Forgotten Dairies
Slightly Funny —By Joe Dauda
Except they are too bored to even fulfill the “righteousness” demanded by their courses, or too distracted with learning what really matters to do so.
If not for the ubiquity of mobile phones and affordable access to internet services, some enterprising private universities may have created a four-year degree programme called “The Utilization Of Social Media Technologies In The 21st Century.” And they wouldn’t have stopped there. They would have offered options for specialization through their Masters Degree programmes in any of the following courses:
WhatsApp Application
YouTube Application
Facebook Application
Twitter Application
Instagram Application
You can fill in the blanks.
To a large extent, curricula education is a scam. Which is why, nowadays, with the inability of lecturers and even institutions to hoard knowledge, students now know a whole lot more than what their teachers can or will ever teach them. Some know much more than their teachers.
The Information Age has shown how a 7-year old child (my very intelligent nephew David) can know what graduates of yesteryears used to struggle with. When you hear the little boy talk sometimes and ask complex questions, it seems surreal. And he is not very different from a handful of others in his generation, who, simply by being given access to information, have provided evidence that learning was being deliberately slow-walked before the onset of the Information Age. Now we know that things we learned in 3 semesters could have been read up in a week — especially if one only focused on the distilled knowledge that really mattered and not the junk they used to impress us.
One day while taking a walk with my little neice, Gracious (whom we called Maama) she saw a 2021 Mercedes Benz sedan and casually remarked that she liked the aerodynamics of the posh vehicle.
Aerodynamics?
I just shook my head and didn’t immediately know what to say. The way she used the word was proof positive that she understood exactly what the concept was because the shape of the car was indeed sleek and aerodynamically sophisticated. I couldn’t help remembering the first time I correctly understood that concept. I must have been an undergraduate engineering student by the time. But Gracious is not yet 10 years old!
No wonder, the richest man in the world — Elon Musk — has come up with a very interesting way of educating his children. I won’t tell you what he does. You can go to YouTube and find out. At least, to do that, you do not need a degree in The Utilization of Social Media Technologies In The 21st Century, nor do you need a master’s degree in YouTube Application!
😂😂
Rightly understood, this means that, except for highly technical courses in fields such as engineering, computer technology and medical sciences etc., every serious student receiving tertiary education should aim to bag a First Class Degree. Except they are too bored to even fulfill the “righteousness” demanded by their courses, or too distracted with learning what really matters to do so.
What do you think?
(This is an opinion piece. And it is dedicated to my very intelligent niece, Precious. You know you can bag a First Class Degree — And You Should. Your mum sent me your last semester results a while and, although you did quite well, I’m only moderately impressed. Because I know you could have done a whole lot better. I don’t wish you ever attend a job interview, but, if you ever do, your First Class Degree will reduce the competition by over 95%. So do yourself a favour and get this done. Believe me, it’s much easier than it used to be. Because this is the Information Age).
