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IS FORMAL EDUCATION A MUST?
My answer to this is NO, because as important as getting a formal education is, it's not a mandatory aspect of human life.
Formal education is always emphasized because of the opportunities that come along with it and how widespread it is in the world.
Formal education has its numerous benefits and advantages which is why it's seen as a necessity.
In my country, intelligence is usually attributed to excellent grades on the dossier and the awards that come with getting good grades, so many are faced with the pressure of getting excellent grades and getting the first position in the classroom, being the first among peers.
It is a good thing for parents to aspire for their children to top the class, but it's also the best thing if they get to really know their child or children well especially when they're not quite catching up with the competition of getting to the top of the class.
This is a way to know what exactly a child is good at and how best to hone that skill. Sometimes formal education can be restrictive especially on talents and skills that may not be part of the extra curricular activities in the school environment which leads to the talent lying dormant.
Intelligence is not measured by the four walls of a classroom alone.
There are stories of a lot of people who were terrible in school and were seen as individuals who didn't have a bright future, but their future shone bright and now the world knows them.
A known example is Ben Carson.
We have all read about his background and how he grew up and the academic challenges he faced along with the mockery he got for learning things slower than his peers, but now he's the most sought after neurosurgeon in the world.
How about that?
Another worthy example is BUCHI EMECHETA
She is a Nigerian author whose books deserve the praises and accolades it gets.
In her book titled Second Class Citizen, she tells us her life story about how she struggled to be who she was, a successful author.
Due to the traditionalist way of thinking of her parents and her community regarding affairs of the girl child, she was denied the opportunity to get a formal education so she had to find a way to get educated formally by her own means and she achieved her goal, to a certain level.
Later on, she realized that she had a talent for writing stories and from then on, she kept writing and writing until her books became great successes.
She wasn't aware of her talent even in the classroom because of the strict rules that forbade girls from doing much or achieving goals, but she discovered it years later outside school.
There are many stories about people finding out that they possess a high level of intelligence sometimes even more than those with the good grades and all this wasn't brought about by formal education.
Formal education can only help one to know so much, the rest of the learning process rests with the individual.
There is a need for formal education because it helps to be able to have a strong footing in different sectors of the world.
But it's not true that only good grades are the measure of one's intelligence.
There are different intelligent individuals out there who didn't get to attend school or who didn't get to finish their education in school, but they are well off in life.
Though good grades are quite important, they shouldn't be the only measure of a person's intelligence. Not everything is taught in the classroom and that's where good grades may not have enough impact.
We need to come to terms with the fact that we were not taught everything and the rest of the learning is in our hands now which will determine our level of intelligence as we go forward in life.
The word these days being uttered by youths is that going to school is a scam which is very wrong on all levels. In as much as they were able to prosper outside of the school environment doesn't mean getting educated is a waste of time and money.
As the saying goes:
- No knowledge is a waste.
Let me know if you share the same views with me in the comment section below.
Thank you for reading! 👩🏫