Where I am from.
It has always bothered me to see students that are failing in their classes receive very little attention from their teachers on how to best help them and make them thrive as everyone else. Good grades matter. Good grades get you into college and good grades give one a good reputation. Bad grades? Those give you labels; failure, failure and failure, at least where I come from.
I have always loved to think of the privileges we all have, but my best comparison has been between education and health. Well, regardless of how bad our system still is, the doctor will still try to give every patient the best attention they could receive. Each patient is thoroughly asked a bunch of questions to find out exactly what is wrong, tests are followed to prove these facts and later the right medicine is prescribed to them.
Now, imagine, a hospital where a doctor would walk in with a bunch of boxes of medicine, introduce himself, gives a two-hour lecture on the names and uses of these medicines and later leaves them all there and says whoever is able to figure out what medicine works for them gets a bright future full of healthy living.
I am from a community that greatly stresses the importance of going to school. On my very first day of primary school, my mother took me to class and packed the best treats in my bag pack that I would have during the 5 hours I was to spend at that institution. I had a great day and could not wait to go back to school because I had so much fun. The 7-year-old me believed that school was about making lots of friends, eating lots of food and sharing fun personal experiences.
Later that term we had tests, I came second. We were then made to sit in a chronological order using our positions on the test. With the first being closest to the door and the front of the class while the rest were more at the back. The 7-year-old me did not have a problem with that, On the contrary, I was so excited to work harder next time, to compete with the boy that came out first and be in his position. I did. I was first all of my primary school.
Now let us think of that child. The one with the bad grades and at the back of the class. The one that has no future and the one the teachers never mention in class as models of anything good. These are the same people that never fit in any criteria for any University or even just generally any opportunities in this world. They have been made to feel that they cannot do anything simply because the academic system has failed them.
What if we had an education system that gave equality through equity. If we cared for each student as much as they needed till they got it. What if we realized that education is a privilege that we are all entitled to and not a competition of who has the best memory. What if we stopped being this bad health care system that does not even exist? Finally, what if we stopped identifying a whole human being with just a single score? Because we ARE more than that.
But where I am from, we are this bad health care system. Who is supposed to be this hypothetical doctor that finally cares?
I have been working on developing a program that would help improve the Zambian education system. It is quite evident that the majority of the youth population is stuck in the public schools. I deliberately used the word ‘stuck’ because: These are schools that have the worst services, from delivery to resources. As if that was not enough, most of these students come from very financially struggling backgrounds and school is their only source of hope.
It has been worrisome to see that the system was designed in a way that without tertiary, these kids will not have a place to implement the knowledge they acquired during secondary school. This is so because the they have entirely theoretic academic curriculum and basic life skills such as business courses and personal development are non-existent.
I believe in the power of knowledge and education. I see so many schools in my community that lack both. I believe in the potential that Zambian youths could bring to the continent. I also believe that as a basic form of professional education, schools should provide them with opportunities that will help them equip with these skills: creative and critical thinking, analysis and networking.