5 Truths Ghanaian Parents Must Know About Education Today
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As a parent, nothing makes you happier than seeing your children grow into useful, productive, and independent adults who contribute positively to progress in their families and communities.
That’s why you invest so much energy and money into giving them the best education possible, hoping they become the future leaders you desire them to become.
But while you spend hard-earned money on educating your children, we believe you should be aware of some realities about today’s educational system, so you don’t spend your money in vain.
Here are five realities you should know:
The industry is fast evolving. School is struggling to keep up
The days when companies used to chase final-year university students to employ them are no more. That industry that existed those days has fast evolved into a more technologically driven one. But the educational system today is struggling really hard to give students all the training they need to be employable once they graduate.
As a parent, knowing this truth should help you assess what your child needs to know to be relevant in today’s job market.
Industry prefers young people with problem-solving skills
The most in-demand young people today in any industry are not those that are NOT present to do only what they’re told. The world is being crushed by many ‘interesting problems’ and we need more young people to bring their problem-solving and creative skills to the table. Your child must graduate not only with good grades but also with the experience of solving interesting problems.
Tech skills are NOT optional anymore
Everywhere in the world, we’re developing all sorts of technology to make tasks easier. So the people we need today to work must know how to use technology. The accountant must learn how to use accounting software, and the teacher must learn how to use PowerPoint for presentations.
Many parents encourage their children to learn coding and robotics. That’s an amazing way of preparing them for the future. If you don’t want your child to miss out, please encourage them to learn as much technology as they can.
Your child must own their education
The education system relies on compliance, that is, children must learn what’s in the syllabus and pass the exams to advance to the next class. But after 20 years in the classroom, many young people become over reliant on the teacher. They also don’t learn unless it’s exam based. And that is dangerous.
Every child must learn to learn independently and be able to discover knowledge on their own. There’s so much knowledge and one can’t know everything. But at least the future leader must learn how to find information for themselves whenever they need it. There won’t always be a teacher.
Good grades mean little these days.
You’ll surely be elated when your child completes a semester with straight As, and you all have the right to celebrate. But know that grades only reflect the hard work your child has done in acquiring knowledge and passing the school exams. Nothing more.
Grades don’t mean practical competence. They reflect more of what your child understands than what he/she can do. And in today’s industry, what really counts isn’t how much you know, but what you can do with what you know. Better still, what you HAVE DONE with what you know.
So yes, encourage your child to be the best in class. But encourage them more to solve problems with the things they learn. That way, you make them important contributors to making the world a better place.
Conclusion
As you’ve seen, industry has evolved tremendously, and the 21st century needs more problem solvers.
We believe that as a parent, you can help your child become relevant in today’s society and industry by helping them become problem solvers, and encouraging them to own their education.
Don’t worry if you don’t know how to go about it. We’ll help you figure that out. Join our community!
