Sir: It is no longer news that most parents do not see their children who are not science-inclined as useful. These days, parents disown their children if they refuse to go the science way as students.
To an extent, most parents call any of their children that is not in the sciences a dummy, hence making that child to lose his/her self-esteem, believing that he is actually a never-do-well.
These days, parents go out of their way to make sure that their children are studying medicine, public health, optometry, nursing, engineering, medical laboratory etc. in the university.
They can go as far as using their ‘long legs’ to place their children at the top of a class that they know nothing about. They pay for them to gain admission and also pay for them to graduate.
They send money to them to use and sort a course that they failed because they do not have interest in it.
They push their children into professions that they have sworn in secret not to be a part of but will have no option than to do it rather than being disowned.
They do not care if what they are pushing the child into is what that child really wants to do, but their utmost concern is to be called mother or father of a doctor.
Our parents are no longer concerned about what makes us happy but what makes them happy not minding the fact that it is our life.
Parents do not appreciate or speak proudly of their child that represented his school in an art competition. They do not pay attention to the beautiful drawings that their seven your old child displays in her room every other day.They don’t want to hear a thing about studying fine or theatre arts in the university; the response will always be “I cannot waste my money on such nonsense”
What happened to courses like Journalism, economics, fine and applied arts, creative and theatre arts, linguistics, mass communication, English Language and Literary studies, political Science, sociology, accounting etc.?
Are they hazardous to the society?
The question is if we all become doctors, who will be in the production industry and who will manage the business and agricultural sectors of the country?
The truth is, there are great minds waiting to be harnessed, waiting to be loved and appreciated, and waiting to be accepted by our parents. There are still great minds in the arts and social sciences, it is not just about the sciences, and to a very large extent these two can always work together to make a good society.
So many parents have destroyed their homes even before moulding the bricks.
I implore parents to support their children in their choice of career. Let us not use our hands to produce a society of ‘quacks’ because if we continue this way it will be hard to find people that are proud of their professions and people that will give in their best. We will have first class graduates that do not know the basics of their professions.
We all cannot be doctors, let us stop the criticism of arts and social sciences professions.Let us stop leading our children in paths that prepare them to join the crowd rather than stand out in their uniqueness.
- Deborah Sunday,
Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
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