Rumors surrounding reading in public when I was growing up

Able to express myself in public today

Rumors surrounding reading in public when I was growing up

When I was a young girl, I was cautioned many times by my mom and the elderly in my community to not read in public. Their reason, however strange it sounds today, was that a stranger with supernatural powers could steal my intelligence if I did. I never truly believed these things they said, but in my home, I was trained to always listen to the elderly.

So, no matter how comfortable I felt about their decisions, I still had to comply. Disobedience was not an option for me. My mum always reminded me that "Obedience is always better than sacrifice". Growing up in an African home and a community that had its own belief system, I always had to put my books away whenever I stepped outside the walls of my home.

Looking back at it from today, from all the studies and knowledge I have acquired, I have come to learn that those warnings were to help me be more attentive in public without losing focus. Divided attention could make you oblivious to incoming danger. I wouldn't say I was the only one being cautioned; there may be so many. And though times have changed, such beliefs are still ingrained in us, which we will pass from one offspring to another.

What Were The Root Causes?

We were born and raised in African communities where beliefs affected most parts of life.

• Do not sweep at night because you might sweep your precious destiny out of life.

• Do not use the mirror at night because a ghost may hunt you in the mirror.

• Do not cut your nails at night; you may be inviting a ghost to your side. 

The don'ts were a lot, and those who did not pass that on to their kids were renewed in mind due to exposure to education. 

For my mother and elders, the idea that someone could steal your intelligence by watching you read in public was not a joke or a superstition, but something they believed and had witnessed happen to people. They backed it up with stories they heard from other people or their own account of things they have witnessed and convinced themselves with. 

Many years ago, our forefathers themselves believed knowledge was power, and just as power could be stolen through witchcraft or jealousy, they believed intelligence could be snatched the same way. Those were the seeds of such rumors surrounding reading in public, and that is one thing I have seen as a discourager of many kids from publicly expressing themselves with confidence because of the fear of the unknown that was instilled in them.

How It Affected Our Childhood

Having had time teaching kids, I know how easily they can be convinced and directed into believing something. Growing up myself under such warnings came with all the consequences. I learned at that very young age that reading in public was risky. Reading became a habit you can't exhibit publicly but indoors.

Some of the effects are subtle but others lasted for so long

• We avoided reading aloud in class or even answering questions, even if we knew the answer.
• We lost confidence in expressing ourselves publicly.
• We had the fear that bad things would happen to us if we let people know we are intelligent.

As Dr. Ama Attah Aidoo, a popular writer in Ghana, once said in her books, "When intelligence of a person becomes something to hide rather than something to be shared, societies lose generations of knowledge".

The Real Impact of the Rumor on Learning

Though these beliefs I know are cultural, the fact that their effects go beyond what they term spiritual shouldn’t be mistaken. A fact I know is that, from the perspective of psychology and education, public reading helps build confidence and memory retention. It must also be known for a fact that it helps an individual become fluent in reading and speaking a language.

Yet because of these beliefs, we grew up in the instance, missing many opportunities.

There were many other things that we had to learn and do on our own, and these were hard battles to fight. 

What were the opportunities we missed?

• We missed the opportunities to speak and communicate publicly.
• We missed the opportunities of interacting socially with people, as we as our peers.
• We missed the opportunities of being confident in various places where we found ourselves.

Reading aloud helps build a lot of confidence, and this is something I have always encouraged my students to do.

 Going through this now, or know someone going through the same? It is time to learn to read aloud.

From my own story, as I grew older and became more aware of such myths that had nearly made me lose my behaviour and who I actually was meant to be, I took the right steps to help myself. It was not easy, but here is what I did. And as it helped me, it can help you too.

• I began to understand where all that belief came from. I did not reject it,      but learned to replace that fear with the knowledge I acquired all those years.
• I joined school discussion groups and pushed myself to do debates to help my confidence.
• I started teaching my friends and colleagues to learn how to talk in public.

The Turning Point In My Life

Becoming fully confident to read aloud and talk in public came during my secondary school years when my literature teacher encouraged me to read a poem aloud during a school gathering. Initially, my heart raced, my hands began to tremble, but as she encouraged me to ignore everything around me and focus on the paper, it became normal as I read continuously.

That was when I found the confidence. For the record, nothing happened to me. My intelligence was still intact and wasn’t taken by anyone.

Today, as a writer, a student, and an educator at the same time, I usually share this story with students and colleagues to make them aware that it is never bad to read in public. It is rather the beginning of letting your voice be known wherever you find yourself.

Move From Fear to Freedom