The children of conditional parents! Some parents are very conditional as educating their children is concerned.
They put ahead what they will get from their children if they educate them. If they conclude that they won’t get anything from their children, they will deny their responsibility of educating their children.
Do you educate your child to get something from the child or do you educate your child because he/she is your child? This is a mistake many parents make. Your children are your children. Whether you will get something from them or not, they are still your children. It is your sole responsibility as parents to educate your children without expecting anything from them.
Raising children is a God-given responsibility. When children are raised well, they will choose to support their parents. It is not a must that they support their parents. Any child can’t be condemned for not taking the responsibility of the parents. What is obvious is that any good thing done to someone will later come back to the person who did it in full measure.
The children of visionless parents aren’t going to school too! What vision do you have for your children? Do you want to see them great in future? Parents who have vision for their children always sacrifice to educate their children. The joy of such parents is seeing that their children are successful. It is the vision you have for your children that moves you to educate them.
There are these parents who compete with their children. Their children are not going to school! These are parents have not gone to school. They somehow don’t feel good to see their children educated while they are not educated. They don’t know that the success of their children is their success too!
The children of the complaining parents won’t study this year! The talk of the day is, “There is not enough money. The school fee is high. My children are many. The responsibility is too much.” Choosing to complain doesn’t settle any situation. If the issue is money, what solution do you have to solve your money problem? School fees will always remain high. Education is expensive these days. Parents just need to take it normal. What is troubling most parents is the mindset of free education. Teachers are not paid by the government. Do you expect them to teach your children free? It is the market rate owned by the parents themselves that is controlling how the school fee is determined. If you think the responsibility is too much, why did you choose to be parent? Having children is a choice. There are people who don’t have children. They are not condemned for not having them. Stop complaining. Take your child to school.
There are these parents who don’t plan well. They will take their children to the most expensive school when they know they won’t manage it. It is pride taking them to such a school. Parents like to talk big that their children are in a very expensive school. When things become hard in the middle, their children will drop out. Since they have set their minds for big schools, they won’t choose to take their children to the school they can afford.
It is wisdom to carry the load you can manage. It is greedy to serve the food you know you won’t finish. Don’t be influenced by big names or titles. Some schools only carry their big names. They may not be delivering quality education. I studied in government and refugee schools for my primary and secondary education. Comparing me with those who studied in big private schools, you won’t see any difference. I met a boy in college who studied in big private boarding schools for his primary and secondary education. He had never defeated me in class.
You are not discouraged to take your child to expensive schools. But calculate well to take your children there. Make sure you have enough money to finish the year. It is shameful to start with the best and end with the worst. Your children won’t feel good to first study in big schools and later when you are broke you take them to schools perceived to be bad. Start with such schools and later when you have enough money you can take them to those big schools.
Some parents don’t define education as an investment. Education is the greatest investment in the world. Imagine your child becomes a big doctor and builds a big hospital. The hospital will bring big income to the family. Or take a teacher for example who has built a big school. The income from the school will benefit the entire family for years.
A man chose to educate four boys whom he met in Malakal. The boys didn’t relate to the man. The four boys are from Nuer and the man is a Dinka. The man was working then and had a lot of money. He thought of the best thing he would do with his money. Finally, he identified the four committed boys he had seen struggling in the neighbourhood.
The man took the four boys to Kakuma in Kenya and registered them in school. He went back to Malakal. He kept sending them money for anything they needed. He could visit them from time and time. He introduced the four boys to his family and everyone accepted them as part of the family.
With time, the four boys got a form to go to America. The boys were taken to the US and stayed in the US for years. In 2013, war broke out in South Sudan. The man ran to the village without a network. The boys didn’t know where the man went to. They had been off communication with the man for ten years. In 2024, the boys came to Juba to start looking for the man. They luckily met a relative of the man. They were connected with the man. The man was surprised that they came to look for him.
For the ten years, the four boys became four successful men. They studied well. One became a medical doctor, one an engineer, one a businessman and the fourth an IT expert. They brought the man to Juba. They thanked the man and told him that they had come to South Sudan just for him. They agreed that they would take up the responsibility of the man’s family. They wanted to take the man to the US but he refused. They took some of his family members to Egypt, some to Kenya, some to Uganda and some to the US. From that moment the man was relieved from the burden of taking care of his family. The four boys took up everything.
Education is an investment. The much you put in educating your children is the much you will harvest from them. It is not a waste to spend money on educating someone. Many can testify that they have earned enough from education. The wise will continue to invest in education.
There are these parents who don’t need to make a name through their children. They will not care taking their children to school. Children well-educated will make a name for the family. Imagine your child becoming as educated as Chimamanda Adiche, the world-renowned novelist. She has made a name not only to the Nigerians but to Africa as whole. Dr John Garang made a name for South Sudan. Nelson Mandela made a name for the whole world as the greatest peacemaker. Your child can make a name for your family. Educate your child if you need a name.
It is February. No child is to be left out without going to school. We must fight all the false excuses that will not allow our children to access education. Education is life.
With education, we can solve many things. We can put an end to corruption. We can eradicate poverty in our homes. We can minimize crimes. We can be civilized. Civilization is what we must inject into our children. Those who are civilized hate violence. Civilized individuals love peace.
With education also, we can be rich. Our sole intention for school is not to become rich but we can be rich. School will give you creative mind. You will be creative to make money. You just need a creative mind to be rich. Education improves our creativity.
Finally, education will make you understand your right and the rights of others. Without going to school, it is hard to know what you deserve and what others deserve. Understanding your right and the right of others is what we call justice. We need justice in our world as we need clean water to live. Understanding your right will make you live a simple life.
Understanding your right too will make you live an honest life. You will only take what belongs to you and give to others what belong to them. Be kind to your children.