The Encarta dictionary defines educating as the imparting and acquiring of knowledge through teaching and learning, especially at a school or similar institution.
Formal education is looked upon as the key to having a successful life by many people all over the world. Young people across the globe have it drummed into their ears by their parents, uncles and aunts “work hard, get good grades so you can go to university get a degree and get a good stable job”. Thus being the reason that many students enter the university and go for medicine ,engineering , law or accountancy , because these are seen as the prestigious courses that can get you a high income job in strong companies and the like. But is that really the only means to success?
I believe that everyone is born with something within them , which is essentially “the goose that lays the golden egg”. There are several groups into which these can be classified. One group of people “the intellectuals” are natural readers, they love to absorb and disperse information. This group consists of the doctors, lawyers professors and research scientists etc.Another group read less and do more, they are good with their hands give them a television that is inoperative and they would dismantle it examine it to find the problem and fix it, these are the “the technical” .Another group are those that come up with things from within themselves, I would call them “the creatives”, they are the actors, recording artists, sculptors, poets, playwrights etc. A completely different group is “the athletes” , they are blessed with physical prowess and excel well above their peers in sports. An individual from the athletes group, can never find fulfillment if he is studying medicine in the university, he may excel but deep down he's know there is something missing in his life.
There is a belief that without a university degree one can not be successful financially and otherwise in life, but is that really true ? What about those that have learning disabilities, are they doomed to be failures? Dyslexia, a condition that causes the inability to read or write it is known as a special reading disorder, it occurs in 10 to 20 percent of the world's population and it has different levels of intensity. One of the characteristics is having problem distinguishing the various sounds or phenoms that make up speech. Fluently, is rarely diagnosed and sufferers usually suffer the stigma of being labeled dumb or stupid and relegated to the background. Is there any fate for such people? If they can't learn, read or write won't they have difficulty making a living? Apparently, the saying “when God takes something away , he gives something else” rings true in their case. For the first time, new research shows that entrepreneurs are five times more likely to suffer from dyslexia than your average citizen, some of the world's leading entrepreneurs such as Sir Richard Branson, and Anita Roddick of The Body Shop allegedly suffer from dyslexia. Branson whose Virgin empire includes Telecoms, Soft drinks, Air and Rail transport, Radio and a record company has a personal net worth of over £3 billion, he never walked the halls of a university. World renowned Public and motivational speaker Les Brown was labelled educable mentally retarded when he was in high school, today he earns millions of dollar annually in speaking engagements for executives of Fortune 500 companies It is said that Dyslexia forces people to hunt for creative ways to steer through life,ain't that the truth.
As mentioned earlier there are different groups that individuals belong to, and parents need to discover what group their child belongs to and guide them toward that path. The blinders need to come off our eyes, the blinders that have given us tunnel vision, and brainwashed us into thinking that university education is the only light at the end of the tunnel. Those in the intellectual group will acquires the degrees at the Universities . “The technical” would hone their skills by attending vocational colleges where they can learn to become world class furniture makers, electricians, blacksmiths, masons,H20 transportation engineers(plumbers), etc. Vocations which are certainly not in short demand. Those in the creative group need to hone their ingrown talent by attending a school for music and performing arts like Julliard where they can major in courses like dance, vocals, a specific instrument or music production. For the athletes they need a sports academy, much like
Aspire, a school in Qatar that trains it's students to be professional athletes, at the same time giving them an education to fall back after their professional careers end. A similar school was portrayed in the Australian team drama
SWEAT.
The essential in life is a basic secondary school education, which should be standard for every child , after they've crossed that bridge each should discover their path , which only they can tread. They question we should ask ourselves is, what would the world be like if people legendary producer Quincy Jones ,who have brought us some of our most loved songs .Football sensation Cristiano Ronaldo who has lead his Manchester United team to victory several times, and is carving his name in the football hall of fame. Crooner Frank Sinatra a kid from humble beginnings went to seal his name forever in the history of music and has spawned a string of imitators in Harry Connick Jnr, Michael Buble ,movie visionaries Francis Ford Coppola, Ridley Scott ,Alfred Hitchcock,Orson Wells are some of the greatest directors of all time.Quentin Tarantino , whose movie Pulp Fiction is listed as number 7 in imdb top 250 movies of al time, once worked as a video store clerk. What if they had decided to work 9 to 5 jobs, because they felt they had no future without a university degree.
