The Promise of Education: Bridging the Gap for Future Generations

After a series of conversations with my colleagues, I have come to the conclusion that in this age and time, academics is almost redundant and that learning should be personally ensured by the interested individual or by the guardian of another individual.

I thought things would have gotten better by now, and kids of this age and time would have it way better and easier than we did when we were in school, but what I saw recently made me wonder what it is we are talking about when we mention "education."

I walked into one of the classrooms that I am supposed to teach, was introduced as Corper Olufemi to the new students, and with no little time, introduced myself with my own voice as they were in a session in that moment. I was out of the place in no time. In those few minutes that I walked in, I observed the majority of the learning environment these children were subjected to.

Electricity is very important in schools. To state the obvious, I would say that electricity is needed to power the appliances, like electric fans and air conditioning systems, to contribute to a conducive learning environment for the students. And, also, it is needed for effective practical sessions in their laboratory, such as good lighting for visual inspection of biological specimens and practicals on electricity as a topic in physics. Unfortunately, they lacked it, along with the aforementioned appliances and equipment.

The entire compound seemed all too shabby, unkempt, and lacked equipment for leisure and playtime so that the students could, you know, have fun and not just learn all day, as we all know that it makes Jack a dull boy. There was one, however: the football field. The sad thing about it was that the students themselves cleared the lawn.

It is a normal thing to have students clear bushes and grasses over here, depending on the kind of school. In my days at a military secondary school, I did it on a regular basis. And I do think that it is alright, but it should be done at the right time. I found these students working on the lawns with cutlasses, clearing the lawn. It was only 10:40 AM, and these same kids would still have to listen in class for the next couple of hours. Quite unethical, if you ask me.

What the government and the school authorities should have in place, even way before the kids resumed, is to have done something to tidy up the environment with the money and labour that they can garner and not have these kids do these menial jobs when they should be learning.

The same goes for many schools in this new environment that I have found myself in, and that is what I have learned from my colleagues, my fellow patriotic Corpers like myself. It was mostly like this while I was growing up, but it was disheartening to find it this way after almost a decade since I left secondary school. It's sad.

Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today, as Malcolm X said, but what future are we promising the children of these times if we don't provide them with what they require to make the promising future a reality for them with adequate amenities?

If, then, for some reason, I am fortunate enough to hit the lottery and have the opportunity to spend my entire day doing one thing, it would be to transform the lives of students in my area by giving and providing what I can to make their learning environment conducive and their learning process very effective and adequate. I'd spend the entire day doing this.

I know exactly what it's like to be helped by great people and have a life transformed for the better, so I know for sure how much of an impact this initiative I have would have on the future of our nation in this regard. Hopefully, I will be able to do this every day in the future, maybe as a philanthropist, if that magical day of giving I have just designed in my head doesn't happen soon.