Last weekend, Kaima came home with a school project. They were assigned to create an imaginary company. This includes the company logo, trade name, catchphrase, location, domain, marketing research, marketing strategies, and finances. She finished on Sunday and brought the work for me to check. While I was checking it, I started asking myself, can I do this well even at my present level? At what age did I learn to do business plans or business designs? Was I taught this much, even at the university level?
Her imaginary company’s name was MagneticZypherStudios, a music company that sells high-quality musical instruments and accessories. Her work was very good, and on Tuesday, she said it was awarded the best by her teacher and used as an example to her classmates. I had a discussion with her about how she got the ideas she put into words. She said to me, “The lessons from my school, the research I did, and then you, Mum. Sometimes I listen to the calls you make, the businesses you discuss, and the meetings you hold. ” Wow! That means if she didn’t pay attention to all these, she wouldn’t have gathered this much. And I made a resolve to do better, to run sessions of such with her and her siblings as much as I think they can understand.
Find copies of her work in the comment section.
Knowing this much about business in Year 9 of her school year is the background and opportunity we never had, and that is why we are still building at the age when we should be consolidating.
No doubt, times are changing and there are presently good schools that are trying so well to meet the academic demands of the present time. But the truth is that Africa’s academic curriculum needs to be reviewed to suit the changing times. Even schools that claim they use British and American curricula do so in theory, not in practice. The difference is much and this gap is not only found in education but in some other aspects of life. It explains why we have older people who are more established and at the helm of affairs than the younger ones because what should be taught at an early stage is learnt at a later stage in life.
The implication of this slow pace in discovery or establishment is that by the time an African child discovers the intricacies of business life, he is already in his middle age, facing the challenges that come with the age and struggling to navigate business life, family life, sometimes health issues or other distractions of life.
Therefore, I implore parents not to wait for their children’s school or for society to teach their children what they need to know in life. Even uneducated parents have lots of knowledge gained from experience, practical ideas, and life lessons to share with their children.
Teach them early the things you learned late.
Teach them how you win and your winning strategies.
Teach them your sacrifices, your pain, your mistakes, your failures, and the prices you paid.
Teach them your encounters, both physical, psychological, and spiritual.
Teach them your convictions and driving forces.
Teach them values and priorities.
Teach them growth mindset and positive attitude.
Teach them to invest, not just monetarily but in genuine relationships, in gratitude and honour.
Teach them how to prune their lives periodically to give room for growth and progress.
Teach them how to be better versions of themselves.
Teach them spirituality, the God factor in the path of great achievements.
As you teach them, empower them by giving them a voice, a positive environment and the right character.
There are lots to teach them. I believe that if parents can do this, it would bridge a lot of gaps and children will grow to preserve these lessons more than any wealth that their parents have accumulated for them.
โ๏ธ Amara Ann Unachukwu
