Thank you for joining me today. I also thank all those who like and comment on this series. I pray that God will always grant us the wisdom to do all things in the best interest of the children He has blessed us with.

I am elated that we are getting close to the end of this series. Today I will share with you the 9th fact to consider before you register your child in a school: Is there room for freedom to learn? Concluding on the 8th fact, I addressed the issue of freedom of the workforce. I also stated that freedom is modelled and not taught. My goal here today is to define what I understand by education and see how you can ensure that the school in which you register your child has the capacity to educate the child.  I align myself with the submission of a school of thought that EDUCATION derives from the verb EDUCE, which means ‘TO DRAW FORTH FROM WITHIN.’ I agree totally with Muriel Spark, that ‘to me education is a leading out of what is already there in the pupil’s soul.’

To achieve the foregoing, freedom demands that the child is studied by the teachers, whose primary responsibility is to discover the child and not to make the child into his/her image or the image of the school. The child is already made in the image of God. He is created a total being by God. He doesn’t need adjustment. His problem begins when the handlers think the child is incomplete and they want to install into him what they believe will make him total. They call it curriculum, discipline, examination and the rest of it. Unfortunately there is hardly an agenda to learn from the child through observing and listening to the child. They believe that the child comes to school empty and it is their role to stuff him with all he needs to make a difference in life. With this conclusion I differ. A child is not empty. He is born loaded. It is the responsibility of the custodians, parents/guardians and teachers to bring out to the knowledge of the child what is inside of him for his use and that of society.  That is why you can’t help the child until you learn of him and you learn from him. You must learn of him before you attempt to learn from him. As a matter of fact, it is impossible for you to learn from him if you have not learnt of him. Because when you learn of him, you will discover how to learn from him.

The school in which you register your child must understand the freedom, which a child deserves to make meaning of education. The school must understand that teachers are facilitators. They must not therefore fall in love with the sound of their own voice so much that they do not hear from the child. A good facilitator knows that learning is impossible without the active participation and contributions of the participants. The child is an active participant in learning. He is not a dumping ground. He has the rights to participate in matters, which concerns him including what he is taught and how is taught.  One of the four baskets of the right of the child is the right to participate in matters that concern him. The only foolish question a child will ever ask is the question, which the child is not allowed to ask. The school must create a tested machinery to deliberately spur the creativity of the child, which is the whole essence of learning.

When I talk about freedom, I talk about freedom generally and individually. The freedom to bring the best out of the child must take into cognisance the individuality of every child. There are no two children that are the same. The school system must be ready to deal with each child as individuals and give them the opportunity to flourish. There must be not attempt to compare children with each other.  The size of the class plays a major role in this. I will shed light on this later in the course of this series. I beg to sign out here. I will see you on Monday by the grace of God. Think the Child! Think Today, Think the Future. Have an INSPIRED day.