“Parents, listen to your children, for we are the leaders of tomorrow. Try and pay our school fees. And give us a sound education!”
I remember when we used to sing that song so enthusiastically in school. Then it was just a song, a subtle way to remind our parents that they should not forget us in their monthly budget. Now, the lyrics catch my attention as I see it in a new light. What did the composers of that song have in mind when they wrote: “Give us a sound education?” A while back, I would have said that if a parent enrols their child in a school with a high teaching standard or a track record of excellent academic performance among its students, they have blessed such a child with a sound education. However, I realise that gaining proper education goes deeper.
What if the child only graduates with an excellent result because the school has a low academic standard? Then that child has only passed the requirements for that school and is yet to gain a sound education. What if a child graduates with distinction but cannot find a job because they lack on-demand knowledge and soft skills?
A sound education develops a child holistically, such that they are recognized as excellent wherever they find themselves, not just in their school. Their knowledge and astuteness distinguish them anytime and anywhere.
Quality education is, and should not be, limited to schools for the rich. The girl in Yashizozi village, Kogi state Nigeria, who comes to Akpaku village to sit under the tutelage of the one and only teacher in three neighbouring villages, can be exceptionally educated too. Quality education goes beyond how expensive the school is or how many people have passed external exams in that school. It is also about the school’s curriculum, its teachers, academic standards, and ability to innovate with the changing times. I will dive into some of these features in this article.
1. A Sound Education Answers to the Times
I recently asked my younger siblings about their secondary school curriculum (they school here in Nigeria). Among the subjects mentioned were Data processing, Building Construction, Bio-chemistry, and Fashion Technology. I was surprised, as these were modern subjects. In my secondary school back then, what we were taught in terms of digital skills, was basic computer skills like what a mouse is and how the CPU operates. However, as data, computers, the internet, and technology are now primary facilitators of work and lifestyle, it has become pertinent that other digital skills are added to the educational curriculum. In other words, sound education evolves with the times. We cannot place all focus on subjects like History and social studies when the world needs the skills of a data analyst, a neurosurgeon, a fashion-tech expert, or a climate educator. When we introduce modern subjects and skill acquisition programmes into our curriculum, we, as educators, are subtly pushing students to dream bigger. We are opening them to more opportunities for university scholarships or remote jobs that earn them money while in the university. For instance, Dbegotin Educational Foundation is planning a skill acquisition programme for exceptional female students within the F.C.T. Our goal is to train these girls on hard and soft skills which will give them a competitive edge globally.
2. A Sound Mind Delivers a Sound Education
Sometime in November, I went to L.E.A. Primary School, Iddo-Maji. While speaking with the head teacher about the school’s needs, he mentioned that the School had just four (4) teachers for six classes. These teachers have to juggle between classes and subjects. It was ineffective, and more so, it was exhausting for the teachers. We caught one of them sleeping on duty, while another was not even in school that day because she had taken ill.
We must pay more attention to the conditions we place our teachers in if we expect them to teach thoroughly. Passion cannot hold teachers steadfast for too long. And if passion did manage to pull them through unfavourable conditions, their bodies would complain. They would be mentally or physically stressed; unable to perform optimally. The quality of their lessons would naturally dwindle. Sometimes they will not even be available to teach, and their students will be left to do whatever they like.
To get the best, we must invest the best. We must understand that teachers play a primary role in a child’s upbringing. We must recruit the best minds and provide what they need to deliver excellently. We should pay them adequately and give them due respect. In Asian countries like China, Japan and South Korea, teachers are highly respected, sometimes even more than professions like doctors and lawyers. This encourages them to put in their best. They raise their students thoroughly so that they may live up to their reputation. And the results are clear as Asians are highly intelligent and well-educated; academically, morally, socially, and all around, they are almost always the best globally. A Business Insider writer, Sam Ro, wrote, “Countries with exceptional student achievement consider teaching a prestigious profession and offer decent compensation.”
Also, as we update our curriculum, we should update the knowledge and skills of educators. We should train them to quit archaic teaching methods, to be empathetic, innovative, etc. Dbegotin Educational Foundation is contributing its little quota to teachers’ development through our Teachers’ Training programme, hosted yearly since 2018 for teachers within Kuje and Gwagwalada area councils, Abuja.
Sound education flows from sound minds. And proper conditions birth a sound mind. A school with a track record of excellent academic performance can only maintain that record if it commits to giving its teachers the best standards. So, parents, please check the value a school places on its teachers before you enrol your child. To the school authorities and the government, invest without remorse in your teachers. It is always worth it.
3. A Sound Education Impacts all Aspects of a Child’s Development
Tara Westover wrote a memoir titled “Educated.” Beyond her intellectual enlightenment, the book explores her social, moral and religious enlightenment. That is what education should be; holistic. If we raise a brilliant young man who is a bully, then we have not completed his education. If we raise a Harvard-standard young lady who is a thief or a serial liar, we have only raised a half-baked child. We need to raise minds whom we can trust in positions of leadership, whom we can trust with power, and whom we can trust with the next generation.
A sound education goes beyond the conventional subjects to behavioural, social, religious and psychological development. Incomplete education is one of the reasons Nigeria suffers from religious clashes. I have met highly intellectual people who still believe that the opposite religion should be tortured. And I wonder why they call themselves educated when their beliefs and practices are still archaic. I have met educated fathers who still believe that their daughters should get married as soon as they start puberty. How is that an educated mindset? Schools should add a permanent socio-psychological subject or programme to their curriculum.
In Summary
There is sound education and then there is learning. Most of the time, what happens in schools is learning rather than education. I hope that with this article, we are reminded that the children we train today will be our leaders tomorrow, and then we go back to that song and provide what it demands; a SOUND education.
