Do we remember who the Guest Speakers are at school speech nights? Or even what he or she said? If none can remember, is there any point in them speaking? Maybe we are in for a surprise!
A pupil in Grade 1 came home from school very pleased one day and declared to his mother that he had his first Shona lesson and he had learned how to say, “Oh what a wonderful surprise!” She was a little surprised that her son would be learning such a complicated lesson so soon, so she asked him how to say that sentence in Shona. He quickly and confidently replied, “Aagh, aagh, aagh, aagh!”
We might have heard of the Englishman, Welshman and Scotsman who were stranded on a remote island. One day they found a lamp with a genie inside and they were all thrilled to be given one wish each. The Englishman wished that he could be back home watching rugby with his mates and suddenly he disappeared as his wish was granted. The Welshman wished that he could be whisked back to the valleys in Wales to be with his wife and children. He too disappeared in a flash. So, finally, it was the Scotsman’s turn and he announced: “I wish my friends were back here with me!”
Unlike the Scotsman in the story, readers here appear to be an intelligent crowd so here is a question: what do the following people have in common? Sir Alex Ferguson (the great soccer manager), Sir Elton John (the great pop singer), Sir Richard Branson (the great entrepreneur), Sir Michael Caine (the great Hollywood actor), Sir John Major (the famous British Prime Minister), Sir Alan Sugar (the successful British businessman)? The ones who usually win prizes will probably be bursting to state that these people are all ‘Sirs’, they have all been knighted, no doubt for achieving greatness in their chosen field. Of course, we would all be correct but there is something else that all these successful people have in common – none of them ever won a prize at their school’s Speech Night! In fact, all of them left school at the age of sixteen without any qualification whatsoever – not one academic qualification! Does that surprise you? That makes them all Sir Prizes!
That now leads on to a crucial point about education. Speech Nights are about prizes, and rightly so – however, the rest of life is about Sir Prizes. Indeed, Sir Prize is better than Prize. If we do not believe it, then answer this: What if a Head announced that school would close early, not on the appointed date. That would be a surprise, for sure, and for many it would be better than getting a prize! Our greatest surprise may be if our friends overseas come back to our desert island!
We might remember the old nursery rhyme: “If you go down to woods today, you’re in for a big surprise...” Well, the modern version should be: If you go out to the world, today you’re in for a big surprise. The world is full of surprises and often life outside school is no picnic. Let us consider some surprising things to note: Are we aware that the average person is believed to swallow eight spiders a year while sleeping? Or that the average male spends one month of his life looking for a missing sock. Nearer to home, it might surprise us to know that a Headmaster is really a human being and that teachers do actually go shopping for food. But consider all these things which may also surprise us: some of those pupils who do not receive a prize at Speech Days will actually end up doing better than those who do win a prize! Some of the children who play for Zimbabwe now will not do so later and some of those who have not represented Zimbabwe will do later. And one more thing: our school is not the best school in Zimbabwe! Do we cry, “Aagh, aagh, aagh, aagh!”? The reason for such a claim is simple: there is no such thing as a best school!
All we should aim for is that we make it our aim to surprise each other. So, firstly, parents: Surprise your child by loving him when he loses or does badly in his work. Surprise your child by not shouting at other drivers on the road. Surprise your child by not swearing at the security guards who delay you. Secondly, children: Surprise your parents by doing your homework without being told. Surprise your parents by offering to wash the dishes. Surprise them any way you can. And all of us: let us surprise each other by remembering all the wonderful things that we still have in Zimbabwe.
Sir Prize is better than any prize children may win at Speech Day. So, surprise ourselves and surprise others. The biggest surprise then may well be if we remember what is written here!
- Sir prizes are better than prizes
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- Tim Middleton is the executive director of the Association of Trust Schools [ATS]. The views expressed in this article, however, are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of the ATS.
Email: ceo@atschisz.co.zw
website: www.atschisz
