Over ten years ago, I worked in a private school in Nairobi, Kenya. People who haven’t had a chance to travel often have a skewed vision of Africa. I had certain expectations when I got there but I soon realized that I had been misled by things I had seen on TV about all the different aspects of that amazing continent. In any case, the one thing I can say about my experience there, it that I met the most interesting, most motivated and mature students of my entire carrier. These children, from a very young age, were simply grateful for their education.
A few years ago, I met another teacher who had taught on the other side of Africa, in Ghana, but not in a private school like me, but in a little village school lost in the bush somewhere. One might find this strange but she, also, met the most interesting, most motivated and mature children there.
These children, both the ones I met in Kenya and the ones she met in Ghana could hardly have been any more different. Most of my students’ future was pretty much traced already, with their parents’ business to take over, no doubt of a college education and a promised life of comfort. My friend’s Ghanaian students had none of that but loved school and would have done anything to be there.
In a conversation with a very good Ghanaian friend of mine more recently, we both agreed that in both cases, and in Africa in general, people see education as a privilege, so they make the most of it. She, too, grew up in Africa and came from a better off family than the average African, but she never took education for granted. Over there, and in many other countries in the world, it is never a guarantee, when a child is born, that he/she will be going to school. So when you do, you appreciate it.
It is true that the image that we tend to have of Africa is the less developed side of the continent. We see the way people live in the mud huts and overcrowded vehicles and wild animals surrounding villages in the middle of nowhere. We see also kids living in the streets of big cities having to resort to anything they can to survive. These kids would give anything to go to school. But what are the chances?
I read an article a couple of days ago about two afghan sisters who were walking to school one day and got attacked by men who threw acid at them. They were teenagers, going to school. The men didn’t want women to have an education. These girls are more determined than ever to go to school.
Not so long ago in the United States of America, some people were not given the same access to the same education because of the color of their skin. Up until fairly recently, women also didn’t receive the same level of education in many countries.
There are still many nations with totalitarian regimes who do not allow certain books, information and facts to be taught because of their political, religious or social beliefs.
In this country, some parents have to force their kids to go to school. Kids run away, pretend to go to school when they get dropped off and disappear for the day. You hear teenagers tell you that school is boring. A good friend of mine often used to say: “Only boring people get bored”…
In this country, education is served to you on a plate. Of course, there is always room for constructive criticism and improvement. You can always say that it is not as good as it should/could be. But it’s there! Kids don’t have to get up in the middle of the night and walk two hours there and back to go to school. Access is given to all sorts of books, movies, scriptures and debates. Philosophers are studied, even if sometimes they question and disturb. Knowledge is passed on, on a daily basis, it is there for you to receive if you want it.
The United States remains a symbol of Freedom. Many countries in the Western World can pride themselves with Freedom. You hear people in the US claiming their right to Freedom. “This is a free country! I can do this!” Freedom is a privilege, everybody knows that and everybody likes to remind others of it and proudly claims the fact that they belong to a country where Freedom is the basis of life.
Education is the same. It is just as much of a privilege as Freedom. In fact, it is part of it. And yet so many people, especially the ones receiving it, don’t seem to see the value of it. Nobody questions the fact that Freedom is there and is a given. It SHOULD be there. And yet, education is the same. It is there for everybody. The fact that it is given to you doesn’t make it any less valuable. Freedom is given to you too. It came at a price though. So did education. It wasn’t always like that.
Education IS a privilege. Just as Freedom is. Education is what keeps people free. Education is what allows people to think and question and criticize and improve the world. You might think that changes are needed in education now, and I agree with you. There is always room for improvement, so there will always be a need to look at ways to do things better. There are different ways to be educated and sometimes, what you need doesn’t come from High School the way it is now. But whatever form of education you get is useful, if you are prepared to receive it.
Don’t take it any more for granted than you would take Freedom for granted. Make sure your kids know that and realize how grateful they can be to be going to school every day. They get the chance to develop a thinking mind. If you think school is not good enough, then propose your solutions, but don’t undermine it. Receive it as the gift and privilege it actually is.
By: Florence Bernard
Posts Tagged ‘People’
Education IS a Privilege
March 6th, 2010Do Employers View Private College Education As Equivalent To Community College Education?
February 23rd, 2010
Choosing where to go for post secondary education has gotten harder in the last few years. Even though there are more choices and options available, there are also more people going to college and entering the workforce. Future graduates have always had to think about a college’s location, price, curriculum and reputation, and nowadays they also have to think about what their school will look like on their resume.
A lot of students have the bad habit of changing their minds about what career they would like to have, and unfortunately, this comes with changing majors. Some changes are small, but there are students that completely change direction and have to alter their course load, and this would be more difficult at a private college. Private colleges are much more expensive, and it would cost a student an awful lot of money to change his or her mind!
These days, a student has to make extra sure that they know exactly what they want to do for a living before they decide what kind of school to go to. This way, they will know which school will look the best on their resume. Whether or not an employer will care about which type of college an applicant lists on their resume all depends what career choice someone makes. Some employers barely look at the education part of a resume, caring more about skill and experience, while others scrutinize the education section.
If you are looking to make a career out of a job that is more skill based, it would probably be a better idea to choose a good community college. These types of colleges tend to offer much more hands on experience and learning than private colleges. Employers will be more likely to hire a student right out of college if they have had this type of learning. If your goal is to make a career out of a job that is more knowledge based, a private college may be a good choice. These fields can be more competitive, and employers are more likely to look at the education part of your resume.
There is a middle ground between the two career types discussed above, and for this broad span of career choices, students need not worry about which school to choose. These employers will probably mostly care about the fact that you have the education and experience for the job and will not be concerned about whether you went to a community college or a private college.
If you fall into that “middle ground”, you can feel free to make your choice based on what the school offers you, as opposed to choosing between community and private. If you have the money to spend, a private college might be a good choice, and if a community college has just what you are looking for, then it would be just as good a choice for you.
By: Amy Nutt
Disadvantages Of Online Education
November 26th, 2009
Till now all I have done is talk about the benefits of online education; all that it gives us for less money. All we can acquire by just sitting at the ease of our houses. But as we all know nothing comes without a disadvantage. If something gives you benefits and comfort, it must somewhere have something that is not that beneficial and can be a little bit hurting. Everything has a cost to it. So does online education.
One major drawback in online education is the lack of technical skills required to pursue an online degree. Most people are still not that technologically advanced to cope up with the methods that are used to make online education better. I don’t mean that all students are not technologically equipped; however ever there still are a large number who lag behind. Even many of the lecturers and administration people themselves find difficulty in operating the programs to teach or monitor the students. The tutors, especially, have had acquired their degree through traditional means and are mostly not very well versed with the gadgets.
Secondly, the most important thing required to student online is a computer and internet connection. However people in regional and far flung areas still don’t have access to this commodity. It is quiet expensive for them to purchase a computer. In one place where online education helps students from different areas meet and study together, there on the same time it creates a difficulty where a student cannot consult or discuss a technical problem occurred to him as he may not find anyone from his area.
Online course designers can sometimes wrongly anticipate computer technology advances. This leads to courses being developed for implementation on computers which were expected to become available in the future, but which did not become available; (Alexander, S. (2001) Education and Training E-Learning developments and experiences Vol. 43, Iss. 4/5, pg.240.)
The cost of an online degree is not always very low as thought by students. Some degrees may cost much more than if they were taken traditionally due to the cost of the multimedia accessories and materials involved in the syllabus. These costs may even leave behind the costs of accommodation and travel in local education.
Online education sometimes becomes very difficult to maintain. One of the reasons why a student moves towards online education is lack of time. He finds it difficult to maintain a balance between job and college hours. But even whether studying online you need to devote time in order to get grades and pass courses. At college and school, students have pre arranged time tables. Whereas while studying online you have to set a time table yourself or all your efforts go wasted.
Another major disadvantage I’d count is the lack of interaction. Even though students interact with their tutors through online learning systems, however one still can’t hear questions and discussions of other students at the time of lecture delivery. However nothing is totally free from disadvantages. Online education also has some. It now depends on the student how he manages everything.
By: Keith Londrie
