We need to take action. It needs to begin at school level and in the home. The tiresome child with a million questions needs to have those questions answered. He needs to be shown how to find answers that satisfy him – either from an educational mentor or from other sources available.
Children who find different ways of doing things, who solve equations in their own ways or who produce spectacular work that doesn’t strictly adhere to the original assignment should be praised for their ingenuity, not trampled down and made to conform.
And then, when these children are in high school, rather than the education system funneling them into particular professions or trades; becoming a doctor, lawyer or nurse, or bricklayer, electrician or welder; it should be about teaching them how to take big ideas and realise them practically.
Business ownership is just as important as any one of these professions – and ultimately anyone in any of these professions should one day become a business owner – and yet predominantly the vital skills to support this choice are simply not provided.
No one denies that the South African education system needs help, from preschool all the way through to graduation from some tertiary institution. While we can put our efforts into correcting the system, it will take time.