MEDITATION

You, mother, are not responsible to set the whole world right; you are responsible only to make one pure, sacred, and divine household - LYMAN ABBOT

Friday 26 December 2014

PURPOSE OF MAN'S CREATION AND PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES

                     
        Purpose Of Man's Creation And Professional Challenges

Introduction:
   Compliments of the season to my readers, i hope that we didn't forget the purpose of Christmas celebrated yesterday which is a reminder of why Jesus Christ came into this sinful world. By the power of the Almighty God, i pray that we understand the purpose in which we were created, Amen.

   Life is a puzzle to be solved by all, when man fails to discover his purpose, then he abuses the resources at his disposal which leads to numerous problems that will affect the maturity of man's defined purpose. For the growth & development of the human world, all men from different spheres must unite, love and be honest in all of their dealings. Irrespective of our man's religion, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Meekness, Self-control are tools that will help man gain full access to the purpose in which he was created & also to overcome man's professional challenges of today's world.

Argument:
1) OUR GOD IS A GOD OF PURPOSE - God never does anything without a purpose. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life". As Christmas is focused on Christians all over the world, then we should not forget the purpose in which Jesus was sent into this world, remember his birth, what he came to do, etc. Galatians 1:3-5 tells us why Jesus gave himself unto us. He gave himself for a purpose.
   In order for a profession to sustain various challenges, it must know why it was created and how to serve the purpose in which he was created.

2) WHEN THE PURPOSE OF A THING IS NOT KNOWN, ABUSE SETS IN - We do not know the purpose of ants, so we kill them, i read that under a certain process, if we grind ants, squeeze the juice in it and add some things to the juice is a cure to leprosy. One thing i am sure of is that man cannot solve what he doesn't understand, how can we make use of resources when we dont know how to apply them into our lives. There is a saying that its not what you have but what you use.
   When any professional team is unable to identify its purpose, they'll abuse/mis-use the resources they have at their disposal.

3) MISSION OF AN ENTITY - God wants his name to be glorified through us and whatever is ours simply because he owns us. Ephesians 1:10-12 says God wants His name to be glorified through us. The purpose of man can be known by simply doing the will of God and doing His will results to living a peaceful life. I have grown to understand that everything on heart is vanity except the will of God which guideth the ways and works of human channeling him into the purpose in which he was made for. Whoever does the will of God inherits greater things both on earth and in heaven. The purpose of our creation differs, however, God's will is not always convenient for man but it results into all good things of life but the will of man brings trouble unto the doer.

4) FAILURE TO ACHIEVE A SET-PURPOSE - When man fails to achieve the purpose he was set for, Pastor E.A. Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church Of God said three things happen to a man who fails to achieve his set-purpose; a) man is set aside, b) man is replaced, and c) Because God does everything for a purpose, God will use a erstwhile instrument of honor as a vessel unto dishonor. When an entity is not ready to be used as an instrument of honor, you'll be used as a vessel unto dishonor. When a profession fails to achieve its set-purpose, then it becomes useless and gets dishonored.

5) No force can affect God's will for our life as he is capable of working out his purpose & plans in his own mysterious ways. For example, Joseph had his dreams but the rest of the events that ultimately led to the fulfillment of the dreams were taken out of his hands. God worked the purpose out in his own mysterious way.

6) LET US NOT BE AGAINST OURSELVES - This means that man can be an enemy against himself, how? God honors those who honor Him & they that despite him shall likely be dishonored.  Romans 8:31b says If God be for us, who can be against us? The answer is ourselves, yes, you and i can be the hindrance to our success, how? God could be for a man but man could be against himself by not submitting himself unto the will of God.

   All conditions being normal, the aim of a student is to pass out of the learning institution with a good grade which comes as a result of studying in love and honesty. Substitute: student = man, learning institution = human world, grade = result of stewardship on earth, study = acts which determine good grades or bad grades.
   In conclusion, since man makes up a society/community, then when he finds his purpose of creation by doing the will of God, then everything that concerns man and is attached to his profession will always overcome their challenges. I want us to know that Man cannot do God's will without serving the Most High, remember that man cannot solve what he doesn't understand & to understand something means to study it in love and honesty. I urge us to study more of the holy book(bible) which also gives pure knowledge.
   I PRAY THAT GOD WILL SHOW US HIS MERCY AND TEACH US TO DO HIS WILL, AMEN.

Friday 19 December 2014

Effects Of Morality And Crime In A Society And It's Relationship To Learning

        
      Effects Of Morality And Crime In A Society And It's Relationship To Learning

   H.L. Mencken quoted "Morality is the theory that every human act must be either right or wrong and that 99% of them are wrong". Crime is defined as an act beyond good reasoning. It can also be defined as an offense for which there is severe punishment by law.
   A common relationship between Morality and Crime is the involvement of man. A man of morals is known to be disciplined and a man of crime is called criminal. A philosopher, Protagoras said "Man is the measure of all things" Do we agree? Yes, i do, i am of the opinion that man was created to create a balance. I am of the belief that Morality without religion is only a kind of dead reckoning - an endeavor to find our place on a cloudy sea by measuring the distance we have covered but without any observation of the heavenly bodies.

                                               Factors Contributing To Morality and Crime
   Immanuel Kant said morality is not the doctrine of how we make ourselves happy but of how we make ourselves worthy of happiness. In Nigeria, there are some factors/forces that have not made us worthy of happiness and they are;
1)  Education - Education is the systematic training of character and mental powers of both young and old to positively affect the growth and development of a nation. Since Education makes man become aware of things around him, he is able to understand things in his environment and not becoming ignorant of his environment, Socrates said " There is only one good 'knowledge' and one evil 'Ignorance' " and education is vital to achieve the development of moral standards and eradication of evil in our individuals and the society.

2)  Employment - An idle hand is the devil's workshop. The unemployment rate in Nigeria is too high and also we find out that more than half of the populace in Nigeria lives below the poverty line and why is this? No Job and most lack creativity which is also the default of our education system and it needs urgent attention. Unemployment rate in the country is a source of distraction/discouragement to poor students who wants to learn and succeed. Unemployment is caused by either lack of aiming goals creatively or lack of capital.
    However, the unwillingness of students to learn while on campus is a process of unemployment, how? when students fails to attend classes, yet,  we call ourselves the future, how will the future materialize when a key ingredient (knowledge) is lacking. The administrators causes unemployment when jobs aren't created. It is the duty of the government to create jobs and to reveal my thoughts, the ability of the government to innovate ideas & use them in job creation rests on the professional community and the degree of efficiency and effectiveness in the professional community is an offspring of the system of Education.
   In conclusion, the higher the unemployment rate, the higher the vulnerability of individuals towards criminal acts and we can say that unemployment promotes criminal acts. There are limited resources to satisfy human wants but the body will want to satisfy such wants whether legally or illegally and it takes grace of God to be able to withstand such temptations.

3)   Comfort Of Citizens - Comfort of citizens differs depending on the environment but generally are human needs(Needs: Things that humans can't live without, they are Food, Clothing, Shelter & things that will ease man's daily activities) and social amenities, then the government should innovate programs that will be able to satisfy them, to save cost and reduce importation will be to invest in human capital. As Economic explained that human wants are numerous but the resources to satisfy them are limited which introduced Economics. In a country like Nigeria with hundreds of ethnic groups, it takes Grace & wisdom from God to make citizens of such nations convenient. A strategic/blessed administrator will use his knowledge & experience to mentor the state into one which is in no lack but this cannot be done alone, i will use the saying of a philosopher to message our administrators in all the states and nations of the world, St. Augustine said "we are too weak to discover the truth by reason alone".
4)   Other forces affecting crime and morality are:- leadership by example, Transparency of administration and Corruption-free society. How to find the will of God? to individuals, societies & administrators (a) Luke 22:42, John 5:30b, John 6:38 (b) Psalm 37:5, Proverbs 3:6, Psalm 143:10 (c) Psalm 40:8, Matthew 6:10b, John 4:34 (d) Hosea 6:3a, John 7:17, Romans 12:1-2.

                                                          What to do?
   An individual, society and administrators must work together to create an education system that will touch the lives of every citizen of Nigeria as it will increase the development of humanity which is also the development of the environment. Jeremy Bentham said "the greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals & legislation". These things are;
1)   The right to read and write
2)   The right to question and analyze
3)   The right to imagine and create
4)   The right to have access to educational resources
5)   The right to develop individual and collective skills
   These rights are useless without the provision of certain resources to disseminate such rights through the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. If these rights are effectively & efficiently handled, then everyone should welcome in a new Nigeria.
   In conclusion, to reduce the society of criminal acts and increase moral standards, learning is the key word. There can be no human development without the right to learn, there will be no breakthroughs in agriculture and industry, no progress in community health and indeed, no change in learning conditions without the right to learn. Without education, there will be no improvement in the standard of living for workers in our cities and villages. In short, the right to be educated is one of the best contributions we can make to solving the crucial problems of humanity, both now and forever.
       God Bless And Help Nigeria, Amen.

Friday 12 December 2014

RELATIONSHIP OF EDUCATION TO THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA

   
         Relationship of Education to the growth and development of Nigeria

   Education has been defined by numerous individuals. However, Education is the systematic training & instruction of character & mental powers of both young and old to positively affect the development of the society.
   Most things that surrounds humans can be handled by professionals who evolve through Education, however, the problems affecting the development of our nation should be treated from its root(Formal and Informal Education). Personally, i believe Education is a channel that connects citizens of different Ethnic groups and Religions to study laid-down principles having the ability to perform, continue and improve on them to grow and develop the society.

                                     Importance Of Education to an Entity

   Education is known and confirmed to be of great advantage to an entity that can handle and manage it efficiently and effectively channeling its powers to rapidly develop the entity.
1) Education is Respect - The more educated you are, the more respect you get from those around you.
2) Understanding the world we live in - We get to know more of the world through subjects like geography, science and history.
3) Education and Health-care - Illiteracy breeds ignorance and ignorance is very dangerous when it comes to health-care. Educated people are preventive because they know  the causes of some diseases.
4) For economic growth of the nation - Australia, USA and Japan are some of the countries with high literacy rates, these countries are prosperous and citizens have high per capita income. In countries of low literacy rates which are mostly underdeveloped and developing nations, most of its citizens live below the poverty line. Hence, education is vital for the economic growth of a nation.

   In conclusion, Education in every sense is one of the fundamental factors of development. An entity cannot achieve sustainable economic development without substantial investment in human capital. Education gives humans understanding of themselves and whatever surrounds them. It improves the quality of human lives and leads to broad social benefits to individuals and society. Education increases productivity and creativity and promotes entrepreneurship and technological advances. In addition it plays a very crucial role in securing economic and social progress and improving income distribution.

Whats Failing Us?

   Despite the standard of our education system, we suffer from some problems which have been discussed on an article i published weeks ago titled 'Management Of The Nigerian Education System' but will be briefly discussed on here.
1) Rampant Inequality of access to educational opportunities of satisfactory standard - Most poor students attend schools that are unfit for human learning, schools without water and sanitation, electricity, telephone, library, workshop or laboratory, etc. Parents remaining powerless and also unable to give intellectual support to the educational aspiration of their wards. Teachers may never see supervisors from one year to the next.   Without a solid foundation of learning, their chances of educational and economic success in later years are dim. So poverty reproduces itself.

2) Low Teacher Morale - There are so many factors that work to build the morale of workers in the working Environment. The morale of our teachers in most communities is low and its causes may differ. Indiscipline on the part of teachers & workers is a source of demoralization among those who want to work & succeed. Workers in a learning institution may suffer a more subtle & insidious form of demoralization if they are not professionally equipped or resourced to cope with new demands that are being made of them.

3) Administration Challenges - There is a serious crisis of management and administration at all levels. Workers at our various learning institutions should perform their tasks in a business-like way which means being punctual, giving adequate professional support to their institutions of learning. Failure to perform tasks in business-like way will have drastic effect on the institution, e.g, sap the morale of conscientious staff, undermine good teaching and learning, which depend on peace, order, stability and professional challenge. The situation worsens when Government Authorities are ineffective, Consequences are costly, especially in bigger educational institutions.

4) Poor quality Of Learning - Poor learning is associated with poverty, absent facilities, under-prepared teachers, lack of learning resources and lack of discipline(culture of learning, teaching and service) The number of young people who study mathematics with any degree of understanding and proficiency has declined when it should have been increasing rapidly. As a result, mathematical illiteracy is rife in our society and the pool of recruits for further and higher Education in the information and science-based professions is shrinking, a fact that has grave implications for our national future in the 21st century.

The Way Forward(Possible Solutions)

1) Breaking the back of illiteracy among adults and youths
2) We must ensure the success of active learning through outcomes-based education
3) We must develop the professional quality of our teaching force.
4) We must create a vibrant further education and training system to equip youth and adults to meet the social and economic needs of the 21st century
5) We must deal urgently and purposefully with the intellectual, professional and moral challenges facing Nigeria in the 21st century

   Despite our success stories, we are failing, our system of governance, administration and finance have not yet succeeded in hauling our society out of arbitrary & unequal education conditions which have been hindering the growth and development of our country for years.
   We can tell that from the previous topics on development of the education system that, an individual, society and Government has obligations to perform to create a Nigerian Education System that will aid the growth and development of our Nation. All modern nations with strong democratic traditions and successful economies have invested heavily in the education and training of their people, in order to ensure access by all citizens to educational opportunity, and continuously to raise the level and quality of learning throughout their societies. Our country has a long way to go and no time to lose.
                                  God help and bless Nigeria, Amen.

Friday 5 December 2014

DEVELOPMENT OF THE NIGERIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM:
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION'S VIEW

Welcome back readers, we continue with 'development of education system' by viewing it from the environmental sector. As they say experience is the best teacher, this week's information will be coming from an interview with a retired Director of Water and Environmental sanitation department:
1.
Blogger - what is education?
Director - The process of educating or being educated. Also, it is a total learning process of knowledge and experience acquisition to impact positively to the individual and its society.

2.
 Blogger - what is the relationship between education and Environmental Education?
 Director - Environmental education(EE) refers to organized efforts, teaching about how natural environment functions, and particularly, how human beings can manage their behavior and ecosystems in order to live sustain-ably. It is a multi disciplinary field integrating disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics, ecology, earth science, atmospheric science, mathematics and geography. The term is sometimes used broadly to include all efforts to educate the public and other audiences, including print materials, websites, media campaigns, etc.
   Environmental Education is the teaching of individuals and communities in transitioning to a society that is knowledgeable of the environment and its associated problems, aware of the solutions to these problems and motivated to solve them. The united Nations Educational Scientific and cultural Organization(UNESCO) states that EE is vital in imparting an inherent respect for nature amongst society and in enhancing public environmental awareness. UNESCO emphasizes the role of EE in safeguarding future global developments of societal quality of life, through the protection of the environment, eradication of poverty, minimization of inequalities and insurance of sustainable development(UNESCO, 2014)

3.
 Blogger - What is the current level of environmental awareness?
 Director - Attitudes towards environmental awareness development is gradually evolving with the political will of Government at various levels i.e (federal, state and local Governments).   If the current level is sustained, the attitude of our people towards improving environmental standards will in no distant time enhance the health status of our people.

4.
 Blogger  - What are the problems affecting the growth of Environmental Education?
 Director - Inadequate political will on the part of Governments at all levels
               - Low literacy level of populace
              - Poor funding of the environmental health Departments leading to inadequate logistics for officers to work with.
          - Low level of Enforcement pf Environmental Laws by appropriate agencies, etc.

5.
 Blogger - What are the possible solutions to environmental education problems?
 Director - Environmental Education should focus on;
              - Engaging with citizens of all demographics to;
              - Think critically, ethically and creatively when evaluating environmental issues
             - Make educated judgements about those environmental issues
             - Develop skills and a commitment to act independently and collectively to sustain and enhance the environment
            - To enhance the appreciation of environment, resulting in positive environmental behavioral change (Bamberg and  moeser, 2007, wals et al, 2014)

6.
 Blogger - What is your advise to the individual, society and administrators?
Director - Our environment is a gift from God, our Creator, let's preserve it for mankind & generations yet unborn.

   This was the interview with the retired director, department of water and environmental sanitation on development of education system in Nigeria, coming from the environmental education's angle.
  Thus i call on individuals, societies and administrators to create a Nigerian Education system that will pass through citizens of our country whether Literate or Illiterates.
   God bless Nigeria, God bless us, the citizens.

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