by then.
My mother looked at all the teachers in the staffroom and said. “You see how loud Beryl is? You see how much of an average student she is? She took after me. I am equally very poor in Maths. That’s something we can’t change. You see how sharp, calm and collected Janet is? She took after her father. Also, we can’t change that. I had thought that you were going to tell me that maybe she is a thief or she fights other students. That one I would have personally disciplined her here. But being loud and an average student, that’s no news to me. She’s flying my flag high. Janet is flying her father’s flag high. We are draw! Aren’t we?”
That there ended the session. Henceforth, no teacher ever rebuked me for being loud or being an average student. They did their part, teaching and mentoring. They left my ‘Loud talent’ to me. In my field of Communication, this ‘Loudness’ has taken me places!! Many places!! Including my recent trip to Dubai. On the other hand, in her Medical field, Janet’s calmness and collection has taken her places, many places, including Washington DC. This woman has saved many lives!!
In short, stop comparing your children and allow them to positively utilise their God given talents from an early age. The earlier the better. My mother even bought me a small drum to beat as I danced while entertaining people. Whenever visitors came, she would call me from the bedroom “Beryl, come and give them a number” and I would come dancing and beating my drum from the bedroom as I sung all the traditional songs she taught me. She never stopped telling visitors how talented I was in ‘Making necessary noise’ 😅😅😅. She also supported Janet by buying her anything she needed for her study. Janet was the first one among my siblings to get her own study table and chair.
Sori was and still is a super woman posthumously 💕💕
Happy International Women’s Day to all women out there making it happen!!