Understand the difference between school and education

fuad lawal

April 20, 2017 6:58 AM

You might be in school, but you just might be getting no education.

Students protesting in Ghana

The biggest trap is thinking going to school equates to getting an education.

Nigerians are obsessed with degrees. We line them behind our names like it's the passcode to Heaven. BSc, MSc, PhD, this and that. Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest amount of PhD students in Africa.

Still, why does development just feel like a taboo in Nigeria?

School is a place. School is the buildings. School is the students. School is everything you see and feel, the grades, the unions, the lecturers, everything.

Most of the time in school, the ultimate goal is to pass and graduate. So we cram our way through school, breezing through theories we'll never truly understand.

But you see, education happens when the mind is nourished. When we truly understand. Education is the embodiment of learning. When you watch an interesting video on Youtube explaining a particular concept, that's education.

There's this guy from way back. Mark Twain. He said, "I never let schooling get in the way of my education". School happens in the classrooms and lecture halls, but education happens everywhere.

While school will probably fill up a little space in your Curriculum Vitae, or get you an interview, it's your education that will get you a seat at the table.

True education is in being able to apply school stuff.

Now, take a moment, ask yourself; are you passing through school, or are you actually getting an education.

Be wise.

fuad lawal