Self-Devpt. Nuggets™

This article was inspired by Dauda Ayodele’s Facebook post which read: ““THE POOR EDUCATION THEY ARE GIVING US IS INTENTIONAL. TO CREATE UNINFORMED MULTITUDES AND IT IS WORKING THE WAY THEY WANT”. It was linked to a 2006 report (shared by Dr. Chukwuma Christopher Osaji) that quotes Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, on the same theme.

Below: Screenshot of Dauda’s Post, And an Interesting Comment by a Friend of His

First of all I want to say – with no attempt at flattery – that Dauda continues to impress me with his selfless commitment, to the emancipation of Nigerians/Africans from mental slavery.

Dauda’s profile states that he works as a school teacher.

But the quality of thoughts he shares daily on his facebook wall, prove he is more of the exception, than the norm amongst school teachers in Nigeria/Africa.

I believe Dauda somehow managed to pass through the traditional schooling system without losing his critical thinking skills.

And he’s taken it upon himself to help others liberate themselves mentally as well, by sharing his thoughts on issues affecting them on a daily basis.

This is why his ideas resonate so well with me!

In the above screenshot, I believe Nnamdi’s comment (which Dauda asks him to elaborate on) is in reference to damage that conventional schooling can do to those who undergo it, if they are not properly guided.

Accomplished people like Sir Ken Robinson, Robert Kiyosaki and Seth Godin, among others, have – for years – been advocating the need for schools to modify their curriculums, and approach to teaching, so as to eliminate the negative impact on learners, especially kids.

Parents and educationists in developed societies have been gradually making needed changes. That’s why a home schooling revolution continues in the USA for example.

Parents keep their kids at home and teach them the required subjects for work and life success in ways that DEVELOP and NURTURE their creativity.

In other words, their kids start from the equivalent of nursery and finish secondary level education, at HOME, without going to a physical school.

And many do better in life as a result. Because they are protected from the additional negative impact that may come from deliberate efforts to damage education provided in formal schooling systems – like the one Dauda referred to as happening in Nigeria, Dauda.

This means therefore that if parents do not want their kids to be turned in what Robert Kiyosaki calls "Mindless Parrots", they will need to stop depending on conventional schools to educate their kids.

Now, here’s the challenge that faces Nigerian parents in Nigeria:

They have even MORE work to do than parents in other parts of the world, to protect the creativity of their kids.

But most of them don’t even know it.

They do not realize that the danger in sending their kids to conventional schools in Nigeria, is EVEN greater than what parents in other societies face!

This is because "evil" power brokers in Nigeria are deliberately influencing a sutble "watering down" of the quality of education provided in formal schools.

They do this to make it easy to control the masses. And that’s what Dauda was saying in his post.

As a Nigerian Parent in Nigeria, You Therefore Need to Re-Educate Yourself to be Able to Help Your Child

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write. They will be those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn” – Alan Toffer

The solution is therefore for parents to deliberately play a more active role in their kids’ education.

One aimed at providing the children with real-world relevant knowledge, skills and interpersonal know-how to survive, and excel in larger society, as adults.

As more and more parents do this, over time, the negative impact of formal schooling will be removed.

Below are 2 examples of self-study resources you can use to begin re-orienting yourself towards helping your child.

1. Schools Can Kill Your Child’s Creativity – IF You Don’t Apply These Tips – By Tayo Solagbade

http://spontaneousdevelopment.com/sdnuggets/schools-can-kill-your-childs-creativity-if-you-dont-apply-these-tips-2/

[NB: I offer many more ideas, and links to ideas offered by others in my parenting articles (click to open in new browser window).]

2. If You Want to be Rich & Happy, Don’t Go to School? – By Robert Kiyosaki: Ensuring Lifetime Security for Yourself and Your Children (Paperback)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0944031595/

This book was Kiyosaki’st first, and it became an international bestseller getting rave reviews from many teachers at all levels – including tertiary institutions.

In 2000, a copy I purchased online was delivered by Amazon.com from the USA, and since reading it, I have been an advocate of parents protecting their kids from the damaging influence of conventional schooling.

I believe those responsible for the deliberate damage of Nigeria’s schooling systems, as noted by Dauda, along with greedy profit focussed school owners, do not want this book to get read by Nigerian parents in Nigeria.

Maybe that’s why 10 years after I bought it, I have yet to find it on sale anywhere in Nigeria.

Yet I see other books by the same author, which I’ve also bought and read, like "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", and "Rich Kid, Smart Kid" (by the same author) in many bookshops in Nigeria!

If you’re a teacher and/or parent, here’s my advice: get a copy of Kiyosaki’s "If You Want to be Rich & Happy, Don’t Go to School".

Read it again, and again, and again, to unlearn the wrong stuff you picked up in school, and learn the right stuff to help yourself, and your kids.

Google to read articles and watch videos on better ways to provide schooling for kids, using the names of experts like those mentioned above.
 
This is for your sake, and also for your child’s sake.

PS: In case you wonder, the answer is an emphatic YES: I am Practicing What I Preach…

I actively inform and educate MY kids to counter the potentially negative impact of exposure to formal schooling they are getting.

I’ve been doing so for over a decade – starting with my first child, who was born almost 15 years ago.

And this is helping them develop useful critical thinking skills.

The successes I’m recording equip me to offer the ideas in this article.

I urge you to put them to use for the sake of your kids – not matter how busy you are. Otherwise, they could end up becoming one of the "uninformed multitudes" and "mindless parrots" that Dauda and Kiyosaki respectively referred to!