I cannot remember the countless times that my younger brother has told me that he barely sleeps because of the nature of the course he is currently studying. I had to tell him to be sleeping at least seven hours daily; he was like, Bro, that is too much oo, seven hours. He said it while smiling. I asked him why; he said he does not want to fail, and to be honest, I have been in his position too. Back then I would be up till the next day preparing for the next class, jumping from one assignment to another, reading for tests, and drinking coffee. I have even heard of some situations where some students started taking some substances that will keep them awake for as long as possible, and sometimes, I usually say to myself, Is all this necessary, and what is education now becoming.
And to be honest, I cannot blame some schools because the blame is to be put on some of the students because some people carry the secondary school mentality of who took the first position right into their various higher institutions. The school I attended, when I visit the library sometimes to read to check for something I need, I usually see how the library is being filled up so that even seeing space to sit and read sometimes might be different, and not that these students enjoy reading like that; most of them are just afraid to fail and have a carryover. I have seen how some barely sleep during exams because of pressure; they are reading round the clock.
But isn't that something that is very wrong when learning turns to survival.
In my honest opinion, and just like I usually say, a lot of people now measure their lives, their progress, and their achievements by their grades instead of focusing on their curiosity and expanding themselves; they think that their grades are their worth. From what I have seen, a lot of smart people might not even have the foggiest idea of the topic being taught by the lecturer; they might just be blessed enough to read things once, memorize them, and get it once, unlike others.
I have seen some of my course mates lose their spark and confidence just because they were not getting the course easily. I used to know a guy back then; he was my roommate, so we did talk and discuss our department and ourselves. Just because he wasn't so really good and his grades were not high, some lecturers usually look down on him, but you know what? This guy is so good when it comes to shoe building and palm making for unisex. There is a palm I bought from him not so long ago, and anytime I wear it on my native, it always looks so good.
That alone has taught me that being intelligent comes in different ways, and it has nothing to do with grades.
Competition is very good, but healthy competition is better. I have seen how unhealthy competition has changed a lot of people and how it has pushed a lot of people. I know a guy; he was like a young brother to me but not related by blood, a very cool guy, but when he got admission, just because he wanted to maintain good grades, he got involved in some drugs that almost ruined his life, and his mother was so worried about it that she even fell sick. And when all these things have penetrated into our educational system, I think there is no more education; it is now pressure and battle of who can survive.
Today, a lot of students are now taking a series of drugs and things just because they want to read for long hours to pass and succeed. They have been mounted with pressure, forgetting that they can read slowly, make mistakes, and still pass. I will just say that our schools should do well to build people and not put pressure on them all in the name of I have also been in your shoes.; I studied round the clock when I was your age, as some lecturers do say. We might be getting it wrong and misplacing our priorities if our schools only recognize the fastest runners.
Thank you for reading.
Images created by Gemini AI
