Advantages of being 'mtoto wa mwalimu'

“Mum I want you to be our teacher,” Tasha proposed to me recently. Apparently, teacher Ruth her class teacher has a child — Zawadi — in their class and she is now the envy of her classmates because they have noticed she gets some preferential treatment.

According to my daughter, Zawadi gets some small favours because she is mtoto wa mwalimu. When she is unwell and reports to school, she is pampered like a princess.

“Teacher Ruth always shows her the homework in the evening while the rest of us leave,” she protested. 

Although having a parent as a teacher in your school has its downside — especially when you are in upper primary — it has myriad benefits. So I totally understand where Tasha is coming from.

My mother was my class teacher at some point in lower primary and I must say I enjoyed the experience.

I remember sneaking to the staffroom to share some warm tea and mandazi with mum while the rest of the pupils salivated outside. Those days there was also the maziwa ya Nyayo of which I was a big beneficiary. This is what used to happen — I would get my one packet with the rest of the class, but mom would bring me extra three packets, which I would enjoy in the house.

Another good thing about being mtoto wa mwalimu is that bullies would keep off your territory. Bullies are known to be in schools and they harass the weaklings, but if your parent is a teacher in the school, bullies know you are a no go zone.

But my best experience about being mtoto wa mwalimu is that whenever there was a trip, which required a few students, I would be among the chosen few. I remember there was something called mass choir — a selected number of pupils from every school who would be chosen to entertain the president during public holidays.

Being selected in this prestigious club came with numerous perks — there were numerous trips we made to various centres to go practice, we were given new shoes and clothes and after singing, we would be treated to a luncheon at State House with the president.

The mass choir was such a prestigious club only the very clever, the very obedient, the very clean and of course, mtoto wa mwalimu would get automatic entry. Being mtoto wa mwalimu is lucrative, but being one is not as easy as Tasha thinks.