Educational System
Hello everyone,
i have some exciting news. Today we will tackle one of the hardest questions concerning one of the most sensible themes in every country: The educational system and how to fix/improve it .
Well I am going to talk about the Tunisian educational system until the Baccalauréat. Why ? Because that’s when I stopped studying in Tunisia.
So, the first thing that comes to my mind is the lack of technological subjects in the curriculum. The first class when to use a computer, is your first year in high school. That’s really late especially for those who can not afford to buy a computer on their own. Countries like South Korea and China are preparing their kids to code starting from Kindergarden. So a technological leap is something almost vital to Tunisia.
The second thing, is entrepreneurship : Kids need to understand more about the market;they need to be able to have the tools to invest in their ideas. Being an employer is always better than being an employee. Now if you spend years studying about how to make a successful company, you will need only the idea and you will be armed with the proper knowledge to be successful.
Third, and that’s the most important in my opinion, is the place of the English language in the hierarchy of languages in Tunisia. We all love the French language, but it is loosing its influence exponentially. Some would argue that it is a beautiful language I agree, but reading Zola and Camus is not going to help you communicate with the rest of the world.
Moreover, I oppose Polyvalence :Why? Very easy, we want to have students that have a broad knowledge about a lot of stuff, but spending 10 years of your life repeating the same stuff you learned a couple of years ago, like Islamic Education, Civil Education, The History of Carthage and the History of the Khalifas is a big waste of time. Don’t get me wrong, the subjects are interesting, but learning them once is more than enough. We need mathematicians who spend a huge chunk of their time studying math. Same thing goes to physicists and other subjects.
Finally, it is not actually about subjects, it is about the freedom of expression in schools. In 2020 there are still pupils who can’t wear shorts, earrings or have tatoos. Even worse, pupils who are still teenagers can’t hold hands with their significant other. Now how is that pupil going to be able to express himself, if you keep trying to shut him down? Freedom is the essence of creativity; and creativity is all we need.
It is not surprising that we still are far behind in the educational ladder, but if we do just one thing right, we will have the snowball effect. One thing right and everything else will follow.
Look, what I wrote is just an opinion. I am not a pedagog, I am not even sure that the educational scene in Tunisia is still as stiff as it used to be. But my experience in Tunisia left a mixed impression on me. I didn’t talk about the positive things, because you never notice the train that comes on time.
So long dear readers,
xoxo
