Are we teaching our children to succeed…or to fail gracefully? ✍️ Dr Alaa Imad Al-Din Al-Badri
Every morning, hope is reborn and the hours of the new day offer a precious opportunity to build a better future for our children. Perhaps one of the first priorities that cannot be postponed is to reconsider the form of education we offer, its content, its objectives and its results. The reality of Sudanese education, despite the development efforts made in previous periods, is still in dire need of a radical revision that keeps pace with the rapid transformations of the world and answers a crucial question: are we preparing our children for life or simply… to pass exams?
Experience has proven that true learning is not measured by the number of lessons or the amount of information in the bag, but by the skills the student acquires in terms of skills and ability to think, innovate and interact with their environment. What is needed today is not more cramming, but more understanding. We want programs that educate minds and do not accumulate information. Programs that teach the student how to think, not what to think. What the student needs is simplified, deep and inspiring content. Not just cluttered pages that weigh it down without enriching it.
In light of this reality, it is illogical for programs to continue to focus excessively on the theoretical academic aspect without providing students with real opportunities for practical learning and in the artistic, technical and professional fields that have become at the forefront of job market needs around the world. Sudan, with its enormous youth potential, needs to redistribute educational opportunities so that each student finds their rightful place according to their abilities and inclinations, and not so that everyone is pushed into the same path. Suitable for everyone.
The teacher is at the heart of the educational process. We cannot speak of true development without giving the teacher the material and moral attention he deserves. Improving salaries, offering incentives, and providing a respectful and safe working environment are not luxury requirements, but rather provide the basis that allows the teacher to best fulfill their educational and professional role. How do you ask a teacher who lives in difficult living conditions to inspire, innovate and bring change? The teacher is the builder of generations and the architect of awareness, and if we want real education, we must first invest in it.
Nor can we ignore the essential role that the family plays in the educational process. The parent is not an outside observer, but rather a true educational partner. A word of encouragement in the morning or a simple question about the school day can make a big difference in a child’s psyche and move them forward with confident steps.
It is important to understand that the child is not just a passing stage that must be passed through, but rather is the foundation of the future and the one who will make tomorrow’s decisions. All the values, knowledge and skills we plant in him today will bear fruit tomorrow in the form of leaders, engineers, doctors, workers, artists and creators… each in his own field. We must treat the child on this basis, not as a little being who is only asked to memorize and listen, but as a human being with abilities, ambitions and rights to education. This suits him and his country.
Therefore, building new programs based on a future national vision has become a necessity. A vision in which the authorities concerned, teachers, educators and experts participate. A vision that goes beyond the logic of quantity and focuses on quality. A vision that teaches the child to ask, discuss, experiment, make mistakes and learn, without memorizing, telling and forgetting after the exam. Let us reconsider the philosophy of education from its roots and speak truthfully to educational decision-makers. Build. Programs that adapt to the times and that give the teacher his right and the child his place if we want a strong and creative homeland, not just dependent or consuming.
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