DROPOUT, yes, but I have dreams!
The famous Nelson Mandela once said that, "When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no other choice than to become an outlaw."
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Indeed, I have long since observed that this is the main reason why many people decide to drop out of school. There are other reasons like poverty, emergencies like pregnancy and dismissals by school authorities.
Let me admit that every society has its own definition of a dropout, for in academia we will define it simply as someone who left a course of study before its full term. At the personal level, I will say that a dropout is anyone who has left one field of endeavor for another, be it educational or job.
A practical way to buck the trend of school children dropping out of school, I think, is for us as a nation to provide more vocational training to focus on practical work. That, for me, is one sure way to build a better nation.
Dropout Stigma
I am certain a lot of people can readily identify with most of the following personalities. They are living proofs of who a dropout can be: I’m talking of the likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Kevin Rose, YC Wang, Ralph Laureen, Walt Disney, Sheldon Adelson, Henry Ford, and several others.
Even worse, others like David Geffen who never stepped in a formal classroom made billions of dollars from wonderful ideas.
But that is not how we do it Ghana: When people drop out, we criticise them and condemn them as not worthy of cohabitation. In turn, our rejects feel so embittered and bury their inner treasures they could have nurtured to become equally great as the global examples.
Parents go wild to see their children get close to the rejects. Enough to kill anyone’s spirit.
Somewhere else, Walter O’Brien hacked US’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) servers at age 13. You know what became of him? He was helped by the American government to pursue computer science studies and he has in turn, helped them to combat so many crimes.
As we condemn and ostracize our own dropouts, it is not because we are unaware of the dire choices we force them into – robbery, prostitution and all manner of corrupt practices. According to Steve Jobs, considered a brainy business man the world over, “Stay hungry, Stay foolish”. Simply put, man must eat.
I believe there are so many budding talents out there and around us who need just a little push to unearth their potentials. Dr. Osei Kwame Despite of Despite Group of Companies and Dr. Michael Agyekum Addo of the Kama Group are ready pointers to life’s reality that none is worthless. Their stories are replete with colloquial wisdom.
Of course they had to make the required sacrifices, but who says if given the chance, our boys and girls on the streets cannot afford to embrace the future with hope. There can be no picking the roses without being pricked by the thorns, I thought that is what the sages tell us. But first we must afford them the opportunity, it is the first step.
You can play a role
What do you have and how far can you go with what you have? Education is important but what if you could not make it? Is money your motivation in life? Sorry you will not find it in the lecture hall.
It is not all truth when you are told to study hard, get good grades and get well-paying jobs to enjoy life to the fullest. It is the way of the visionless. Fulfillment has come to many who never saw the classroom. They embraced their situations and set out for enduring solutions. Some also resigned from well-paying jobs to pursue their dreams even as family and friends scorned them.
What hurdles do you face? Well, before it’s too late, get up and face the world. Those to help you will only help if they see you trying. No slave fights when the master goes hiding. You are the master of your life, inspire the world to help you to succeed. It does not matter where you find yourself.
As Ajaero Tony Martins puts it, “I have been within the four walls of school and I have been on the street. I can confidently tell you that the street is tougher, challenging, daring, exciting and more rewarding. In school; you play alone. But on the street, you play with the big boys.”
And from Leonardo da Vinci; "It has long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things."
And so I ask again, where are the dropouts with dreams?
Writer:
Edward Agyemang-Duah
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