Authorities That Be

Recently during my study time, I remembered one story that happened during my MBA MIS course and I couldn’t help smiling. I thought that I should write about it and see what morals I can pick from there. So the below is a write up which I can say with my limited memory is 80% based on 100% true facts :)

After my bachelors I started my first job and a few years into the job, I enrolled in my MBA MIS program in a popular university with one of my old university friends, called Mr. J. Mr. J started his career from networks while I was in systems analysis and software development. Our usual canteen time debates revolved around which one is better system or networks.

I normally used to arrive before time to attend my classes, but that day I was a bit late (but still before the class started), so me and my friend J, managed to seat ourselves in the last row of the heavily packed room. The course was about MIS Theory and Mr. A was our esteemed teacher. He was a bit picky about mobile phones and laid special emphasis that the course has to be taught in a limited time, so we need to move very quickly!

So the class started and Mr. A as usual moved quickly through different topics. Since it was a theoretical class therefore what was covered was mostly definitions and mainly related to systems, software and current standards and best practices. Sequentially the lesson shifted to ‘Network Protocols’. Mr. J sitting next to me, immediately came to life and whispered to me, ‘See how important network is?’. I immediately replied ‘Yes, but without software there is no need for network, its like making roads when there are no cars!’. I said this very quickly and without even looking at him, but Mr. A, who had a very open expression face, spotted this and immediately got pissed off and threw a volley of questions at me

‘What is SDLC?’,

’System Development Life Cycle, which defines the various steps to develop a software/system. It covers Analysis, des… ‘

‘What is TCP/IP’, he cut me short and jumped to the next random question.
’Transmission Control Protocol, Intern…’,

‘What is Prototype model’, he was getting angrier, I can see that in his face
’It’s a model for developing systems/softwares wherein you prepare a small prototype of the actual bigger software to show to the cust…’

‘What is IEEE 802.11‘
Now this one I really didn’t know at that time, and probably it was something which we didn't cover till then. 

‘I don’t know’

‘Aaaahhh, see here I am making effort so that you can learn, and you are more interested in telling ‘Dirty’ jokes to your friend’, he was almost shouting.

The class started smiling and looking back at me, which was a bit embarrassing as I sported a big beard. Being passionate about religion, in which dirty jokes are definitely haram :), I was a bit taken aback by this tirade, but having learned early in life, that there should be no arguments with teachers, I kept quite.

Mr. A continued with his tirade on how such students disrupt the decorum of the class and how they harm everyone and he went on and on and on, about his student days and some students who did the latest fashion of bell bottoms and ear rings, and that he has a job today while they don’t’. His tirade continued for a good 20-30 minutes till the bell saved all of us.

As the class was dismissed, one of the students came up to me and said ‘WOW you knew the answers of all that!, I didn’t even know the first one!’

After the class I spoke to Mr. J that ‘man though our love (not the gay kind) shall stay eternal, but we can’t sit together in this class, because this guy is already pissed at me for my religious outlook and he would be on my back every day after today, and another slip and he would kick me out!

In that course, I studied well and worked hard and ended up being the only one who got an ‘A’ in the class. I still remember I was the first one to submit my paper and Mr. A just smiled rhetorically thinking that I couldn’t complete it. After the result was put up on the board, I was happy that I got an A. Mr. A saw me and he didn’t look happy about it. As we crossed, he looked at me with a slight frown. I immediately greeted him, shook his hands, looked into his eyes and smiled rhetorically. He had been a no A teacher till then and I spoiled that for him. But he knew that I knew that if he marked me incorrectly I could lodge a successful complain with the university management.

Oh how sweet are last laughs :D

Now when I look back I got some morals out of this story.

If they decide to screw you they will

Mr. A had decided that he will make fun of me in the class, and he knew that he needed to prove that I am not a good student. For that I should be unable to answer his question. So he kept on asking question after question, till he found a question for which I didn’t know the answer of. It didn’t matter that I was able to answer all his questions till then!

Don’t Talk During Class/Sessions

As my career progressed, I got to be in management and team lead roles, I was required to conduct meetings and training sessions for my team, clients and vendors. I found out that heads which are more interested in the scenery or their mobiles can be so very annoying. It is easy for me to now see why Mr. A lost his cool. 

Being a student and passing a quick message to our friend, seems alright and not a matter for which so much fuss should be created. But being a teacher it is a big deal.

Motivation

That small insult in the class, motivated me to be an A student of a theoretical class, which is logically impossible. But Alhamdolillah I got what I wanted. The reason was that I got extremely motivated after that incident. Ironically it was just one of the two As that I could manage with my career, marriage and my first born, running in parallel of the next 5 semesters.

So I found out that in order to achieve higher goals, one needs motivation and sometimes a little insult can do the trick. And if you look at things a bit differently it is clear that whatever nature gives you, has value, even though it might not look good to you.

Hard Work Pays

No matter if they are hell bent to screw you, they might get temporary gains, but in the end, if you work hard and don’t buldge; hard work does pay as no one is able to stop you when Allah HIMSELF wishes to award you. And HE does reward hardwork.