It takes me about an hour to write each of my published posts.
It takes Kaima about 30 minutes to do her write-up before I publish.
It takes Chizzy 10 minutes or less to write her poems, short and long alike.
Recently, we needed to research a particular topic and they finished long before I did. They don’t have steady access to mobile phones like I do, yet they’re more proficient with it and to be honest, they write better than I do.
I tried to match their speed and have wondered why I can’t write with so much ease and speed as they do.
I came up with these findings.
Our interests differ. I write for proficiency, with so much care and caution to capture the interest of my audience, for engagement and impact. They write for fun, with the excitement of pouring their thoughts and ideas into writing.
I was born in the manual age. My analog educational background had only the dictionary as my reading/writing/vocabulary consultant.
They are digital natives with lots of instructional materials and learning resources that foster educational development.
I grew up reading and cramming words to pass my exams. Their educational programs equip them with skills that aid their critical thinking, analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating information with ease. Their standard for success is not in grades, good handwriting, writing names of noise makers, segregating smart and dull students, student/teacher relationships, and other conventional methods of learning that formed us.
I was raised in a generation that prided itself on parental obsession and imposition of their decisions on their children. Discipline was at the highest gear and these repressed many abilities and talents. They are living in the ‘age of freedom’ when they can freely express themselves, share their thoughts and opinions, be guided to pursue their passion, and own their life rightfully.
I grew up in an age when success was rarely celebrated. We were expected to do better even when we were at our best and that best was good enough. There was little motivation, incentive, and applause. In their age, every landmark is celebrated. They go on school trips for doing their best. They get weekly awards, gifts, medals and certificates for giving their best in their academics and extra curricula activities. They have progress reviews in schools and set work targets steadily. With that, they’re gingered to do more willingly and have lots of fun while at it.
I could go on and on…
Undoubtedly, the manifestation of talent stems from a lot of factors, found in both nature and nurture influences. Hence, early insight, social connection, confidence booster, varied opportunities, due recognition, and lots of other factors make a lot of difference in their learning patterns when compared to ours.
Looking at my children, I can tell that we missed a lot in our generation. Lots of talents were suppressed, people were easily judged, society was stereotyped, and so on. It impeded the revelation of many creative abilities and limited the opportunities we had to explore life.
It looks like the summation of my thought patterns, ideas, skills, learning and entire experiences in life is the beginning of the pragmatic, confident, realistic, and passion-driven pursuits of this generation.
However, some elements of our age are worth retaining and transferring to them. We need to seek a balance, to educate and inculcate our old long values in children of this generation while we encourage them to utilize their time by leveraging technology, embracing flexibility, diversifying talents, and utilizing opportunities.
✍️ Amara Ann Unachukwu
