MY MESSAGE TO BAD BOYS

Are you a bad boy?

Do you love sitting at the back of the class? Chatting away, distracted and really not interested in the class at hand? Do you find yourself always at the other end of the wrath of lecturers, with endless complaints about you being a bad boy? Do you have a below average academic performance or Grade point Average (GPA). This message is for you!

Throughout my schooling days, I knew better than sit at the back, because that is where the bad boys sat. Even if you were not a bad boy, you stood the risk of being caught alongside them in their antics and probably ended up as the scapegoat because you were not vast at evading punishment like they were. My mother always advised to seat in front and that is just what I did! Now a lecturer, I have the opportunity to interact will all sections of the class. While so many of the facts that went along that advice are truisms, one thing I have realised is that the "bad boys" have a pretty much clearer outlook to life than the others in the class who are still in the school bubble.

Many of them for lack of mentorship become exposed to the harsh realities of wrong, but higher association fully understanding the way the world works. Although their dressing and even hairstyles may depict a classic example of not being serious, they possess the requisite skills to eventually make it in life. Nobody teaches communication, negotiation and relationship skills in class. These guys have learnt all these and more hands-on simply by relating with the "big boys" and other people within their distinct community. Usually, they end up with the right connections to secure jobs and careers that the "serious" students can only dream of.

I have had the priviledge to chat with a number of bad boys and I realise they are very simple fellows who have a more broad outlook to life than the average students. If you are a wise individual, you could actually even learn one or two things from them! Why then, with all the praise are they still termed bad boys you may ask.

The challenge of bad boys lies with poor performance on their primary assignment (their academics). For a student to classify as a bad boy, he must first of all be failing in academics. This is a common trend I have found. You never find a first-class student being called a bad boy, neither do you see a student who is scaling hurdles academically being called a bad boy. Even with different proclivities that tend towards the negative, we still find a place in our hearts and praise in our mouths for high flying students.

My message to bad boys is simple - work on your academics! Usually, many have issues with their choice of course (which I have addressed here) and many just fall into discouragement and wrong company, preferring to do the things they always wanted to do instead of struggling.

A "bad boy" walked into my office one day to ask for advice. I told him point-blank that all he need was an improvement in his academics. The issues he had with lecturers and his fashion sense (wearing Loius Vuitton shirts and Balenciaga Sneakers) was not his problem. His choice of jewellery was not either! As long as he was on a 1.70 CGPA, he was a bad boy. It was that simple!

Truth be told, the primary reason why you are in school is for academics and although you end up engaging in several other "co-curricular" activities, the assessment of your success or failure still lies on the degree of achievement on the primary - academics. We all had different skills and abilities while in secondary school, a particular friend of mine could spin a book continuously on his fingers for hours at end while chatting with us (I was always amazed and kept trying it at home), some were good sprinters, while others were awesome shots at the basketball court. But all those were anecdotes to the WAEC results. It did not matter how many books he could spin, or how many races he won or how many balls he dunked. At the end of the day (speech and prize giving day), all that mattered was "the best student in Mathematics….." or " the best student in Physics….". Maybe it would have been a good thing to award those other areas particularly sports (they actually did in my school), but ultimately it was the academic performance that got you into school. Why then do you decide to push it behind and pursue other interests?

No one is asking you to be spectacular or win awards (that will be nice!), we all know you are not interested in the course. All we want is for you to come out with something good (my definition is a 3.50/5.00 scale, do the math for your own school). Ultimately your performance as a student tells a lot on our performance as lecturers. Most of us take up your cases with a passion because we know what you can become with just a little perspiration and hard work.

Most times bad boys are former good boys who have their values changed by association. Although it is good to roll with enlightened people who have a good grasp of what obtains out there in the outside world (Iwe o ja'wo mo! - Education is no longer profitable, if my transliteration from Yoruba is correct), you still need to do your due diligence. For one, you are being entrusted with your schooling and the best thing you can do is to graduate with something good enough to give back to your parents, sponsors or guardians. It is interesting to note that your budding interests can receive full support if you are in good academic standing.

I once had a lady who was interested in becoming a Disc Jockey in her freshman year. I advised her it was not the best move at that time and promised to introduce her to the few DJs I knew if she could make at least a 3.50/5.00 CGPA at the end of her first year. Interestingly, I have not been mandated to keep my end of the bargain because she didn't keep hers.

The point is simple - fix your academics, get a good Grade Point Average. Let people see you put in the work. I tell my students, no one will castigate a student on a 4.8/5.00 for doing a rap song (except you are dissing the Vice-Chancellor!), most likely he will receive some accolades for being able to balance his passion and academics. Whatever it is you want to do, your academic standing will keep being the first point of call before anything.

Are you a bad boy? Get serious with your academics, see it  as one of the things you need to do, to leverage on to get to your goal. Look out for "serious" classmates who can help you understand some knotty subjects, attend classes (and try to seat in front), get your CGPA on the rise and you'll see how all those talks of ignominy will gradually fade away.