What is in a nickname?

Oct 05, 2011

IT is one of those inconveniences that every teacher has to put up with. It is a baptism which is done behind the teacher’s back. Yes, we are talking about nicknaming teachers. Show me a teacher without a nickname and I will show you a teacher who does not know their own nickname.

By Angela Ndagano

IT is one of those inconveniences that every teacher has to put up with. It is a baptism which is done behind the teacher’s back. Yes, we are talking about nicknaming teachers. Show me a teacher without a nickname and I will show you a teacher who does not know their own nickname. 

Pupils’ nicknames for teachers are top secret and are usually never said in the presence of the teacher. Despite being a universal feature of school life, they have attracted little research and now educationists indicate they could be linked to motivation and performance indicators of teachers.

Daudi Bwango, a retired teacher recalls the time he found out about his nickname as one of the lowest points of his teaching career. This was when the S.6 candidates had done their last paper.

“It was then that I discovered they referred to me as Mr. ‘Malibu’ because I had some missing teeth, but no one had ever said it in my presence.

“It was a sad day for me. I had spent a lot of time outside the official school working hours trying to make these students excel in their exams and here they were, shouting ‘Malibu’ as their farewell gift to me,” laments Bwango.

How the nicknames arise
Most nicknames express contempt or dislike while a few express adoration. The majority of them draw upon physical characteristics of the teacher. Although nicknames are derogatory in intent — aptness, wit and cleverness are seen as important characteristics of nicknames. Wit and aptness seem to have a moderating effect on the offensiveness of nicknames.

 John Wabwire, a teacher at Kaliro Model Primary School links nicknames to the teacher’s character.
“Most nicknames are derived from the way we act, speak and handle the learners,” Wabwire says.
He adds that teachers can get nicknames because of the way they dress.

“For example, there are students who call their teacher ‘Kiggato’ (shoe) just because the teacher wears a funny type of shoe.”

Abbey Mukwana, a senior civil servant, recollects one teacher who was nicknamed Mr Wash and Wear during his high school days.

This mathematics teacher had a particular shirt he put on quite often. So students named him ‘Wash and Wear’ because they thought he would wash his shirt at night and put it on again the following day. It is a name that all students he taught still use to identify him todate.

Patrick Kaboyo, an advocate for teachers’ rights, says nicknames are usually a result of the way teachers conduct themselves. If a teacher is intimidating, the pupils or students will choose a name to reflect the character, Kaboyo explains.
However, he notes that nicknames can be a way of expressing discontent and of students to get back at a bad teacher.
“They nickname the teacher because that is the only avenue they can vent their anger against the teacher’s misconduct,” says Kaboyo.

How the nicknames affect teacher’s performance
“As a teacher, you feel belittled when you discover you have a nickname for the wrong reasons. It gets worse if the name is based on your physical features because that is something you cannot change,” Wabwire notes.

 

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