ANOTHER LETTER TO MY CHILD IN A NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOL

My Dearest Child,Education will take place throughout your life from the cradle up to the last moment on the face of the earth. As you learn everyday and at every moment of your life, its important that you are careful of the type of education you get.

Your adolescent years constitute that stage in life where you learn the most and pick most of your habits that will take you through life. So, it is important to be careful of the type of things you imbibe.

“Show me your friends  and I will tell you the type of person  you are”  is a popular adage that shows that you will be judged by the type of friends you keep. If, for instance, you move around with students who smoke and drink, people will generally assume that you engage in these vices too. Even if you have not been drinking or smoking in the past, there is a high chance that you will eventually join them as bad company corrupts good morals. It is therefore important that you keep good company especially in school. Keep friends that will challenge your intellect and spur you to read more.

Some students are in the habit of reading only when the examinations are drawing near. This is very bad as you will only read to pass and not to gain knowledge of that subject. The best way to understand a subject or course is to read through your notes after lectures and then, read more on it in recommended textbooks and journals.

Also, cultivate the habit of reading ahead of class, if the syllabus is available to you. This makes it possible for you to ask constructive questions for greater understanding when the teacher/lecture finally introduces the topic in class.

You also need to be knowledgeable about events happening around you. Read local newspapers and  magazines. Watch the T.V for news as well: although many adolescent do not seem to be interested in news but in movies and reality shows.

The internet is a very viable and useful tool for you. There are lots of information you can use through the web, from academics to social issues. Make it a point of duty to surf the internet for useful material at least twice a week. Be careful, though, of the type of information you access. Browsing through pornographic sites is bad and you should not engage in such acts. You could fall into the hands of sexual predators, who reach out to youths through the internet for sexual purposes. It is also important that you abstain from hacking, gambling, fraud, sending of viruses and the illegal use of software or other copyright materials.

It is good to educate yourself, but make sure it is the good and desirable one which will make you a better person today, and a productive one tomorrow for the benefit of yourself, family, nation and the world.

I shall be writing you another letter very soon.We are all well at home and praying for your success at school.Remember the child of whom you are and keep yourself out of any trouble.

Your Daddy