They say "Time changes all things." I used to disagree with that quote back then but it's true, time has a very big role to play in our lives. Our carelessness or carefulness has the potential to make things either worse or better as time goes on.
Back in those days, you could trace students back to their school based on their character. Schools don't only offer head knowledge but morals as well.
Discipline was held high, you could easily differentiate between those who learned and those who were not through their behaviors.
I learned how to always be prompt at a place from high school, who are you to come to school late? One encounter with my principal will transform your life completely. You either receive a beating and still go back home or work throughout, until break hour.
Back then, even at home, teachers disciplined their students, when they saw them misbehaving. Your teacher can see you walking on the road and ask you to go back home and change your dress if it's not decent enough.
Those of us that are used to wearing shaped trousers back then got corrected in school, teachers go around, picking students with tight trousers, those sagging, and ladies with short skirts and tight ones. You will receive the beating of your life and sometimes, you might even be sent home if you are not lucky, they will tear the trousers so that you will amend them or sew another one.
Although some students were stubborn then, there were always consequences. The school authority can invite police to come over to arrest students who feel they are tough. I witnessed this once in my school.
Though some schools go extreme on discipline by beating recklessly, it was part of the things that made some of us who we are today.
The Schools of today have turned into something else, discipline is thrown out.
Our younger ones have to be taught morals and discipline at home. Teachers are no longer reliable. If you are not lucky to have God-fearing parents, you are in trouble. Some teachers are not concerned about impacting morals, their joy is no longer looking forward to see their students becoming something great in life, but to see credit alerts.
They barely flog students now, I know it's a good thing, beating is not always the way out but what have they done to replace beating, so that discipline will still be there? Nothing, students misbehave and the best some teachers do is say "Don't repeat it."
These are part of the things that took discipline from the educational system today. When a child is wrong, correct him or her, let them know their wrongs, and punish them if possible so that they know the severity but if you just talk and go, they will repeat it next time. This is one thing I respect school back then for.
Our teachers nowadays and even some parents have failed to perform their duties as they should. That is why young people are committing atrocities without their conscience even pricking them. Most things are now taken for granted.
Should we even talk about discipline in examination back then, if you should be caught cheating, you know what will follow, but now students cheat as though it something legal in education and some teachers are even are the ones encouraging it. How pathetic.
School Now
I won't lie, technology has now made education easy, and students can easily learn things with their smartphones and personal computers from anywhere.
Back then, before I pronounced some words I suffered badly, sometimes I begged people to help me out but nowadays, dictionaries on the phone have a provision for word pronunciation. With all these things except a student chooses to be lazy if not, learning should not be a problem.
Some schools now use projectors to teach, making learning more practical. In those days, our teachers only come and tell us stories but we don't know what those things really look like in life. But now, both the teachers and students are greatly helped by improvements in technology, you can see for yourself the things you were taught on the projectors or even on your phones.
Although some schools are still using the old methods to teach, especially public schools. The annoying part is that some of the teachers are now very unserious, they barely teach or even go to work as they should be.
This is why I will always choose private schools over government schools in Nigeria. I just hope that someday, the government will take the issue of supervision seriously, so that things like this can be addressed because they are really cheating a lot of students.
Possible Solution
Schools should awaken the spirit of discipline again, this won't cost much, although it might be hard, but when they start one step at a time, they will get there. Our world is turning into something else, young people are now becoming the unimaginable, and the future of the next generation lies in the hands of teachers and parents.
If only they start taking measures and groom these young ones well, in the fear of God, we may have some hope in the near future.
