Lately I began to think about it and I
considered how life was then, back in the days over three decades ago when many
mature youth of today were still in school and how life is now. So different.
The corporate world, the social world, the economic environment, exposure,
enlightenment, information, priorities, values and lifestyle. Things are very
much different 30 years ago from how things are today.
Then I started to think. When I was in school,
the tutoring and training and education was mainly to equip us on how to cope
and fit into the life of then, we were educated and trained in school to cope
with how life was in the 80s, not as it is now because no teacher or
academician saw this future or could teach this future.
So I drew this conclusion, formal education
does have its limits, in that it does not really prepare anyone adequately for
tomorrow, it can only prepare students for the world as it is and as seen today
- the corporate culture of today, social culture of today, economic landscape
of today, science and technology as obtainable today – hmn, a today these
students will never function within.
There are millions of children in school today
been taught daily on how to succeed in today's world based on today's
civilisation. These students obviously are not likely to participate fully in
today's civilisation. I do not think there is any school today, making
adequately ready any student or pupil for the civilisation, the business and
corporate world of 2025, 2035 or 2040, you know why, we have no clue and do not
know how the world and life would be then.
So academically we are actually spending so
much money, resources and energy, preparing the next generation for the
challenges of our generation and not their generation because we do not even
know, neither can we correctly predict the challenges and requirements of their
generation by, for example 2030.
How would life really be in 2030, 2035? Who
knows? What kind of academic syllabus can effectively prepare this younger
generation for 2035? Who will put it together? Who can tell what life would be
like in 2035? Hmmm
Let me step back a bit to make this clearer,
in the 80s, there wasn't much in school that taught us how to handle todays
civilisation with social media and this information age. We didn't know much
about computers especially in Nigeria, there was no Microsoft office; there was
no google, there was no GSM. No text messages, no emails, no yahoo, Gmail and
outlook. No blackberry, no skype, no power point, no digital or online
education for anyone. No cable satellite televisions, no CNN, it was satellite
dishes and very few people could afford it.
No iPad, no CDs, it was cassettes players and
tape recorders, dubbing sets, LPs and stereos. VHS Video recorders, Betamax
videos and video cassettes. No YouTube, no websites, no Facebook, no twitter,
no Whatsapp, no online sales or shopping, no private banks, no online banking,
no cashless society, no www.
I promise you, all many learnt in school in
the 80s did not really equip much for today's world 35 years after. The world
has changes completely. So the question is, is our academic world today
preparing our young ones for the civilisation realities of the next 25 to 30
years? How are we, or can we prepare them for the realities of life in another
20 to 30 years? What are they learning today that we're sure will apply
effectively in fact 15 years from today? Hmmm.
There's a strong advocacy for education today.
There is great pressure on the government to support the education sector. We
ask they pump more funds into the sector. Everyone wants to send their children
to school, its popular saying that education is the key to success. Many
people, rich or poor, invest so much and make so much sacrifice to ensure their
children go to school, study good courses and come out successful graduates.
But is it not amazing that as obvious and as
glaring as it is that education in actual fact is not the key to success we
don't want to think otherwise or seek superior answers to good success?
There are very many brilliant and educated
unsuccessful people. They are struggling, confused, irrelevant, poor and
non-achievers, yet they are educated-well read.
Every day I come across educated and brilliant
people who come for counselling on how to be successful despite their education
and believe that with education, they can't be failures.
Please don't misunderstand me, education is
extremely important, it is something one can't do without in this dispensation,
it is the foundation upon which every unlimited life and success is established
but, education is not the key to success; it's obvious.
Beyond sending our children to school, I
believe it's time to actually review exactly how we claim we educate people and
be sure we are truly equipping this next generation not just wasting resources
and time on lessons that does not really amount to anything in tomorrow's
civilisation.
What are we teaching in schools, what should
we be really teaching, how should we actually be teaching that will in reality
equip our children for the next 20 to 30 years?
If almost 80% of what I was taught in school
is not useful or relevant in my life today, it puts a big question mark on what
we are really teaching and how we should be really teaching in my opinion.
In today's world with focus on Nigeria as a
nation particularly, I think if we consider the number of graduates in
different fields churned out from our universities year after year, the supply
appears to be superseding demand. We have more graduates that can be absorbed
in the labour market; supply is much more than demand, consequently, the value
placed on every graduate keeps declining.
We have doctors everywhere, lawyers
everywhere; engineers everywhere, professionals everywhere and there are very
few opportunities for good employment; consequently they are grossly
undervalued and underpaid because they're easily replaceable. We are currently
going through a season of academic inflation.
Dear friend, being educated, certified, and
knowledgeable is no longer a guarantee for good employment and good success.
Studying a professional course in fact has brought about much frustration and
dashed expectations for many graduates and professionals. Formal education is
no longer enough for anyone with determination and ambition to excel in life.
Academic equipping of today may not be of much
use in maybe another 10, 15 or 20 years. Science, technology, inventions,
innovations and overall global dynamics make it impossible.
Also there is no longer a great future for
professional certification and brilliance, the future now belongs to a mind
with creative abilities.
Creativity is the ability to think up answers
and solution to challenges and problems irrespective of time and season.
Creativity is our natural tendencies, innate
abilities and normal equipment to solve problems based on intelligence, good
thinking and reasoning.
It is the ability to look at a problem and
immediately engage the brain to fathom a way out or a way around the problem
and challenge.
Creativity is the basis for inventions,
innovation, origination and revolution. Unfortunately, creative tendencies has
been challenged by formal education. There has been a super imposition of how
things are done and should be done and existing methods on our own individual
and unique reasoning and solution mindedness.
Academic knowledge is time bound, creativity
however is eternal, forever relevant; not restricted by time, seasons,
advancement, situations and even civilisation.
As a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, an
architect, an accountant no matter your profession, if you let go your creative
tendencies and originality of thought and incline stronger towards academic
knowledge, you may short change yourself in life.
Creativity, creativity, creativity is the key
for now and for tomorrow. Certificates, qualifications, knowledge and
brilliance can't do it anymore, they don't last that long. Creativity is the in
thing for now and tomorrow.
Just take a look around you, every successful
name and person you know has something unique and outstanding; uncommon to
others in the same field of endeavour. Creative doctors are the successful
ones, creative lawyers are the successful ones, creative architects are the
successful ones, creative pharmacists are the successful ones, creative engineers
are the successful ones, not the hard working ones not the brilliant ones; no,
the creative ones.
Creativity is what will stand you out from the
rest, innovation, invention, originality, new ways of solving problems would
make you successful today and tomorrow.
No matter what you studied in school, no
matter how brilliant you are, there are too many of your kind out there for you
to be outstanding. Your originality and creativity is your differentiation,
your branding, your winning hand, your enduring advantage.
Formal education is good, literacy is good but
creativity is the real key to success. Too many professionals and graduates are
out there, the creative ones really own the future.
Written By : Muyiwa Afolabi
CEO; Frontiers Consulting Services
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