I’ve heard people say school is unnecessary.

“School doesn’t teach you the important things in life.” Someone argued.

“It (school) doesn’t teach you to make money.”

“School didn't teach me how to pay my bills. But, I can find the area of a triangle.”

“School teaches you things you’ll need to get a job; it doesn’t teach you office politics- how to keep the job.”

I beg to differ. I feel school teaches us the most important lessons in life. Education, like other social institutions, has manifest and latent functions. The manifest functions are the obvious things that school does. This includes learning to read and write. Conversely, the latent functions are subtle like meeting people, learning to live in a society, and learning values, among others. The lessons we don't learn in classrooms stick with us because they’re practical. Our minds might forget what we read, hear, write, and see. But, it never forgets what we feel. The lessons I learnt in boarding school, no matter how blasé they might seem, have helped a lot in my adult life....

Bluntly put, I was shipped off to a boarding school- Command Secondary School, Lagos (COMLAG), at age ten. It is one of the strictest secondary schools in Nigeria; at least, it was strict while I was a student there. Things might have changed over time.

COMLAG is a mixed boarding school that caters to the educational needs of children of army officers and civilians. We didn't pay the same tuition fees: civilians paid more than army officers. I should have seen that coming when we were separated during the school’s aptitude test. The officers’ children wrote their test in classrooms. We, children's civilians, wrote in the dining hall, which also doubled as the prep hall. Writing that test was an uncomfortable experience. That was Lesson number one: “Try as you may, there will never be a egalitarian society.” There will be segregation as a result of class, race, gender, age, religion, etc.

In COMLAG, everyone was expected to conform to certain standards, norms, and values. Not conforming meant one was a deviant. Being a deviant meant that there were sanctions such as being flogged on the assembly ground, locked-up in the dreaded guardroom, gossiped about, ostracised, etc. In an ideal society, some of the norms and values in COMLAG would have been perceived as absolute evils. “Wrong” became “right” because everyone did it. This brings me to lesson two: “Everyone is doing it doesn’t mean it is right. ‘Normal’ isn’t necessarily right. Some acts/behaviours are not right or ideal- they are just conventional.” ...

Gud4u

An example of the wrong thing, which became right, was stealing. We had a slang for it: suaving. (Pronounce it like suave-ing). I knew that stealing is wrong. But, I remember my ten-year old self stealthy creeping out of bed in the middle of the night to go to the cloth lines outside in a bid to “suave” a cloth hanger. I had to steal someone’s hanger because the previous night, someone had stolen mine. Initially, I didn't want to steal. But, a senior had convinced me to go ahead with it. If I didn't steal the hanger, she wouldn’t help me iron my pinafore. The “logical” reason she gave was that if she ironed it, there was no hanger to hang it on. In the long run, the aim of ironing would have been defeated. That brings me to the third lesson: “If you can’t beat them, join them. If you can’t join them, run away”.

I ran away.

I decided not to have a school mother after two years in the school. Almost everyone I knew at the time had a school mother. I did not. It was unconventional and it worked for me. I enjoyed my independence. I didn't have to go on useless errands for anyone. I had time to focus on me. I unravelled me- all the layers and shades of me. I found me. And I loved me. You know, loving yourself is the greatest love of all. My grades got better. I learnt the fourth lesson: “What works for everyone might not work for you.” The school mother thing didn't agree with me. And yes, I didn't have to “suave” anymore. I could iron my clothes by myself and fold them neatly after ironing. I abhor stealing. The way I don't like stealing is the same way I don't fancy some music genres; it’s the same way I don't like some type of dishes. Everyone has a vice that comes naturally. Stealing isn’t natural to me. Not stealing doesn’t make me better than anyone.

“Be nice. Be kind. But apply caution.” I learnt his lesson in a bitter way. The aftertaste still lingers on my palate. I was 12 at the time. A new student was allocated to my corner. Somewhere along the line, she’d misplaced the key to the padlock that she used in locking her locker. Fortunately for her, my key could unlock her padlock. On discovering that, my naiveté made me grant her access to my key. How stupid of me! At the time, there was a bad case of theft in my corner. We knew who the culprits were. They were our seniors. One had a father that was a top military officer at the time. Reporting them was pointless- nothing would happen. One day, the new student informed us that she couldn't find her money. Instinctively, we knew who stole it. We kept mum. We didn't dare to speak up or act.

Fast forward to the evening of visiting day that month, my housemistress swept into my prep hall like dusty wind on a hot harmattan afternoon - forceful and obnoxious. She was calling my name in her high-pitched voice that sounded like hitting two metals. I felt my heart thump hard in my chest as a melange of conflicting emotions twirled in my mind. Each wanting to take dominance. I didn't know what to expect. No one had ever called my name that loud in my life.

On meeting her in the middle of the hall, she assaulted me with a barrage of slaps. Lord, was I dizzy! I saw white flashes. Honestly, I’m grinning while writing this. The good thing is that I know how it feels to be slapped and it always comes handy when I have to write about violence.

It turned out that the housemistress was the new girl’s school guardian - that’s what we called them. The girl had told the woman that my key could unlock her padlock. From the premises the woman had before her, she conjectured that I stole the money. Has anyone ever told a lie against you? Have you ever tried to prove your innocence to someone whose mind was made up that you are guilty? It was harrowing. This woman didn't bother to talk with me. She just assumed without questioning. She wasn’t interested in my side of the story. Even though you have evidence, never condemn someone without knowing his or her side of the story.

This harridan woman harassed me even in class. Funny enough after a while, she noticed I was good in the subject she taught - French. Although she never apologised, she once commended my performance in an examination. Eventually, I developed an aversion, an intense dislike for members of the church she attended. She was (she still might be) a member of one of the world-rejecting churches here in Nigeria. Now that I’m older, I’ve grown past it. After that incident, I didn't help anyone in need. I grew indifferent to people and their plights. That changed when I told myself that I wouldn’t let that experience control me for the rest of my life. I’ve learnt how to apply sense when I want to reach out to someone and be helpful.

“Do good because you want to; not because you want to impress people.” I noticed that an individual could be good for 364 days. But, if the person did something wrong on Day 365, all the good deeds of the previous days were obliterated into oblivion. Like whooo! it went with the wind. Didn't they say good deeds are written in sand while bad deeds are carved in marble? (That line was written on the wall in one of the classrooms while I was a student) It was as if the person never did anything good. It felt like... betrayal. Based on that, I did good things because I wanted to.

Another important lesson I learnt was: “You’re alone doesn’t mean you’re lonely.” I never felt like “one of them”. A classmate once told me that it seemed I reasoned from another planet. I remember concluding that God is an atom after reading a Physics textbook. I was 13 at the time. What was I to think? An atom has three components; there are three persons in one God. Two of the religions I was exposed to at the time- Christianity and Hinduism believe in a trinity. In fact, the Yoruba pantheon believes in a trinity. I went on to draw an analogy between the neutron, proton, and electron to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit respectively.

Read More on: http://www.thefemmemedia.com/2016/01/if-you-think-school-isnt-necessary.html

NICE1 DOU, I DIDNT READ ALL

#team.proudly.xcomando.

#shalom

agentofchange1:
NICE1 DOU, I DIDNT READ ALL

#team.proudly.xcomando. kad

#shalom

Awwn... Command is still Command. Location doesn't matter.

yes dear, the spirit is one

SunehriLasgidi:



Awwn... Command is still Command. Location doesn't matter.

Hello Kindred Spirit ,
You write really well, will like to be friends are you on whatsapp ?
My number is on my buy organic link.

SunehriLasgidi:
I’ve heard people say school is unnecessary.

“School doesn’t teach you the important things in life.” Someone argued.

“It (school) doesn’t teach you to make money.”

“School didn't teach me how to pay my bills. But, I can find the area of a triangle.”

“School teaches you things you’ll need to get a job; it doesn’t teach you office politics- how to keep the job.”

I beg to differ. I feel school teaches us the most important lessons in life. Education, like other social institutions, has manifest and latent functions. The manifest functions are the obvious things that school does. This includes learning to read and write. Conversely, the latent functions are subtle like meeting people, learning to live in a society, and learning values, among others. The lessons we don't learn in classrooms stick with us because they’re practical. Our minds might forget what we read, hear, write, and see. But, it never forgets what we feel. The lessons I learnt in boarding school, no matter how blasé they might seem, have helped a lot in my adult life....

MoonChildng:
Hello Kindred Spirit ,
You write really well, will like to be friends are you on whatsapp ?
My number is on my buy organic link.

You do Twitter?

Nope for some reason I haven't caught the bug , got stuck on fb as social media and haven't been able to progress to newer social media sites ,but it's fine if you are unwilling to exchange contacts

SunehriLasgidi:



You do Twitter?

MoonChildng:
Nope for some reason I haven't caught the bug , got stuck on fb as social media and haven't been able to progress to newer social media sites ,but it's fine if you are unwilling to exchange contacts

I don't do Whatsapp or BBM or Facebook... Just Twitter. I'm just too lazy for social media.

Not a problem.
Take care of you .
Btw am female o, if that makes you more comfortable.

SunehriLasgidi:


I don't do Whatsapp or BBM or Facebook... Just Twitter. I'm just too lazy for social media.

I'll send a text, then.