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Ignorance
is not Bliss
771
million adult people world wide do not have the basic knowledge
in reading, writing and calculation More than 100 million
children do not have access to school and this limitation
will determine their lives.
Education
is a key tool in order to reduce the vulnerable position of
millions of people in the world. Education enables job opportunities,
self esteem and social awareness for change.
However,
many in the West do not realise the privilege they have in
terms of free accessible education.
Is
the education of a nation actually getting worse? Are children
less educated than their parents were at their age? Its sad
to see teens drop out of school at age 13 or 14, not caring
about the consequences. They get involved with drink, drug,
sex, gangs, and think they know what is best. Some are hooked
on these things from as early as 12 years old.
If disaffected children do attend school, they are disruptive,
loud, abusive, and in some cases violent. They will make a
point of not listening to the teacher. They will walk out
of classrooms without permission. They will throw things across
the room, including chairs. They will walk across the room.
They will walk across chairs. They will crawl under tables.
They will throw things out of the window. Some attend school
drunk or stoned, having availed themselves with alcohol or
drugs before stepping foot inside the school gates. Or some
will bring a stash with them, to feed their habit in the toilets.
It can be a daily battle zone for some of these poor teachers
who are trying to control them. There really a no sanctions
one can place on these children which will be effective, because,
ultimately they do not want to be in school. They do not care
about education. And will go off to celebrate if they are
excluded from school.
Have
you seen the series "Waterloo Road" recently.
A
big problem, mostly overlooked, is the quality of the education
the students receive in school. Many schools today are still
in the same rut of teaching the same standards for many years
because they are resistant to change. Although, many adults
believed it to be adequate enough for their children to learn
the same education the received, the opinion for change in
standards seems to be on the rise. Today, youth need higher
standards to compete with skillful and technical careers.
Times
have changed. With the advent of new technologies, and new
distractions, educational methods have not kept pace. Higher
qualifications are needed for many jobs. There used to be
a time you could get a job in a bank, or even teach with no
exams in Maths and English. Now that is not the case.
When business owners were asked to comment on new high school
graduates, they complained particulary that they lack basic
math, writing, grammar, and spelling skills. Six out of ten
parents agree that academic standards are too low in their
local communities. Why this is the case? It could stem from
numerous items. One is safety and order of our public school.
Some schools have become so disorderly, violent, and undisciplined
that learning simply cannot take place. Some aspects include:
violent gun confrontations and threats, major drug abuse,
fights, and poor teaching.
All of these violent accounts are justifiably brought about
by parental neglect. In a recent survey conducted by the YMCA,
78% of youth indicated that they turn to their parents for
guidance and in times of need. More and more teens see to
it that family time is a top priority - which is great news.
But those teens who recieve little or no parental involvement,
tend to lead a more chaotic life than those who do. If they
do not have good adult influence or good teachers to substitute
the correct guidance, they believe the theory that education
is not going to help them, and there is no point even trying.
The discipline that comes from education not only teaches
facts and methods, it helps youths to understand the routine
of getting up and attending a place of work, or study which
they will need later in life.
To better understanding teens, many teachers now seem to have
a closely knit relationship between teacher and student. I
notice that some teachers take the parental role with some
students and that helps them have better aspirations. This
relationship lets youth have more confidence, a sense of power,
belonging, and usefulness.
You
can tell the education of a person within two minutes of speaking
to them. You can tell their general knowledge; their range
of vocabulary, and if they have a limited life experience.
Ignorance
is not bliss. Fortunately, some young people find this out
later on in life, and return to college to do what they should
have done at school. Typically, they will still be years behind
their peers who gained their qualifications at 16 to 18. But
hey, better late than never. They usually rue the wasted years
though, when they land in university in a class of 18 year
olds, when they are 25 say. Or they are in a job, and some
young upstart is their boss.
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