Embracing educational opportunity

In order for the State to attain maximum benefits from its investments in education, parents and their children must understand that while the State provides opportunity, children must be able to embrace such opportunity through the support and encouragement of parents and the wider society.

Parents and their children must recognise that education is an investment — an investment in their future.

Investments imply the expenditure of time, effort, energy and, yes, money.

Investments in education, if done well, yield profits that extend beyond the monetary, for it enhances the prospects for a better life — a life where the mind is liberated from ignorance and fear. It also holds out promise for the realisation of the maximum human potential. This is the kind of understanding that parents and the wider society must inject into their children from a tender age. Understanding and appreciating the process of schooling, education takes on a different dimension, for the student now recognises that it is not only up to the teachers and the school, but rather the individual is the one that really makes all the difference.

In Trinidad and Tobago, the notion of a hierarchy of schools has been firmly implanted in the national psyche as if to indicate that the school singularly determines the difference between success and failure.

This is rather unfortunate and militates against the success of thousands of young people on an annual basis.

There are countless examples of people who attended less “prestigious” schools but because they were armed with the understanding and conviction that with the right mindset success will be attained, they were able to surpass theirs and the expectations of others.

Children must be taught by parents that in the pursuit of opportunity, there will always be challenges and obstacles. Some children will have more obstacles and challenges than others and the question of perseverance will make all the difference between failure and success.

Parents must also indicate to their children in the strongest possible terms that they are making an investment in them and for such investments there must be certain returns — tangible and intangible.

This places the education paradigm into a different context and children will then understand that they can’t take the education opportunity for granted. They will then give schooling a new appreciation.

The time spent in school will then be seen with a greater sense of purpose and value — a dimension of schooling that is sadly lacking in the minds of many of the nation’s youth. Too many children simply pass through school, unprepared/unable to adopt the discipline and diligence needed to attain success.

Failure under such circumstances is then the inevitable outcome, but responsibility for such failure is focused on everyone else rather than self. This is then the outcome of the lack of capacity of the individual to embrace opportunity provided by the State to enhance and improve one’s quality of life.

Schooling opportunities continue to go to waste simply because the mindset towards education is all wrong.

While some may argue that theirs are unfortunate situations that negate success, many others would have repeatedly proven that with determination, perseverance, dedication and hard work, they could rise above their circumstances to achieve success and even greatness. The strength of the human spirit can make all the difference – the school is merely a facilitator.