Month: October 2017

The Role of Education — Broadening the Mind or Working Life?

Education comes in many forms, reflecting (but not limited to) instruction, practice and training. Through culture, society and history, education is the observation of life; changing over generations and learning through value and purpose. Education can go beyond working life, yet when broadening the mind through working life and education, one can explore further opportunities.

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The Midnight Swing

It was a sizzling, hot summer day as I sat in my bedroom. Not expecting any visitors, I raced to the door as I hear the doorbell chime. “Hi, what’s up,” I asked my friends, Audrey and Jake. “Do you want to ride bikes?” Audrey asks. “Sure” I say, then I close the door behind

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A modern take on education

‘When you are educated, you are elevated’. The role of education should prepare students to think and see life in its true wholeness, physically, mentally and spiritually. Enthusing young minds to be motivated and cultivate a belief that enables each individual to make a valid contribution to society. By living a life of purpose that

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Dream plus effort equals success

One day, a young boy was looking at the sky. What he saw was beautiful and amazing. The first satellite in the world’s history showed up in the heaven. The boy was so inspired, that after a while, he realized he wants to build a missile. The first rocket, which he had created with his

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Calm in the Chaos

What defines us is how well we rise after falling …. Hey, My name is Amal. Weird name for you maybe; but it means “Hope.” I shifted to New York a few years back. Everything about this place intrigued me. The streets, the lights, the sounds. Anything and everything. I had a pretty amazing life I tell

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Being Different is Being Yourself

I was born in Ukraine and was an ordinary child like the others. I graduated from the High School, then received my Bachelor’s degree and married at twenty-three years of age. When I was in my twenties, all my friends were already married and some even had children. Previously, it was quite normal in the

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The Realm of Normality – Learn to Live or Live to Learn?

I quiver as I sat on the armchair, staring at my father as he faced out the window. His hands are placed behind him; his demeanor scares me down to my bone. He turns around and stares straight at me, puncturing his gaze in me. He opens his mouth gently, ‘get an A!’. ‘Get an

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Inner Turmoil

What is an idea? An idea should be something unique, since no one but you has your brain, your imagination and your creativity. In every single mind, perspective and perception work differently. So why do we manipulate each other? With invasiveness, burglarising minds, disloyalty to oneself, we lose a battle and suddenly we lose a

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In Power, or Adversity, We Find Ourselves

We look to our leaders, and we must hope that they are able to bear the responsibility that comes with our tendency to follow. In the modern day, power exists in many forms. No longer restricted to Kings, Queens, Emperors, and Empresses, power now is held in the soft and delicate hands of ordinary people,

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The Education Trajectory from a British Perspective

An etymological perspective would be helpful in appraising the basic essence of education and will provide the necessary cornerstone on which one can construct a tenable case for what its role should be. The Latin derivative from which we get the English word education denotes the act of bringing up, breeding or rearing. This exists

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The Message of the Mehndi

The floral-like, intricate traditional designs upon these hands are only done justice through the struggles of its making. There are the processes of wrapping aluminum foil around your hands and feet, adding lemon onto your drying hands, or even just allowing the green cracks to diminish onto your carpet or hardwood floors, making a mess

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Yes!! I knew it – Abraham Lincoln was wrong! 

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” I strongly disagree. Nearly all men can stand adversity and power is not a test of a man’s character. A middle-aged man working as a janitor in a bank was approached and asked to make some alterations in a document and afterwards,

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Books are like that

The dawn of humanity saw early man wander the realms of earth in search of food, water, shelter and a mate. As he kept walking in his quest he met new people. He told them about his journey, shared his experience in the wild, and they exchanged techniques to survive. They discussed what worked and

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Let your words reflect your true self

“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And more important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” These words of Steve Jobs; a prodigious man in the field of technology, are indeed so relevant as we explore the wonders of the 21st century. The lofty ideals of

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The Role of Education is to Broaden Our Minds

A popular Tibetan Proverb goes… ‘A child without education is like a bird without wings’. Many people view this as cliché, but we all know how true this is. Perhaps, the question that begs answers is: “Can it really be possible for us to fly”? This question was posed many years ago by Daedalus in

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The X Factor

The classroom observes in horror as their instructor approaches the board with knowing haughtiness and scribbles hurriedly. He then turns quickly to face his abject audience who awaits explanation in baffled dread as they realize that numbers, concrete and predictable, have been replaced by letters, previously the concern of a far removed subject. “How can

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Snake Wine and Sheep Guts, A Normal Night Out?

The French philosopher Albert Camus is credited with the quote; “Nobody realises that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal”. But what does it mean to be normal? Well that depends on a variety of factors like: where you are, who are with and what you are doing. For example, if I told

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‘Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character give him power

Indeed, the truth in the statement above cannot be denied. I totally agree with it. Before presenting my points, however, I would want to explain three key words in the topic: ‘adversity’, ‘character’ and ‘power’, for better understanding. The Oxford Advanced Learners’ dictionary defines ‘adversity’ as a state of misfortune or calamity. It also defines

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Towards Whole: A New Kind of Education

“What are books but folly, and what is an education but an arrant hypocrisy, and what is art but a curse, when they touch not the heart and impel it not to action” – Louis Sullivan The day was Saturday, August 2, 1997,  the Nigerian nation wore a gloomy mood. People talked in hushed tones, crowds were

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