It’s a privilege to have the opportunities that we have. If you’re reading this text, then you’re on the internet, and if you have access to the internet, then you’re already ahead of the curve. When I was a teen about to do my finals in high school (we call it CSEC/CXC in the Caribbean), one of my uncles and mentor – Uncle Zicki- said something to me that made me take school a bit more seriously. He said: “If you can’t get through high school in this era of such widespread access to free information, then you’ve got no excuse. You never would have gotten an education in any other time.” Talk about pressure before an important exam! Quite frankly he was right. Getting a high school diploma ought to be the bare minimum – even if it takes an extra year, or two, maybe even much later on in life for that matter.
If your my age or younger (25), maybe even 40 years or younger, most likely you’ve had the opportunity of sitting in a secondary school class room. Many men and women of prior generations never had such an opportunity – especially in the Caribbean context. Maybe if this reality was driven home more clearly then the importance of succeeding on the secondary school level may be appreciated.
Now some may argue: “hey, you’re putting too much emphasis on a damn piece of paper...does it really mean that much?” Well, check this. You’ll be hard-pressed to find out that the criminal who jumped over your wall the other night had a high-school diploma, or that the teen who rubbed the nearby grocery store just spent his afternoon in the library preparing for finals. It just doesn't happen that often. A large amount of the violent crimes committed in many a-developing society are perpetuated by rather idle and uneducated youth.
Now I do concede that some of the real criminals are, in many cases, highly educated, and may be sitting in plain sight in our Parliaments, Congresses, and Assemblies. But have you ever considered the possibility that the more educated and knowledgeable you become, the more capable you would be of fixing the institutions that ought to bring them to justice?
JUST A THOUGHT!
Check out the book coming soon...here: http://www.poorboyspaper.com
www.brookings.edu/opinions/three-simple-rules-poor-teens-should-follow-to-join-the-middle-class/
If your my age or younger (25), maybe even 40 years or younger, most likely you’ve had the opportunity of sitting in a secondary school class room. Many men and women of prior generations never had such an opportunity – especially in the Caribbean context. Maybe if this reality was driven home more clearly then the importance of succeeding on the secondary school level may be appreciated.
Now some may argue: “hey, you’re putting too much emphasis on a damn piece of paper...does it really mean that much?” Well, check this. You’ll be hard-pressed to find out that the criminal who jumped over your wall the other night had a high-school diploma, or that the teen who rubbed the nearby grocery store just spent his afternoon in the library preparing for finals. It just doesn't happen that often. A large amount of the violent crimes committed in many a-developing society are perpetuated by rather idle and uneducated youth.
Now I do concede that some of the real criminals are, in many cases, highly educated, and may be sitting in plain sight in our Parliaments, Congresses, and Assemblies. But have you ever considered the possibility that the more educated and knowledgeable you become, the more capable you would be of fixing the institutions that ought to bring them to justice?
JUST A THOUGHT!
Check out the book coming soon...here: http://www.poorboyspaper.com
www.brookings.edu/opinions/three-simple-rules-poor-teens-should-follow-to-join-the-middle-class/
Long Nights are Worth it!
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