Mind Boggling
By Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta
It goes back to my childhood, this problem of letting money make my decisions. Every time I have asked a child what s/he wants to be when s/he grows up, I expect them to say a doctor, engineer, lawyer, all those big time careers. And the child knows that that is the answer am looking for. Some times they just keep quiet feeling confused, other times they shout out the answer that they know you want to hear not knowing what the hell that person they are wanting to be actually looks like and other times they shout out the answer believing that it is their destiny until I am taken aback.
I once asked a 9 year old boy that question and he immediately told me that he wants to be a cardiologist. This was after he had told me that he was first in his class exams the previous term and that he is always first because he reads a lot. My follow up question was, “and do you know what a cardiologist does?” He retorted, “Of course, I told you I read a lot”. I was immediately impressed and wished that my little confused 8 year old nephew could be like that.
I was a bright student in school. I was good in all the subjects I took from maths, to science, to history, to French. I had figured them all out. But if you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I had absolutely no idea. There are so many careers and professions in the world and as I said, I am hopeless at choosing from a large selection of things. After my high school results came out, I was glad to have passed well in all my subjects but I was afraid that I did not know what I wanted to study in university. Thankfully I had a daddy who knew just what his bright little girl should study. And I must commend him for choosing law because I do love being a lawyer. I ran to him and told him that I had decided to study dentistry. When he asked me why, I just kept quiet. Then he asked me to compare what I would need to set up a dental practice and a law practice. He told me that dentists needed to spend huge amounts of money buying all this sophisticated medical equipment whereas a lawyer only needed a pen and a piece of paper. He was so convinced that I should be a lawyer that I agreed. I loved my dad dearly and lived my life to please him and make him happy coz I knew he was working so hard. So law it was.
The point here is this. As children, we are taught that what matters in life is to study hard and succeed in grabbing one of the few careers and professions that will lead us to make money. The decision of what we want to become when we grow up is based on how much money we can make when we get there. Is this what we should be teaching our children? If not, what choice have we got?
I think that our children’s education should be directed towards developing their peculiar talents, and not towards developing a limited set of talents aimed at guaranteeing them riches and wealth. Children are not lazy like us grow ups. They love to run around and play and have so much energy, some have even been labeled as suffering from hyperactivity and put on medication because they cannot pay attention in class. The energy that children have is intended to help them explore as much of the world as they can when they are young in order to find their passions. Children need to be let loose in this jungle of life to meet as many different things as they can find. They will let you know as soon as they find something that interests them. And they will be so determined to pursue it, you won’t have to push them to it. Take a walk in the park with a 3 year old and you will see what I mean.
Parallel with developing our children’s peculiar talents, we should teach them the correct answers to the question of what they want to be when they grow up. The answers should not constitute a career or a profession. It should reflect the kind of person the child wants to be. We should teach them to grow up to be honest, kind, generous, hardworking, clean, careful, caring, loving adults. The adults that we wish we were. Once we teach our children these values, the career they want to pursue will not matter. As long as they are exercising these values, they will find a place in the world where these values are needed. It is obvious what a child who, when asked what she wants to be when she grows up says that she wants to help sick animals will choose as a career. It is also obvious what a child who, when asked the same question says that he wants to cook will choose as a career. Education is necessary but the education our children get in school is not nearly as important as what they should be learning at home.
I thought that if I had been taught to direct my future towards developing my talents and growing up to be a principled, useful and responsible member of society, I would probably have been a teacher instead of a lawyer.
So should I abandon my legal practice and become a teacher? Was I going to let money make this decision for me?
By Njeri Mucheru-Oyatta
It goes back to my childhood, this problem of letting money make my decisions. Every time I have asked a child what s/he wants to be when s/he grows up, I expect them to say a doctor, engineer, lawyer, all those big time careers. And the child knows that that is the answer am looking for. Some times they just keep quiet feeling confused, other times they shout out the answer that they know you want to hear not knowing what the hell that person they are wanting to be actually looks like and other times they shout out the answer believing that it is their destiny until I am taken aback.
I once asked a 9 year old boy that question and he immediately told me that he wants to be a cardiologist. This was after he had told me that he was first in his class exams the previous term and that he is always first because he reads a lot. My follow up question was, “and do you know what a cardiologist does?” He retorted, “Of course, I told you I read a lot”. I was immediately impressed and wished that my little confused 8 year old nephew could be like that.
I was a bright student in school. I was good in all the subjects I took from maths, to science, to history, to French. I had figured them all out. But if you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I had absolutely no idea. There are so many careers and professions in the world and as I said, I am hopeless at choosing from a large selection of things. After my high school results came out, I was glad to have passed well in all my subjects but I was afraid that I did not know what I wanted to study in university. Thankfully I had a daddy who knew just what his bright little girl should study. And I must commend him for choosing law because I do love being a lawyer. I ran to him and told him that I had decided to study dentistry. When he asked me why, I just kept quiet. Then he asked me to compare what I would need to set up a dental practice and a law practice. He told me that dentists needed to spend huge amounts of money buying all this sophisticated medical equipment whereas a lawyer only needed a pen and a piece of paper. He was so convinced that I should be a lawyer that I agreed. I loved my dad dearly and lived my life to please him and make him happy coz I knew he was working so hard. So law it was.
The point here is this. As children, we are taught that what matters in life is to study hard and succeed in grabbing one of the few careers and professions that will lead us to make money. The decision of what we want to become when we grow up is based on how much money we can make when we get there. Is this what we should be teaching our children? If not, what choice have we got?
I think that our children’s education should be directed towards developing their peculiar talents, and not towards developing a limited set of talents aimed at guaranteeing them riches and wealth. Children are not lazy like us grow ups. They love to run around and play and have so much energy, some have even been labeled as suffering from hyperactivity and put on medication because they cannot pay attention in class. The energy that children have is intended to help them explore as much of the world as they can when they are young in order to find their passions. Children need to be let loose in this jungle of life to meet as many different things as they can find. They will let you know as soon as they find something that interests them. And they will be so determined to pursue it, you won’t have to push them to it. Take a walk in the park with a 3 year old and you will see what I mean.
Parallel with developing our children’s peculiar talents, we should teach them the correct answers to the question of what they want to be when they grow up. The answers should not constitute a career or a profession. It should reflect the kind of person the child wants to be. We should teach them to grow up to be honest, kind, generous, hardworking, clean, careful, caring, loving adults. The adults that we wish we were. Once we teach our children these values, the career they want to pursue will not matter. As long as they are exercising these values, they will find a place in the world where these values are needed. It is obvious what a child who, when asked what she wants to be when she grows up says that she wants to help sick animals will choose as a career. It is also obvious what a child who, when asked the same question says that he wants to cook will choose as a career. Education is necessary but the education our children get in school is not nearly as important as what they should be learning at home.
I thought that if I had been taught to direct my future towards developing my talents and growing up to be a principled, useful and responsible member of society, I would probably have been a teacher instead of a lawyer.
So should I abandon my legal practice and become a teacher? Was I going to let money make this decision for me?
2 comments:
Hi Njeri:
My name is Shamira and I started reading your book and say i am impressed i have managed to read 14 so far and plan on reading over the holiday. I am born in a muslim and converted to chritianity a few years back. i love your frankness
Hi Shamira,
The book is of no use without anyone to share its knowledge with. Thanks for reading.
Post a Comment