We Must Work Together to Make Our Children Succeed at School as a Community!

By Joe Kingsley Eyiah, OCT, Brookview Middle School, Toronto-Canada

The population of Ghanaians outside our motherland continues to grow in lump and bounds. Many Ghanaians have either intentionally or unintentionally settled in the countries of their sojourn. They are, thus, establishing their families outside Ghana. Whatever goes on in the Ghanaian communities around the world (whether good or bad) impacts our motherland. The success of Ghanaians everywhere is ‘a good currency’ for Ghana. One may disagree, but I personally see education, business, and culture which, includes religion as the matrix of success for Ghanaians anywhere and everywhere in the world. It is therefore imperative for Ghanaian communities to promote education among their members; patronize Ghanaian local businesses and; use our culture/religion to advance unity as well as the fear of God in all our dealings with each other. This is where we need to bury all differences that divide us and forge ahead as a community of Ghanaians to achieve success for our generation and the next. As an educationist cum social commentator, I will like to bring to the fore the involvement of Ghanaian communities in the school system wherever they are.

Many are Ghanaian immigrant parents who lack knowledge of how the school system works in their new countries of abode. Such ignorance works to their disadvantage as far as supporting their children at school is concerned. We therefore need to work together as a community to make our children succeed at school. Our children are our future! The Unfortunate Trend: Unfortunately, an unprecedented number of young immigrants including Ghanaians who should be in school are languishing in jail in Canada, especially in the city of Toronto where we have a large immigrant population. I should think the story is no different around the globe wherever Ghanaians find themselves in large numbers. How unfortunate! Some Ghanaian youth both in Ghana and elsewhere have dropped out of school and have adopted street life full of crimes such as doing drugs, shoplifting, fraud, prostitution and in some extreme cases armed robbery. Reasons for their un-Ghanaian cultural way of life are mostly attributed to acculturalization, dysfunctional families and apathy on the part of the community. The school experience to such Ghanaian youth-at-risk is a non-starter! This frightening trend of event paints a gloomy picture for our community in and around the world, especially in Toronto-Canada where the Ghanaian population is growing astronomically. We need to act NOW as a concerned community or risk losing some future leaders of our community to waywardness. The priorities of many Ghanaian communities around the world are sadly misplaced.

Ghanaians cherish funeral celebrations and birthday parties more than education forums and parent/teacher meetings wherever we find ourselves. Though it is not a crime to honor the dead or celebrate our special days, it is very pathetic to see the wastefulness (time and resource) associated with such celebration. Many are Ghanaian parents who lack the knowledge of the school system in their new countries of residence. Such people, unfortunately, do not either have support from their communities or fail to make themselves available for help. They become wise in their own eyes! As a teacher and social commentator, I personally see meaningful community involvement as an important part of the school experience. I therefore discuss briefly in this discourse how our community in Toronto and elsewhere can actively get involved with the school experience in order to save our youth from dropping out of school any further. The Secret: There is an African adage that says, “It takes the whole village (community) to raise a child.”. How true! This value should be brought to bear on our parents, teachers and community leaders if our children are to achieve success in their education. It is a known secret that at a time when children need more education to succeed in life, more and more classroom time is being eaten up in discipline issues, and less time is available for actual learning. Unfortunately or fortunately, research has revealed that our modern society has created a society environment that actively promotes anti-social behavior which, glorifies the denigration and exploitation of other people, and belittles the importance of parents. Bob Glossop has described this situation as “socially toxic environment.” It is adversely affecting student achievement! Obviously, cities like Toronto, London and New York where we have large Ghanaian immigrant population serve most diverse community, spanning a broad range of social, cultural and economic conditions. It is incumbent upon Ghanaian communities in such multicultural/cosmopolitan cities to combine their efforts to make their children successful in their education for ‘a better Ghana’ (my apology to President Prof. Miills). School Councils: I liken the school councils in Canada to Parent/Teacher Associations(PTAs) in Ghana and elsewhere. And ask the following questions: How do we as parents take opportunity in the School Council to get involve with the education of our children? Is there any public willingness, especially among the Ghanaian community, to serve on these councils/PTAs? Are parents motivated enough to sit on school councils/PTAs? Let’s try to explore some answers to these questions in the following paragraphs. Willingness to Serve: Research has indicated that there is no sufficient motivation for parents who are, for the most part, motivated solely by their narrow concern with educational opportunities for their children to get involve with the school councils. Though government’s initiative, to me, provides activity and empowerment, many parents have seen school councils as non-starter. Such parents find themselves either too busy with daily life or have no interest to volunteer on the school councils. There should be therefore appropriate motivation for enthusiastic voluntary participation from parents. The public willingness must be whipped up and sustained among parents through encouraging parents’ involvement in school programs. The potential for assistance and knowledge that lies in the community beyond the school is a significant untapped resource. School Councils should not be seen as or make to look elitist. In Ghana, most PTAs are unfortunately dominated by few parents who remain as chairpersons and condone with head teachers/headmasters/principals to treat the associations as their personal properties. Many other parents look on unconcerned! Get Involved! I would therefore encourage parents (especially Ghanaians) to take opportunity of school councils and teacher/parent conferences to influence the school life for their children and the community at large. Those who can, should volunteer to serve as community representatives on these councils.

The numerous local Ghanaian Churches and Cultural Associations as well as Umbrella Organizations of Ghanaian Organizations in Diaspora (in and around the world, especially in Toronto) must vigorously seek avenues to encourage their memberships to get involved with school experience wherever they are. It is my hope that the newly elected leaders of the Ghanaian communities everywhere will make it one of their priorities to encourage Ghanaian children to take education seriously by supporting Ghanaian parents to get involved with the school system. We need to challenge ourselves and leave our community better than we have come to meet it!