MIND.the. . G . . A . . P

Time changes yesterday. Our ability to redefine solutions to problems we face ensures that society is on a constant journey of evolution that blurs the line between possible and impossible. The changes in society have taken place in various areas of life as each generation steps in the shoes of their predecessors. The world is changing because we ask questions, and with better information we create more solutions. This process requires a free-spirit and open mind to challenge the status quo and a desire to understand what is important in a rapidly evolving society. By solving today’s problems, we are creating tomorrow’s society. We need to restructure yesterday’s ideas and conceptions as some of them do not provide the necessary solutions for today’s problems. These ideas that shaped society have restricted the growth of disparate and creative people today. One of such mental blocks is society’s paradigm of a ‘successful person’ which is entwined with a great degree or certificate (Pls note, this is Nigeria in 2015). Marginal success in school is usually described as a lack of desire and will for success.

Yesterday, the school was the birth place of great ideas. Today it is the guillotine where most dreams are beheaded. We place so much value on a student’s ability to fall in line with a redundant and stunted curriculum that we limit many people’s curiosity and desire to see beyond the boundaries of a lecture note. We have created a system that makes us believe that a certificate on paper is the benchmark for success in life. It is a widely misconstrued belief that has shattered dreams and created more problems than solutions. Many people have come out with those certificates and have realized there are two other monsters in society; employable skills and experience, while employers have realized a lack of passionate employees! Now the certificate just occupies a few lines on the CV for all its worth. Many parents denigrate young people who have shown the passion and will for success in non-academic fields if they don’t perform at a certain level academically as expressed by a degree or certificate. The older generation’s obsession with certificates, degrees and office jobs reflects their society. This obsession has left many people chasing the ideals of yesterday’s society and has deprived us of some of the geniuses of the new world. A certificate on paper should not override an individual’s proven ability to excel in other fields of endeavour outside their academic area. A certificate is important, but it does not decide how high anyone will rise in life. It is a signal and screen for the corporate world and a source of pride for parents more than it is for owners of the certificate.

This is just one face of the many-faced generational gap which is aggravated by technology and the avalanche of information available today. Gone are the days…Yes! Gone are the ‘good old days’. We should warm up to the present and stay relevant. We may keep saying ‘the good old days’ but we can’t deny that there are things today that are way better than they were in the past and opinions which have changed for better too. So while people in the new generation are jumping on the blitzing train of technology and change, most of the older ones stubbornly refuse to change their beliefs and are left in the cave of obsolescence. We should not allow opinions that were relevant yesterday to restrict today’s youth from creating tomorrow’s reality. We will not ignore the role of school in educating people, but we should also be careful that school does not kill their dreams. It is the older generation that raise the new generation, but at a stage we begin to diverge because society is changing and the new generation change with society. This is why we hold different opinions about certain things. The real gap is in the mind because although we are in the same location, we live in different societies. The mind is the gap. So parents and guardians please respect the positive aspects of change.

Posters of Chaos!

There are always detractors and fakes, especially in the church! I'm not talking about the people who come to church and are not perfect or those who are trying to live 'right' but have not achieved it yet. The fact is that the church is not for perfect people. It is for mending and moulding those who are broken and imperfect. My major concern here is for those who start up organisations in the name of the church. The church is the most rewarding business at the moment.

I'm in Nigeria and there are very many desperate and poor people who are looking for a form of respite. This large number has created a large market for schemers who have use the church as an easy avenue to defraud these desperate and 'unsuspecting' victims. Really, can I separate these people from these crimes totally? I'm not so sure because no matter how incredulous these scammers make their posters, some people are so desperate that they are willing to put their faith and fate in the hands of these unscrupulous church leaders. It behoves on people to protect themselves from these 'short-cut'-method leaders who hide behind bible verses to steal money from people. How ridiculous can church posters get before people realise that some of these people are unserious? It is amazing how they put up these posters that destroy the image of the church in general! As a business, it must be playing to the gallery because they are getting more followers daily! It passes as an amazing strategy targeted at the right audience; poor, desperate and gullible! Shamefully, these organisations are still spreading and while it is annoying that people are bent on defrauding others through these means, we cannot take a way the humorous part of these. I have shared a few but for more please click here.

Special Talent is Not So Special

Albert Einstein is almost synonymous with the word 'genius'! Usain Bolt, Lionel Messi, Lebron James are just a few of the people we call special and have placed a huge weight of this glory on a phenomenon we call 'talent'! We will never be able to isolate these people from this mystical and partial share of divine ability. Or maybe we are a little too fast to find other reasons that excuse our inability to perform at the same level. What better reason than a phenomenon we cannot clearly define, measure or achieve? We have emphasized this so much that we believe it and have accepted that this extraordinary ability is a product of divine blessings or supernatural endowment. As usual, I like to hold a slightly different view with good reason.

Well, talent is what you make of it and that is it! If you believe that lack of talent is the reason for your inefficiency or your below-par performance at any activity, then that is what it will be for you. I see only two groups of people; Those who are dedicated and those who are not! Success is not a one step journey. It starts from the mind. There is the belief, followed by the relentless work that is fueled by passion. It is not easy to get to genius level and sometimes it is discouraging because it seems really easy for others. The bottom-line is that practice births perfection! It is the same principle we use to sharpen our tools and to polish stone or wood. Constant use removes rough edges. In the same vein, constant practice reduces errors and problems till near-perfection is achieved. This stage is what many people refer to as genius or super-talented level. So what exactly is talent? How does it differentiate one person from another? I believe we are all unique, but not in the sense that one person can achieve what others cannot achieve. There is a price to pay for everything, including the famous 'talent'! And as Malcolm Gladwell put it, 10, 000 hours of practice will turn your novice into an expert, proficient at about anything! Cristiano Ronaldo (pardon my Football inclination) is the epitome of excellence achieved through grit, sweat and persistent practice! 

Let's bring this back home. What exactly do you want to achieve? Many people do not put in enough effort at improving and as you would guess, there will be little result. I believe half the effort, with today's information splurge, will create a super 'talented' you! Put this practice in line with your passion it will be easier to attain genius status. Talent is the result of relentless and passionate practice not a predestined supernatural ability. Nike and Guinness commercials have tried to say this in different ways...you are made of more. True greatness lies within! We tend to ignore the hard work and practice hours of the geniuses! I believe if we put equal effort into our passions we will also become geniuses. 

Tribes, Stereotypes and Discrimination

Ethnic intolerance is becoming a serious problem in Nigeria. People hide under the guise of ethnicity to attack others verbally and otherwise. There is the endless stigmatization and stereotype attached to certain tribes which has led to discrimination, mistreatment and disrespect for many people. This trend has led many parents to go as far as rejecting their children's choice of spouse because of tribe. It is shameful that in this age people still use such tribal generalization to judge people's ability even at work! This lazy, discriminatory and hypocritical stance does not support the progress we are all struggling to achieve. 

During the last gubernatorial elections, there was a lot of uproar caused by the video of one of the traditional leaders saying discriminatory things about members of another tribe. Initially, I didn't think people would support his claim but to my surprise many people used this opportunity to vent their dislike for other tribes. This issue seems to bubbling right under our skins, waiting to erupt, and if this happens we can be sure to have another civil war if matters are not handled properly. Nigerians discriminating against themselves because of tribal differences.

My main confusion in this entire problem lies in the attitude of Nigerian youths to issues in the media concerning tribe. The double standard used to judge matters of tribe is a problem. When the movie for Chimamanda Adichie's novel was premiered, there was similar uproar because a character in the movie had stated that he is Igbo first, before Nigerian! Many Nigerians got to social media challenging this statement and creating memes and funny videos stating that their first allegiance lies with Nigeria before tribe. Beautiful patriotism on the surface but when matters of employment, appointments and other benefits set in, they associate with their tribesmen first, before identifying that we are all Nigerians! In fact, nepotism and tribalism are the first sins of every Nigerian leader! Recently, Nigerians were at it again, hounding the President for his recent appointments. These people are all Nigerians!!! Why are these same people shouting and complaining again? If we are Nigerians first, we should be satisfied with the fact that all these people appointed are Nigerians, irrespective of tribe.

This level of tribal affinity which we place above objective reason is one of the major problems we face in this country. We should not ignore the political instability this discrimination can cause. We are stoking the fires that lick the our raffia roofs! The trouble we are poking at can consume all what we have worked for as a nation! These little differences that we choose to highlight are nothing compared to the things we have in common. We are trying to build a great nation, and pulling ourselves down is surely not the way to do it. We should be careful what we say. It might be an innocent tribal smirk comment or maybe a full blown list of all the derogatory 'characteristics' and flaws of other tribes, outlined in ways to humiliate them. You might just be the one to drop the straw that will break the camel's back! A word is enough for the wise!

Think and Create A Solution (Don't Just Copy and Paste!)

It is very funny how we try to copy things that work elsewhere and just implement them here without asking how it will fit into our own society and environment. Most of them turn out to work even though they may not be as efficient as the original versions. Others turn out to be extremely hilarious and shameful. There have been a number of ventures in this regard at different levels. Some of our young tech engineers create apps that take after those already in existence. They give them all sort of funny names like the 'Facebook of Africa', 'Instagram of Africa'. It seems everything abroad now has its 'African version'. We have even heard of Silicon Valley introduced in Africa as Silicon Savannah! Of all these funny copy-and-paste schemes, the ones done at the national level are the funniest!!

In 2007 Nigeria decided to pay a whooping $340 million (40 billion Naira at the time) for a communications satellite. Other countries had it and in line with our attitude, we had to show we can also afford it! Trust the Chinese, they got Nigeria a Satellite and by May 2007, NigComSat-1 was launched. 18 months later, the newspapers were all sharing an interesting headline. Nigeria's satellite was missing in space! In an unsuccessful bid to quell such embarrassing stories, the Minister of State for Science and Technology jumped in with a funnier message! Nigeria's satellite had lost power and had to be "parked, just like a car would be parked". He said "If it wasn't parked and it lost all its power there would be no energy to even move it and it would be like a loose cannon and would be rolling about and hit other satellites in the orbit"! Can it get more hilarious than this?

The main reason for revisiting this story is to question the motive for doing things in this country. Do we just do things because other nations are doing those things? Why not invest that money into providing healthcare and basic infrastructure to improve the lives of people? What was the motive behind that super expensive venture? Our leaders want to show signs of a level of development that belies the suffering and poverty in the country. All this just to match what other leaders are doing. True, there is a lot of money in this country but we also have a lot of impoverished people that we struggle to hide from the cameras! We just ignorantly copy what others are doing and try to force the same to work here. For the record, the satellite that was brought in was adjudged to be inappropriate for this region considering the frequency it operates on and the weather conditions it can withstand yet we decided to carry on with its launch.

At the individual level, the need to show off with things we can't afford has pushed many people to borrow, and in some cases steal, clothes, shoes and other accessories to take pictures strictly for Instagram and Facebook. We have a lot of information and pressure from peers, media and the internet, but that is not an excuse for mixing up our priorities. That should not move us to copy and paste everything. Instead it should make us creative. It should provide us with information and ideas to create solutions tailored for our unique problems. If someone has provided a solution and you think you can improve it, that is fine. If there is something people outside Africa enjoy and access to such a service is limited to such locations, I would appreciate an African creating a version for us that should match or surpass the available standard. I have no problem with that. My problem lies with the sub-standard and low quality versions of already existing solutions which we christen 'African'! Stop making people believe that the African version of things must be sub-standard. If you must copy, don't just paste. Copy, edit, improve and paste to serve us better. We are not the dumping ground for sub-standard things. Give us some respect! Think and create better solutions! Don't just copy and paste!

Western Utopia Mindset

"All things 'white' are beautiful, all creatures great and small..." (Pardon this rephrased version). I can hear this chorus within. In my subconscious it strums a chord that is in tune with the vibrations from young African minds today. The effect of this cuts across nationalities, gender and age differences. In spite of our national and tribal differences, our diverse cultures, traditions, and religions, we still have one belief that strings its way through the entire continent. There is one idea that unites all (And I'm not talking about football). It is the idea that what we see across the ocean is always better! I mean, all things that are 'White' are beautiful!!

We cannot even feign ignorance of this widespread misconception. It stares us in the face everyday! We exhibit this in our dressing, the way we speak, the way we treat people of colour as opposed to others, and even our choice of brands in the market. Have you ever wondered why so many people decide to walk across the Sahara, risk their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, just to get to Europe? Most of them have no idea of what they want to do when they get there! Some take up menial jobs that pay very little. They can never tell you how difficult it is to make a living over there. This doesn't mean some people aren't making it there, they are! But why would anyone go through all that just to meet with further uncertainty? Some of these people hide behind beautiful Instagram and Facebook pictures that portray a false reflection of their lives. Why not invest that time and effort into doing something useful in your country? 

Over here, many of us wear clothes that make us uncomfortable considering our climate and weather conditions. It may look really nice on the outside but nobody can imagine how we feel inside. Yes, there is the idea of being fashionable, but fashion should NEVER come before common sense. Boys on the street wearing head warmers, hooded shirts and thick sweatshirts has become common place in tropical sun-blazing Africa! Some go as far as using scarfs around their necks and wearing gloves, trying to be the prototypes of the images they see on television. (I can understand if its really cold or you're concealing a scar). The girls have taken skin-whitening as a hobby! Sometimes you may not even recognize your friends! What is it with bleaching your skin and forming ignorance-exuding groups called 'team light-skinned'? The idea of shamelessly eroding your beautiful, glowing skin colour is a sign of low self-esteem and a misunderstanding of the importance of your pigment! Aside being a sign of intellectual retardation, there are health problems attached to this unacceptable trend! Some of our musicians and entertainers don't even help matters. They end up endorsing certain Western fashion and lifestyle trends that wipe out our culture and fuel the economy of already developed countries. The second part is the most devastating part of this problem. This is one of the monsters that help expand the gap between our economy and foreign economies.

As much as I would like to blame people for not buying our products and all, I must admit that most of our local products lack the quality that deserves patronage. Our producers like the short-cut mentality. When you decide to support the local market, you get all types of schemes and scams ranging from the most substandard materials given at outrageous prices, to materials that can barely last the ride home so you can come back to purchase more. It might be difficult to break this cycle but it is possible. I have seen a situation where quality was promised, delivered and patronized significantly by our people. The government should not be blamed for everything! We have a role to play and we have to play that role honestly. What do you do when you have to serve people in one way or the other? Do you go about it with a careless attitude? You don't need anyone monitoring you to do the right thing!  Let the change start with the way we see ourselves and our reason for doing things right. The cog in the wheel of African development is this attitudinal change and until we truly desire to be better, all the efforts of our leaders will not measure up to the demands of our society. This problem here has little to do with our leaders and politicians. It has to do with you and I. Change starts with the man in the mirror. Be the change you want to see!!

Constructive Criticism

Criticism is an expression of disapproval of someone or something on the basis of perceived faults or mistakes. It could be constructive or clearly destructive. This could be aimed at pointing out one's errors to help the person improve and get better results. On the other hand, it could be used to demoralize someone and discourage them from heading down a certain course. It can also be used for analysis, to determine the quality of something such as an artwork, music etc. How then do we determine what type of criticism is being offered? Who decides what type of criticism is offered? Is it the critic or the person criticized? The aim of constructive criticism is to motivate and encourage the person to do better, by pointing out areas that need to be worked on. If this aim is not achieved, then criticism is not constructive. Considering this, it is obviously the person criticized that can tell if criticism is constructive, the fact that you intend to motivate someone by criticizing does not already make it constructive. You might turn out to demoralize the person and hence defeat the purpose of criticizing the person. Does this mean that we cannot criticize constructively? NO! Having a goal as a critic is not enough to successfully motivate or improve anyone by criticism, you need a plan. Likewise, to criticize constructively, one must have a plan or consider certain things to enable him achieve that goal. The way you criticize a person goes a long way to determine the level of success that will be achieved.

The manner of criticism involves considering different little aspects like the personal pride or ego of the person. We all have different levels of self pride which can affect the way we react to criticism. One must try not to embarrass the person being criticized or to make the person look stupid. Try to make the person realize that others have made similar mistakes. This is not the time to start a roll call of all the mistakes the person has made.

Secondly, place and time also play a major role in your attempt to help by criticizing constructively. People do not appreciate open rebuke especially when it involves sensitive issues. A private discussion is usually more effective than open rebuke. Open rebuke usually leads to rebellion. You will also need to give the person some time (if possible) to think about whatever you have said and to muster courage to make the necessary changes. Another important thing to take note of is the fact that whatever you are told in trust should remain confidential. If you go around talking about the person’s mistakes, you could end up reversing the effect of your criticism.

All this has to do with the critic, but the person being criticized should also open up and humbly consider whatever he or she has been told and make the necessary corrections. Don’t start on with a defensive mindset. You might end up blocking out the message that could turn you around or even shoot you to the top.

With all this in mind, you will achieve a lot more results from criticism, but do not become a fault finding machine. You might end up finding people’s faults so perfectly that you won’t be able to see any of yours. No one knows it all, if I’m wrong correct me and criticize me constructively please.

Christianity; The Seed of Oppression or Liberation?

I was reading a post about religion in Africa and how Africans in diaspora never seem to understand the reason behind the average African's devotion to one religion or the other. Why are we so attached to a tool which was used to oppress us and enslave our ancestors? Some people (mostly Africans in diaspora) believe that Christianity was a tool used by the slave masters to peacefully infiltrate African societies. This gave them a foothold here and ushered in the slave trade era. They argue that Christianity was a guise used to control African communities and aid slave trade. Well, this fact is evident in many coastal African States such as Ghana, where one of the first churches was literally built over the slave dungeon in the famous Elmina Castle. These same traders and missionaries brought Christianity and Western education with them as they arrived our shores. In Nigeria, the oldest schools are missionary schools. They are Baptist Academy (1855), CMS Grammar school (1859) among others. It is interesting to note that these people who portray Christianity in this light often downplay the position of Western education as a similar tool for slave trade. It is easy to see how Western education has structured African societies, even though we will never know if our system of education would have brought more development. It is therefore shocking that they would encourage the Africans to embrace Western education but would kick against Christianity. 

I believe that tools like education and religion cannot be stripped of their benefits solely because some people abused these tools. Seriously, religion has had its problems in society, but so has education, information, the internet, mechanization etc. This does not distort the credibility of the tool but bothers on the specific use (or abuse) by certain individuals. If I decide to use the my blog to propagate racist messages, I am the problem, not the internet. If people decided to use Christianity as a tool of oppression, it does not mean that Christianity is wrong, but it means people used it wrongly. Going back to the origin of Christianity, it is NOT a European or American religion (Ignore the false images of a white Jesus.). It was adopted and used wrongly. Why should we blame the tool for the crimes of its user? Just as the person using the weapon is the killer, not the weapon, Christianity is not wrong, even though it has been used wrongly. Why would we claim that the tool is problem in this case? If we must be fair and decide to blame the tool, then we should be fair enough to apportion equal blame on all the tools used by these people.  These include education and technology. We would end up fighting against Western education too!!

Another key issue is that of the background or nature of African societies. I will narrow this down to Nigeria, as I want to talk about a society I understand better. As a kid growing up in Nigeria, you are exposed to the reality of a spiritual realm which most African Americans do not understand. The things they hear as myths, legends and stories are most of the time our reality! For instance, the average African American doesn't understand the African concept of blood money, ritual killing, Juju and other unhealthy practices! They do not understand the evident manifestations of a spiritual realm because our society is different from theirs. Growing up with these in your environment makes you understand the need to hold on to some sort of liberating truth. You may say it is fear-motivated worship, but it isn't without due cause. There is also grave poverty which cannot be expressed properly in writing. Christianity promises a better life (and prosperity especially in Nigeria!) and that is what appeals to most of these people. I believe that there are more churches in the impoverished areas of America than in highbrow areas too. 

These misconceptions between Africans and African Americans runs through a number of topical issues. It is expressed in the way most Africans believe that racism ended years ago!! But African Americans are experiencing new and uncommon manifestations of racism in their society. Thanks to the Internet, we are now aware of the grave injustice in society that accounts for the agitation, passion and aggression that African Americans exhibit. This information gap is slowly closing up but still makes us to form different opinions about ourselves and has created more segregation between people who are more connected than they show. 

On the other hand, it is true that we have taken Christianity to a whole new level. Every street corner has a barber shop, a small kiosk for household items and a church (In Southern Nigeria). These churches have become monster corporate institutions that are exempted from tax but yet raise more money than some commercial banks! People have used the church to control and enslave others. They have used it to propel political ambitions and to amass mind-boggling wealth. No doubt, Christianity has been abused, but is that reason enough to claim that it is something wrong? NO! Christianity in the real sense is NOT a religion. It is a relationship between an individual and a supreme being like any other religion. The unique point being that the way to this Being is through His Son, Jesus Christ. That in itself is not wrong!

It is time for us to look beyond the peripheral issues that divide us and concentrate on the problems that face us together. We will never move forward if we keep picking out our differences. What do we hope to achieve by showing our differences? The world has already taken us apart and made us different in that regard. Why do we keep looking for other ways to ignore the potential behind our collective ambition? We cannot undo the past and change the effect of religion by fighting our beliefs. We need to use this opportunity to build a world that will be better for posterity! We are our only source of redemption! It will not come from anywhere else but within!

R e L i G i o N

Religion

Religion remains man’s most mysterious conviction
A solace for our lack of understanding

A resort when we can’t explain the simplest things around us

A blanket to cover the mysteries that outsmart man

One man leads a band of groping men in the dark

To a promise of some sort of satisfaction

Elusive to those who don’t belong

Spiced up with rites, rituals and songs

Venerating faithful followers

And mystifying their activities with religious paraphernalia

Outlining a list of courage threatening and fear enshrining retributions for disobedient subjects

Inflated positions, false ambitions, competitive and flamboyant lifestyles 

Leadership in its most authoritative form and world domination on the mind of every follower

People fighting for the same goal with different reasons and through different means

Yet in all its abundance, its incredible signs and wonders, Unity still eludes it

One arm rising against the other, as brothers take arms against each other in the same name

Trickling into every part of life, influencing national decisions and even into entertainment

Binding people together and gaining more respect than the law as it remains man’s most powerful motivator…ahead of money!

All in the name of one God

Memorization Machines

Source: channelstv.com

Going over newspaper headlines year after year, the results from WASSCE and other standardized tests have been declining. We are tempted to believe that students of these days are not smart. It is easy for people to pass judgement and say that these students are not serious and are distracted by social media and television. Really, the number of students who have lost interest in school is rising, but I don't think we should blame these students entirely. Students seem to perform worse as the years go by but these children are undoubtedly smarter on the streets and in our homes. They are sharp and intelligent, but the results of standardized exams show a different trend. What could be the problem behind this decline in academic performance that is at odds with the rise and rise of smart kids in our homes?

The problem, I believe, is that schools have refused to take full advantage of the information age. Yes, lecturers upload materials online and we have e-libraries and all the other things that we do with the internet. True, these things have helped to improve the system but there are other problems I feel we have to face. The test system and the nature of our classes! These are still aligned to favour the system where information was not readily available. In those days, school was almost the only place one could get professional information, so it was ok for people to try to store as much information as they could in their heads and in notebooks. Rote memorization was employed to ensure students could pass exams. This was also in response to the nature of exams. Many years later, our school system still uses the same principle to test students in a world where so much information is available to the student. One cannot possibly apply rote memorization to capture all the course material available. Rather a good understanding of basic principles should be explained to students with keen interest. They should be allowed to access fringe information during tests such as formulas and all. The test should be aimed at ensuring that students can apply such knowledge, not aimed at testing how much they can memorize. This is because no real life job demands solutions solely from memory. With this there will be more functional graduates in the real world who can make better decisions with the wealth of information available to them.

The school system refuses to acknowledge this fact and still encourages standardized tests that require students to memorize information rather than understand for better analysis and synthesis (I mean, people write JAMB without scientific calculators!!!). This explains the reason why many people graduate and yet are not useful to society. Because after all those exams have passed, all that information is forgotten and we reset to start downloading for a new exam. This is largely the case, but not entirely. It is the reason why Universities produce ignorant graduates with great degrees. Why would you expect a student to memorize all the formulas in your course work when he understands the basic principles and why, when and how to apply the formulas? Why should he memorize them when he can get those formulas online almost as fast as he can retrieve them from memory, but with better precision? The system has to change to reflect the change in the world so that we can produce graduates who are relevant to this age. We still produce graduates who have memorized and regurgitated information all their lives like they are meant to work on the assembly floor in factories! Then we sit back and ask why they can't think and create solutions in society. They are only products of an old system and hence majority of them need a lot of pre-work orientation and training to become useful to their respective employers. The gap between the skills needed and the skills available can be cut down by changing the school system and providing an environment where education can take place, not just schooling! We need to create a new breed of thinkers. People who can figure things out and schools are in the position to provide society with these people. Unfortunately, our schools are churning out compliant, conformist and uneducated graduates who are an added cost to employers and society at large. If we must create a better society, we must create better citizens. If we want a different result, we must use a different method! The bottom line is change!