A Terrible Experience, by Sr. Bridget Coffie

Life becomes boring and disastrous when you are totally condemned in a situation in which you need to be recognized and praised. Should this stop you from doing the right thing? Obviously not; never grow tired of doing what is right.

I grew up under the guidance of my grandmother in a village called in Ankaful in the central region of Ghana. My grandmother was a very industrious and hardworking woman. She taught me to be just and generous with people around me if I wanted to instill peace. I was compelled by my grandmother’s lifestyle to exhibit whatever skills and knowledge I had. She told me that once I worked hard, I would end up living an independent life and, once I was independent, I would be respected by society. My grandmother was also very honest, so I grew up to hate cheating on people. Little did I know that people have different perceptions about being just and honest to work for the good of the society.

Because of my grandmother, I decided to use whatever resources I had to work hard, not for my personal benefit, but for my society. I really felt I should be praised in the institution I used to work with because my effort promoted the moral and financial status of the school. It was rather unfortunate to be bitterly criticized and condemned. Nevertheless, I was never alarmed; I went on with my normal routine and finally succeeded.

I was once working in a school that started from nursery to elementary under an autocratic leadership. Two young women were brought to work in the school where I was working. They were amateurs, so they needed to be nurtured to fit into the culture of the institution as well as their field of work. I was the vice principal of the school, so the principal tried to team up with me to mistreat these two women to make their lives miserable. However, my principal never won my support with her evil intentions about these women. This provoked her to report the women to the Board of Directors, and she took me as her witness. By that time I realized I was selling myself cheaply to her, so I said no. I was very frank and told her she was not being fair to the new employees. I suggested that she alert them about their mistakes rather than reporting them. Eventually, she recognized me as a thorn in her flesh because my presence did not allow her to act anyway she wanted.

My principal had no regard for her teachers, but she wanted them bow to her. Moreover, she did not see the need for involving her teachers in decision-making and always imposed things on them. Whenever any teacher committed the least mistake, she terminated his or her appointment. In addition, she would either seize the person’s salary or take a percentage out of the salary.Her attitude towards the teachers was awful, and this generated a whole lot of inconveniences.

Everybody is created in the image of God, with the same blood flowing in their flesh, so we all ought to render respect to each other. Nonetheless, being a boss does not mean your subordinates are your slaves and that you have every right to treat them the way you like.

Notwithstanding, the teachers began to retaliate against her awful attitude towards them. They commented that of it was the money she liked, and she was never ready to sacrifice for them, then they would also stop sacrificing for the school. This affected the entire institution dramatically. When she realized that things were flopping, she blamed me for it because I did not support her actions. Actually, I refuted any decision that seemed dishonest, and once I refuted, she could not easily implement those decisions. This created enmity between us.

Since I did not follow my principal blindly, I was attacked. On January 14, 2013, at about 5:15 p.m., I had just closed from work and was trying to get something to eat when I had a call to go to my principal’s office. Surprisingly, I met the Board of Directors of the school in the office, and it was as if I was a criminal. I did not know whether the Board of Directors intentionally came there to hold a meeting about me or if it was a coincidence.

My principal bitterly accused me of things I was innocent of. She accused me of not performing my responsibilities, not respecting her, and instigating the teachers not to regard her because I did not support her in her decisions. I became totally dumbfounded and tears started flowing.  

Actually, I was a teacher taking twenty-two credit hours per week and, besides that, a domestic bursar of the school cafeteria, doing all the marketing and baking for the school and ensuring that the kitchen staff was always on the same page. I made tremendous sacrifices for the school. The Board of Directors could not just deny the fact that my efforts bolstered the financial and academic status of the school. Students always earned 100% in external exams in the subject I taught, and this made the school very famous. I really felt I should have recognition for my effort, but it was rather unfortunate. Eventually, I was transferred from that school, and my absence made the principal realize that I was behind the success of the school. The moment I left, all the competent teachers began to quit because they could not get anybody to talk to them, to calm them, to stand against her abusive manners. Due to this, the academic excellence of the school dropped and enrollment went down dramatically.

I was really disappointed for being treated cruelly for a situation in which I needed to be praised. Sometimes I regret not telling the Board of Directors about the principal’s dubious ways of cheating both teachers and parents. My mind was occupied with so many thoughts, which tempted me to relax from my work. I told myself that we sacrifice to gain, so if my sacrifice would hurt my reputation or get me in trouble, then I did not see any sense to continue sacrificing for the school. However, my conscience quickly reminded me that whatever I did, I did not do for any human being but for the love of Christ. I came back to my senses and fueled my engine to get on board. Even though I did not give up, I could not stop pouring tears for almost a year.

I still cannot not understand why some managers cannot be just to their subordinates and see them as their fellow human beings. Since then, I have been asking all sorts of questions such as, what would I gain from disregarding my fellow human being? No condition is permanent, so when I am out of my position today and I happen to meet any of my former subordinates whom I disregarded in the past, how would I feel? Would I expect him/her to be just and treat me with respect? Do to others what you want them to do to you. Make sure you are not manipulated by anybody to follow him/her blindly. Now the principal who wronged me for not embarking on her injustice to people working under her supervision wishes I would go back to work with her.