WHO IS NORMAL?

Foreword:
After spending most of the day conversing with the personified NEPA; striking deals and talking to myself. I considered the mad people roaming the streets and wondered if to them we were 'the insane'.
These musings brought to mind one of my favorite lectures from my 1st teacher. 
It’s a bit lengthy (approximately 1800 words) so if you are not one with the zeal for knowledge, kindly tune out, turn off and go play with your dollies. 

Congratulations! You are among the elite. Make an effort to read to the end. It promises to be worth the effort so sit back, relax and be educated…


Question 1: Who are you? Are you a normal person?
Question 2:**
Question 3: **

This brief lecture will share some ideas with us all. We shall in Part I look at the concepts of Restiveness and Youth restiveness, then we shall examine the word “normal” and discuss the problems associated with trying to establish who a normal person is and its implications for education. 
In Part II we shall look at “why children fail?” and conclude.

PART I

WHAT IS NORMAL?

The question what is normal is not so easily answered as you might think. The social sciences and psychiatry have never come up with a definition of “normal” which is satisfactory to everyone and at the same time allows clear – cut specification of normal behaviors. Indeed, we know much more about abnormal behavior, even if sometimes we have a difficult task in trying to separate the one from the other.
The word “normal” is derived from the Latin word “normalis” which means “made according to rule”. Hence, the English word “norm”… a rule or guideline. At least four definitions of normality have been proposed at various times by various people. Often, two or more of these definitions are combined in an informal way, thus compounding the confusion over the meaning of the term “normal”. The four definitions of normality are listed below.

1. Normality as health.
2. Normality as the ideal.
3. Normality as average.
4. Normality as ethnic or natural.
Let us take a brief look at each of these in turn

1. Normality as Health
One of the most popular models of normality is derived from the field of medicine. From this model comes such terms as “mental health” as its converse, “mental illness”.
Traditionally, this model has defined mental health (normality) as the absence of disease or illness. This is a negative definition. i.e. one is healthy if one is not sick. The 19th and early 20th century medicine saw health as a qualitatively different state from illness. The healthy body was qualitatively different form the diseased body. The analogy was carried over to “disease of the mind”, so that the mentally ill persons were seen as qualitatively different from mentally healthy persons. Advances in medical science in the 21st century have led to a more sophisticated view of health and disease, such that health is viewed as a relative rather than an absolute state. In other words, one is healthy if one is reasonably free of undue pain, discomfort of disability. This newer conception has been transferred to the field of mental health, thus increasing sophistication but decreasing clarity.

2. Normality as the ideal
The conception of the normal person as the ideal person was first promulgated by the psychologists, although now it is a notion held by sizeable proportion of social scientists and psychiatrists like Carl Rogers, Erich Fromm to name a few.
In this view, the normal person is seen as the optimally functioning individual. The normal person is one who is maximizing all the potentialities within himself (a notion Carl Rogers calls “self actualization”.
The conception of the normal person as the ideal person is rarely held alone. Rather, it is often combined with one of the other models of normality.

3. Normality as average
In this view, the normal person is one whose behavior is similar to that of the majority of his fellows. Strictly speaking, a deviation in either direction from the average or majority is defined as abnormal. In practice however, some kinds of “deviation” or “abnormality” are highly desirable. For example, the majority of people have an I. Q hovering around 100, a deviation of 40 points from this average should strictly speaking, be seen as abnormal. However, it is clear that most people do not view an I. Q of 140 in the same way they view an I. Q of say 60.
Thus, this model is rarely held in its purest form, but rather is contaminated by criteria outside of it, for example, social desirability even so, it is probably one of the most widely(if unconsciously) held models of normality.

4. Normality as ethnic or natural
In psychology and psychiatry this is a relatively recent conception; however, it has been held in one form or another since the beginning of recorded history, in this view the normal person is the individual who does the right thing or lives in accordance with human nature. One modern day proponent of this view is Herbert Mowrer, a prominent psychologist, whose point of view is that the normal person conforms to the current social morality (as internalized by his conscience) or he shows open nonconformity with social mores and is prepared to accept the consequences of his nonconformity.
A psychiatrist who holds a similar view is C. Jung who believes the abnormal person is one who has “problems in living”. The normal person on the other hand, knows the rules of the game of life and plays accordingly. He is aware of what it takes to lead the good life and is capable of following up this knowledge with action.

SOME DIFFICULTIES WITH THE MODELS OF NORMALITY

Even in the sketch presentation outline above, it should be clear that these models are not carefully thought out and represent only the barest prototypes of a good theory. Each model taken alone appears to be inadequate to account for the phenomena it attempts to explain. Thus, most people implicitly combine two or more of the models without clearly understanding what they are doing. It becomes extremely important then, for persons engaged in conversations where the word “normal” appears in reference to human beings, that the meaning of the term be specified as clearly as possible by all of the parties concerned. Chances are very good each of them is using the word “normal” in a different fashion from the others.
One of the primary reasons there is so much difficulty in this area is that there have been a few attempts to specify the observable behaviors which denote normality or its lack. For example, what does a “mentally healthy individual” do or not do, that is different form a “mentally ill” person? What types of behaviors does a “self – actualizing” person manifest?
The ambiguities inherent in all the models lead to numerous problems in the practical order, especially in the classroom. The ambiguities can be seen in the following illustrations:

Case I: Adeolu, a primary four pupil enjoys being alone, he is never aware of the feelings of the other children in the class. He has no friends; he is fond of spinning objects while outdoors and watching television silently indoors. Although very poor in speech behavior and communication, he is very good in music and mathematics. Is Adeolu a “normal” child?

Case II: Jambo a primary four pupil is always active and restless in the classroom. He could never be seated to listen; he always disturbs other children and made too much noise. In the class, he is the most difficult to control. Jambo’s concentration is low as his attention span is very short. As a result, his academic performance is poor. Is Jambo a “normal” child?

Case III: Mrs. Okoro, the primary six teacher scheduled a Mock First School Leaving Certificate examination for Friday morning, shortly after the examination was over, Ngozi, one of her bright pupils who was absent from the examination presents herself with the following explanation; she told her teacher Mrs. Okoro that she did not come for the examination because she becomes too anxious and panics stricken when taking examinations. She lamented that on the night before (Thursday), while revising her notes, she had several bouts of vomiting and dysentery. On her way to the examination hall, she broke into a cold sweat and her hands were trembling so much so that she was forced to go hide herself in the ladies. Kneeling before Mrs. Okoro, Ngozi is all in tears because she sees her aspiration to earn a First School Leaving Certificate seriously jeopardized by her fear of examinations. She begs Mrs. Okoro for “any help”. Is Ngozi a “normal” child?

Think about the above three cases for a bit.

Just who is normal anyway?


IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION

As can be seen from the above three cases, the teacher is constantly faced with the problem of defining for herself who is the “normal” child.
Is the fear of examination alone sufficient for the teacher to brand Ngozi, in Case III, a” non – normal” child? While the example of Adeolu (Case I) is a clear – cut case of autism, how many teachers are familiar with the typical symptoms of autistic behavior in children? In the case of Jambo, (Case II), many teachers are often tempted to dismiss Jambo as being “lazy” and “mischievous”. Is this a true characterization of this type of behavior?
Until there is a more acceptable definition of “normal”, the classroom teacher needs to be very conversant with disorders of childhood and adolescence before she can categorize a child as “normal” or “non – normal”. In the second part of this work, we shall argue that many children fail because the teachers fail to understand and properly address many behavioral abnormalities that impede and frustrate the “development” of the young, especially during the early stage of life...




Culled from YOUTH RESTIVENESS AND THE PROBLEM OF WHO IS NORMAL: IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION a lecture given by Prof J. D. Okoh. February, 2012

Prof. Joseph Donatus Okoh is a professor of Education and Fellow of Philosophy of Education Association of Nigeria (PEAN). His qualifications include:  

B. A., Philosophy of Religious Studies (Rome), B.SC., Psychology ( De- Pere, USA), M.A., Guidance and Counselling ( Rome). His M.Ed and Ph.D were obtained in Philosophy of Education at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.

The Cockroach Letter

A cockroach letter is a standard bulls**t letter sent by a company/service provider to a customer in response to a letter of complaint/evidently dissatisfied customer when the body of said letter meets certain criteria.

Today I was reminded of an incidence from 2009 between me and my bank when I got a mail that didn't concern me (or so I thought) from them.

I had often heard people talk about cockroach letter and did not think much of it until (and to my surprise) when for all my effort and after the stress they put me through, the bank sent me said letter and (would you believe it?) a complimentary pen! Like I was supposed to write away my hurt.

I was too weak with disbelief to do anything then; I mean who gets a pen after being defrauded?

So today, when I got the unnecessary email from them and saw their reply I looked up Cockroach letter and discovered a funny story which I'd share next.

"

This guy on an aeroplane noticed a cockroach in the aisle. On arriving at his destination, he fires off a letter to the president of the airline, pointing out that roaches thrive where there’s filth, and that he expected better things of the airline company.

Within a few days (this is in the days when one posted letters) he got a letter in response, deploring the roach incident, saying that they had never heard of such an incident before and that if he produced the letter he could get an upgrade to first class next time. In addition the plane and its hangar had been fumigated and that the maintenance crew had been disciplined, and in closing, Thanked him for bringing this nasty situation to their attention!

For months he told his colleagues and friends about this fantastic service, attention to detail and how the passengers of this airline meant so much to them. 

Then one day he hauled out the letter to show a friend, and a post-it note that had been stuck to the inside of the envelope drifted to the floor. He picked it up and read in absolute shock - it said: Grecian - send this idiot the standard cockroach letter

."

My bank asked me to send the transaction date and my account number which thanks to my penchant for taking pictures every other day I was able to provide. I am quite curious as to how this will play out...
a). Would they refund my money after 5 years?
b). Will they still insist I arranged to have myself robbed?
c). Will they send me another Cockroach letter?

Have you ever received a Cockroach letter from a service provider?
How did you react?

As you like it

That awkward moment when the sugar rush from eating milk wafers is lacking after going through the whole mouth pleasing pack.
Torn between fighting the urge to spit out the last bit while checking to make sure the product isn’t expired makes quite an amusing picture.
Eventually the realization that wafers are not a good remedy for eye-blinding hunger comes to mind.

A funny thing happened last week…

February 14 was St. Valentine’s Day.
A day which appears to have been ‘from a summary of past accounts and history’ originally a celebration of love between lovers but now is an occasion to give alms to the poor, visit orphanage homes, go to church, bankrupt selves in the name of impressing a beau, have meaningless sex (possibly after receiving a gift of white handkerchief, singlet and boxers) and/or feel sorry for yourself for not being in a relationship/in love/ involved.
From past accounts and recent times, it seems to be a day when people not only choose to wear red and white looking like members of the Ayelala secret society in Edo state but also generally pair up and have fun with one or a multitude of friends/strangers.
Somehow this definition was lost to me because I ended up spending the fun part of the day being continuously dunked in water and it was not because I was smoking hot.
I was supposed to be a quite observer at a pool party; drink in hand, beau at hand all was well with me until a girl who even I had difficulty keeping eye contact with (she had water filled balloons for boobs that threatened to fall out of their barely there ‘enclosure’ every time she moved) decided to pick up the ice filled champagne bucket, ignore the lot of people wearing swimsuits and boxers and empty the contents on a fully clothed me in the name of ice bucket challenge.

I mean, what the hell was that?!

Shocked and freezing, I scurried off and went to change to dry clothes taking time to towel dry my hair and apply lip-gloss on my kisser.

location: Hôtel Bimyns, Porto Novo.

I barely reached the landing of the party grounds when suddenly I was airborne, twisting my neck in a bid to identify my pilot, the arrival destination came to view: the pool.
Screaming, I tried to explain that I wasn’t dressed to swim/I had just changed out of wet clothes. The final bit of my protest came out as a gurgle as I had been unceremoniously dumped into the pool.
This happened about two more times until it occurred to me that changing out of my wet clothes seemed to be a subliminal invitation.
The highpoint part of this account happened the next day when a young man who spoke in amazement about a guest who had an unbelievably ample behind for her tiny frame was cut short by another man telling him the buttocks was fake, that the lady took them off when she went to use the bathroom. The look of hurt that lined his face at the deception was so sad it was hilarious.

I did not find anything wrong or right with what she did though. It is her body after all and she is allowed to do whatever pleases her with it.

Shout out to NEPA for giving me a few seconds of power to write this.

For your views and comments on body magic, wonder bras and the likes (aka fake hips, nyansh and boobs), use the comment box below.

Ciao!

With Brooms, Umbrellas, Crops and Livestock.

Twenty fifteen elections are around the corner with different candidates from different political parties vying for a mark beneath my thumb.
Although they are different, they are united by a common goal.

To effect positive change and growth.

They say this in earnest and with palms across their chest, they make this pledge. They seem believable, they seem true yet I find it a little difficult to trust their word.
How can you give me change when you permit irrational acts to be done in your name?
Since when does cutting away the roots of a tree strengthen the plant?
Aside from intimidation, name-calling and image bashing, all over town, promotional posters are splattered indiscriminately defacing buildings, fences and road dividers to name a few.

I am thinking to myself, “who will clean up this mess?”

Over the months, I've come across jingles, adverts in publications and really pretty billboards (plus or minus Photoshop).
Nice words, catchy phrases; I got the message.

Ten-eleven years ago, I went to watch a theater presentation with my mum in the evening. It ran longer than the usual 2hrs but was worth it. We made our way home and were surprised to see lots of cars parked in front of and about our residence.
At that time, it was a tradition for members of staff and office holders to personally visit family members of recently bereaved.
My dad had gone for an official errand and was due home that evening.
I scanned the lot of cars looking for my father’s vehicle.
It was not there.
I looked at my mother she looked at me; neither of us uttered a word. We knew what the other was thinking but were afraid that if we spoke it might come to pass.
Our silence was a prayer.
In trepidation we got out of the vehicle and walked into the house.
I saw someone.
He looked like my father, he sounded like my father but I hesitated to admit he was my father.
The man looked heartbroken. He was pale, shaken and in tears. Words I have never associated with my father in all my years.
His clothes were blood stained, glasses askew and his lips trembled whenever he tried to speak.
He was a wreck.
It turned out he was involved in an accident and his driver died.
Not from the accident but from lack of… I really can’t say.

They were flung off the road by a trailer avoiding a pothole without functioning breaks.
The car fell into a ditch and they passed out momentarily.
My dad was the first to come to.
He called his driver. When he realized the driver wasn’t responding to his name, he urged the gathering onlookers to assist him.
As luck would have it, there was a government hospital about 20 minutes away. He gave a man some money to use an okada to bring help. The man returned alone saying the staff on duty said there was no fuel in the ambulance. Without thinking, he gave him money to give to them to buy fuel.
When the ambulance came, they loaded the driver into the vehicle and drove straight into a bottleneck. The road was bad so only one side of it was pliable. In addition, they had to drive slowly because one of the back tires of the ambulance had a fault.
After about an hour or more, they got to the hospital.
First they would not let them sit till they confirmed my dad could afford the registration fee and ensuing bills. After that, the generator would not come on and there was no waiting for NEPA because the transformer was blown.
Almost frantic, he gave them money to do what ever it took to get light in the hospital.
After taking the driver to the waiting room. The nurse on duty said they would have to wait a while because the doctor on duty was in his private hospital. My dad sat on the bed with his driver cradled in his arms.
He kept talking to him and urging him to hold on a little while longer, ‘help was on the way’.
It was when the nurse was reprimanding the cleaning lady for not preparing the bed like she asked her to that the driver tapped my father and said “oga, you don try for me. I don taya. Make I go.”

About four hours after surviving a ghastly motor accident, the driver *Mr. X Y Z gave up and died in my father’s arms.

3 presidents and 10 years later, similar incidents are still occurring.
People are still dying from neglect, disintegration and misplaced priorities.

Twenty fifteen elections are around the corner with different candidates from different political parties vying for a mark beneath my thumb.

Before I accept your promise of positive change and growth, do you know who the people are?
Are you abreast with the needs of said people?
What makes what you are saying now different from what you said in the past?
How do you intend to add quality to my life?