Education Begins At Home

A nation without children will lose its wealthy heritage to foreigners. A nation without men and women of integrity will breed children as pests to the society -repugnant ones like mosquitoes, who cannot but offend and disgust others. A nation without competent teachers will sadly stand still; becoming even more stagnant than a mountain in a virgin forest, and no disaster will reshape its structure. A nation without education will go back in time to wallow in the past that everyone has left behind. It will reverse so shamefully like a full-grown, able-bodied man being nursed from his mother's bosom in public.

The value of education can only be underestimated by an unlearned person who has been enveloped in colossal ignorance. When you see one whose conducts fall below certain expectations, you may like to review their educational history.

However, a child's first teachers are his immediate family: parents, siblings, and so forth. The truth is that education is more like a seed. It is what you plant that you get. This is why when a person has a behavioural impairment, it's well expected that people make quick references to the company they keep, the homes and families from which they emerged, as well as the leaders they submit to. It is certainly not charity alone that begins at home.

So, education as a seed refers to every idea, perspective, and information that an individual acquires from other people or things in their environment, which they eventually nurture, consciously or unconsciously, until they, in turn, influence their actions, reactions, or dispositions in life. How you train up a child, who you directly or indirectly teach them to be, what you say or do in their presence are some of the obtainable ways to instil education in them.

If you plant good seeds early enough, it would be somewhat tough to cut them down when they have already grown deep roots. Likewise, if you lackadaisically sow the wrong seeds into a child's life, they grow into vices that end up tarnishing their character.

In the course of the pandemic, children have stayed longer at home. Many have spent more time with their parents and families. You might have noticed a misbehaviour, character deficiency, or knowledge gap. When you recognise the slightest trait of shenanigans or any wrongdoing, correct it sooner than later. Do not let it pass without redressing the situation.

By the way, this is all hinged on the fact that you are a person or parent with integrity. There is nothing more appalling than watching a child grow under wrong influences -especially when they have parent figures or older ones who should have stood as teachers to guide and guard them against going astray. Unfortunately, when the shepherd is already derailed, rescuing the supposedly innocent sheep becomes a huge problem. This is why it is critical that the home has a good head or a better substitute!

Therefore, do not overlook or laugh over the very things you should correct. The longer a seed stays in a fertile soil, the deeper the roots; and as such, it flourishes and even grows bigger. Education begins at home. So, sow good seeds into the life of that child; teach them; correct them, and allow them grow. What would you do today to educate a child?