Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 30/Sep 03:37

Rights versus entitlement: An education perspective

GLOBALLY education is accepted as a right of every child. While in TT education is not coded as a constitutional right, it is treated as such by many pieces of subsidiary legislation. Rights, however, are accompanied by responsibility. Accessing the right to education is predicated on individual sacrifice. Education translates into opportunity for personal growth, empowerment and the enlargement of choices. Unfortunately, to many this right is being increasingly seen as an entitlement, where personal sacrifice is not a precondition to success. This psyche characterises many school communities across the land. It is a psychological mindset that perpetuates the dependency syndrome of the oppressive colonial era. While the state continues to expend significant amounts of money to provide educational opportunity, it is up to the citizenry to harness such opportunity through the investment of time, effort and money. This begins by ascribing a high premium and value for the acquisition of education and a concomitant willingness for commensurate sacrifice for its successful pursuit. Parents must therefore inculcate in their children from a tender age that education is a ticket to a better life; an opportunity to move up the social ladder regardless of one’s socio-economic background. Free education is a right that must be not just cherished but taken advantage of. Embracing educational opportunity assumes an understanding and acceptance that certain sacrifices must be made on the part of the individual. On a daily basis, teachers and school officials are confronted with a social trend where both parents and children view education as an entitlement wherein they deserve certain privileges or special treatment. Many seem to assume that one is owed success on account of their diminished social status without equivalent effort or contribution. They fail to grasp that sacrifice, especially in the pursuit of education, represents the very foundation of progress. This culture of entitlement has become increasingly prevalent and is fuelled by politicians and now social media, which equate self-worth with notions of instant gratification. Many citizens have bought into the narrative of expecting reward without personal struggle. The dichotomy of an alternate social order that contradicts the underlying assumptions of schooling is a conundrum that many educators are forced to confront regularly. Increasingly, children see no value in expending effort or making sacrifices in the pursuit of education and schools have become an extension of welfare support rather than an opportunity for the liberation of the mind and the realisation of one’s full potential. They approach schooling from a perspective of contempt rather than humility and gratitude. Such entitlement notions make the school subservient to the learner; hence the disrespect displayed to teachers. They fail to understand that sacrifice must be a conscious and disciplined choice to endure discomfort or delay gratification in the pursuit of something greater. Students who emerge from a schooling system without embracing personal responsibility for one’s destiny through sacrifice ultimately become liabilities to the state, for they abdicate their obligation to forge their success paths by embracing opportunity. They exist in a permanent state of victimhood and self-pity, blaming everyone else for their failures rather than themselves. Unfortunately, sacrifice has become an undervalued virtue and even perceived as weakness by some, especially in a culture that celebrates and promotes self-interests and instant gratification. They have no misgivings in living with the efforts and sacrifices of others. This is inimical to the creation of a just and good society. Indeed, it leads to the creation of siloed communities characterised by inequality and inequity. This morality contradiction between schools and their communities is a chasm that is unfortunately widening with corresponding negative social consequences, chief among which is the rampant crime culture that is partially based on genuine feelings of unfulfilled entitlement. This morphs into anger and resentment of those who have thus justified their criminality. Parents do their children a disservice by inculcating those notions of entitlement when it comes to education. They must teach their children by example that sacrifice is the key to success and while education is a right, benefiting from it requires hard work, discipline and an investment of time and effort. It is also a slow and painful process with no shortcuts. Civic, community and political leaders must also reinforce this virtue at every opportunity, not just in words but by their very actions. While schools are morality agents, this agency is a shared responsibility with the other education institutions in the society, including the media. Let us spare our children the mixed messages. The post Rights versus entitlement: An education perspective appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.