My teachers always insisted,on good grades.Whenever we dropped our grades,we got a beating.Sometimes sent home,to get our parents who also gave us a beating too."They told us"soma kwa bidii utapata kazi nzuri"(Read hard and you will get a good job.)They made us we believed a good job can only be a white colour job.Anybody who didn't anything else was regarded us (kanda ya moko).It didn't matter how much they earned ,we were made to believe that office jobs were better than trying our own business or even pursuing our talents or gift if you may.
My dad especially, was obsessed with education.Maybe because he didn't get a chance to pursue what he really wanted.He had to grow fast,be the man of the house when my grandfather was not around.There was 2nd world war then we had our own fight in Kenya.Fighting for freedom.He believed in academic excellence.Even playing as kids,we had to hide.My brothers,especially,they never played football with other kids.If my parents saw a football,that was trouble.They got a beating.They were made to believe playing meant they were not focused on books and hence it would lead to bad performance.
Now that we are all grown,some with their own kids.We know that all kids are not the same.We have different talents.We are our own individuals.Some are born entrepreneurs,they have it in them.Some love to read,some are born artist and the list is endless.So am i wrong if i say academic excellence is overrated?
"Academic excellence is overrated! I said it. Being top of your class does not necessarily guarantee that you will be at the top of life. You could graduate as the best student in Finance but it doesn't mean you will make more money than everybody else. The best graduating Law student does not necessarily become the best lawyer. The fact is life requires more than the ability to understand a concept, memorise it and reproduce it in an exam. School rewards people for their memory. Life rewards people for their imagination.The world requires more creative minds. School rewards caution, life rewards daring. School hails those who live by the rules. Life exalts those who break the rules and set new ones.
So do I mean people shouldn't study hard in school? Oh, no, you should. But don't sacrifice every other thing on the altar of First Class. But for this to happen,parents need to understand that they need to support their kids' dreams and talents.Learn what your kid is good at and encourage them to go for it.Don't limit yourself to the classroom. The classroom is just a square and not everyone can fit it it. Do something practical. Take a leadership position. Start a business and fail. That's a better Entrepreneurship 101. Join or start a club. Contest an election and lose. It will teach you something Political Science 101 will not teach you. Attend a seminar. Read books outside the scope of your course. Go on missions and win a soul for eternal rewards... Do something you believe in! If you do something you believe in and are passionate about.You will find a way to the world and you will bring it to life.You are happy.Think less of becoming an excellent student but think more of becoming an excellent person. Don't make the classroom to be your world but Make the world your classroom.The world teaches you what you never learnt in a classroom.
Step forward, try politics, try farming, try business, try an extra thing ."
There is more to the world.Parents,don't build a future for your kids,but build your kids for the future.
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