Simply translated, topic du jour refers to today’s topic. Before anyone accuses me of butchering French, I know that it should actually be ‘Ordre du jour’. I digress, the hot topic of the day is, Education. I touched on it yesterday, and yes, I will beat it till heaven comes. The reason being, Brian Tracy in his book ‘Focal Point’ says, “Whatever you concentrate on grows”. I figure if we pay enough attention to education in our community, then we will see the changes or growth that we so desire.
By education I not only refer to the intellectual type, I also refer to the type where one develops enough understanding of his environment, community, in general the mechanics of his surrounding. For example, how many of our youth ever know how, or even where bills are paid prior to leaving the family house? It is this type of education I am talking about, the knowledge of what goes on behind that gate. The realities of life, that in real life people do not always money ready for their school fees. That sometimes there isn’t enough money to buy sugar, or even milk for tea. That money is income, and not a gift. And to always keep that in mind, when spending it. I am not advocating for misappropriation of funds, I am just saying that sometimes we come out facing life unprepared, our realities are not an actual representation of real life.
Let me touch on the other kind of education. Yes, the intellectual type. I do not believe that intellectual ability always has to be a result of birth. The difference in one kid’s performance from another is their brains synthesis of information. Different brains process information differently. Some kids are lucky that the education system is designed such that their brains are able to process the information faster. I am basing this on experience, how else do you explain those kids who were last in class and tuition classes changed all that? Or those kids who were always last in class and yet managed to get into the university, or even those who were removed from school and somehow became the best in their fields? I believe there are several buttons to be pushed to increase productivity in schools. If each of us pushed the ones they believe can work, imagine the kind of successes we can see in our community.
Education is about focus, the minds ability to narrow down on a subject, issue, experience etc. to develop awareness of it. Some people have mastered how to do this, others have to learn, work harder on their focusing skills. But God is fair and nature balances itself, so with enough practice on focus, a kid who was always last in class worms his/her way up to the top. Note my use of language here, it is not necessarily a fast process, but persistence pays.
I believe with hard work and encouragement a kid can greatly improve on his education. This is where we step in as big brothers and sisters. We need to give encouragement and assistance to each other. We have to teach the kids in our community how to focus, give them reasons to focus, be role models they can emulate, teach them how to dream big and broaden their horizons. Remember, “and as you dream, so shall you become” (James Allen, “As a Man Thinketh”).
Today’s challenge:
Today’s challenge:
- Given my experiences in life, what contribution can I make to the education of a child?
- How much can these experiences be used to educate our brothers and sisters about the realities of life? About what is on the other side of the gate (“Inje ya gate”)?
