I am now fully convinced that conventional schooling involves a subtle but severe form of brainwashing. And that’s why otherwise intelligent people who have undergone it sometimes display a baffling tendency to act like mindless robots!

And they do so, despite seeing it failing, more often that it succeeds, in today’s world!

I know of one parent, who not only made his kids undergo the entire traditional schooling process. He also sent the kids abroad, as used to be done years ago, to pursue master’s degree programmes, with a view to boosting their chances of getting jobs.

In fact, they kids started by trying to get employment while still abroad. For over a year, they tried. Nothing lasting came of it. All the while, keeping them there was costing their parents large sums of money. Still they kept hoping coming from abroad with degrees from foreign universities would open doors of high paying employment to them.

When they came back home however, it did not happen as they’d expected.

For one thing, their kids were not the only ones who were coming home with qualifications obtained from foreign schools.

Many other parents who thought like them also had their own kids doing the same thing.

But that was not all. The global economic crisis had made many in Diaspora begin to return home. Some had lost their jobs. Others had found themselves underemployed.

Most had earned qualifications while abroad, and had also spent years – decades in some cases – working at high profile jobs.

So, they brought with them a superior mix of competence and experience. And they came home prepared to settle for less paying jobs which offered greater security compared to the scary scenarios that had faced them abroad.

Now, many of these Diaspora professionals would not readily admit this was the main reason they had chosen to return home. Instead they argued that they felt a need to come back to contribute to developing the country.

Whatever the case, the important thing to note is that they basically competed (and compete) for the increasingly limited employment opportunities in the Nigerian market.

 This naturally put(s) the home grown job seekers at a major disadvantage. Especially given the shaky quality of the graduates being churned out from Nigeria’s local institutions.

Most companies cannot help but go for the better trained and more experienced returnees. And this is the sad predicament that faces many young people who undergo conventional schooling today

Today, many young people enter the real world, after schooling, to find no one seems to want them.

The sad thing about the situation is that no one warned them about it happening either. All the while they were undergoing the various levels of formal schooling, their parents told them to work hard at it.

Their lecturers and teachers challenged them to meet all the demands made of them. They were told to think of how bright a future awaited them if they finished well.

Unfortunately, even those who were telling them to do all these things had long passed the route, and were not in tune with the latest developments and realities.

At least not from the perspective of a persons just starting out in life.

And this is why I believe parents have to act more responsibly, realistically and sensibly.

As I type these words, I can still recall very vividly, how I had been laughed at SO MANY TIMES in my life as an entrepreneur, by people who used to admire me.

They laughed at, and mock me, often behind my back, and sometimes to my face.

Why?

Because they saw me struggling to make an impact in the real world as an entrepreneur. For all my academic brilliance and intelligence, I was for many years unable to unravel the mysteries of doing business in the real world. Especially the real – and VERY crooked – world of Nigeria, my country.

In developed climes, as many others have noted, my creative abilities would have earned my greater traction much earlier.

Also, recognition – and support – from others who value innovative talents, would have come my way faster. Unfortunately, I did not have that benefit, being based in Nigeria.

Now, one would have thought those who saw me excel in school, from my childhood days right through university, and those who saw me excel in paid employment after that, would have rallied round me.

They never did. Instead they made fun of me.

Not all of them. But VERY many of them. And I found it so difficult to understand, because I knew I would never do that to anyone. Instead, I would have wanted to find a way to help anyone in such a situation, who I see working with diligence and integrity, to find a way to succeed.

For well over a decade, I have studied those who did these things, and come to the conclusion that the schooling systems we were all expose to, is what makes people that way.

It makes them lose their emotional intelligence. At least most of it.

They forget how to put themselves in the shoes of others. Instead they delight in making fun of others in misfortune.

That negatively competitive spirit is promoted in the conventional schooling system.

I do NOT want my kids to become like that. And I also do not want them to be treated the way I have been treated. That is why I have, for years, been telling them the stories of my entrepreneurial failures, and asking them to compare it with my time in school and paid employment where I excelled.

Using those examples, I have been challenging them to LEARN real world relevant skills to complement the academic training they get via conventional schooling.

If you’ve been reading my parenting articles, you will know I’ve shared many stories about the successes I’m achieving with this approach.

My dream is to one day have a family owned business run by me and my kids.

Each one of them will bring his talent based expertise to bear in managing the enterprise (which is to be a farm products based restaurant outfit).

The fact that they already make and sell their own drinks and cakes is proof that we are well on our way. When they finish school, they will each have been running their own micro businesses, in addition to contributing to running the family business as well.

Bottom line is this: They will NEVER need to go looking for employment anywhere.

If they decide not to run their own businesses independently, the family business will be there for them to join. Either way, going into the labour market, to compete for jobs with others who – in a place like Nigeria – would sometimes have paid their way to get degree certificates etc, will NOT appeal to them!

Final Words: This article was written as a wake up call of sorts, for any parents who are still on the fence about taking ownership of providing real world relevant education for their kids.

I urge you to start doing it now, or as early as possible, so your child can be sure of the best possible preparation for the many challenges s/he is bound to face as an adult.

Don’t leave this important job to the school or teachers. Believe me, very few of them know (or care) about this problem. You are the one who has a stake in your child’s life. It is more of YOUR business, than theirs.

For the sake of your child, PLEASE take action from today!