Today’s primary school education focuses a lot on the core subjects – English, Math and Science. Subjects teaching Nigerian history have been relegated to the background or even eliminated.
I am surprised to hear of “elitist” schools who practice a purely American or British curriculum and teach the Nigerian child completely NOTHING about their identity or country because it is not part of the British/American Curriculum. Even in other private schools that offer blended curriculum – Nigerian and British/American, the content in Nigeria barely scratches the surface.
Here are important reasons to teach your children (both at home and in diaspora) about their country Nigeria:
#1 Learning about Nigeria helps children develop a sense of identity: The only true happiness lies in knowing who you are – Laurie k Hamilton
It’s the most natural, normal thing in the world for human beings to want to know who they are and where they come from. Nigerian history can provide people of any age with a better sense of identity. Early education on Nigerian history will help your child develop his sense of patriotism and pride in his country. It will teach him to respect the sacrifices and struggles of his ancestors. He’ll learn more about the cultural tradition and heritage that he is a part of. In other words, it will help him identify and appreciate his place in a rather long, complex, and wonderful human story.
#2 History shows us models of good and responsible citizenship: An educated, enlightened and informed population is one of the surest ways of promoting the health of a democracy – Nelson Mandela
How can our children become the leaders of the future if they do not have a clue where they have come from? How can they make a difference to a country they have not grown to love?
It is important that our children are encouraged to become active in the political process and take part in decisions affecting them through democratic means.
#3. History helps us to better understand the word today: Studying history improves our decision making and judgment and teaches us how to learn from the mistakes of others. Our world today was created by events and people in the past. How can you understand current events if you don’t know history? If we don’t discuss what happened and why, kids will not understand what’s going on in the world today.
#4 Teaches children there is more to Nigeria: Today ,Nigerian is known for corruption, poverty and fraud. Children are knowingly and unknowingly being taught that nothing good comes out of Nigeria as other countries are being portrayed in better light. No matter where your child ends up (Europe, America, Asia, etc), he/she will also first be regarded as a Nigerian because of the skin colour. If we do not teach them that there is more to the Nigerian stereotype, they will have no personal experience to counter the negative messages they hear about Nigeria.
Growing up, history and social studies were really a boring subject because we learnt only from textbooks.
But today, learning about Nigeria has never been more attractive – there are documentaries, movies, games, puzzles, etc that make learning come alive and fun. Today’s children can have fun learning about Nigeria and when that happens, they will want to learn more.
Our children will learn about who they are, be guided in their decisions, understand the world in a meaningful context and become more responsible citizens.
9ijakids has developed a lot of fun games to make learning about Nigeria, its history, democracy, past leaders and heroes, cultures, etc more exciting and fun. One of such is the Democracy game. Click to play http://bit.ly/democracygame.
The 9ijakids Nigeria activity book is also a good material which teaches kids basic information about Nigeria, its history, democracy, past leaders and heroes, cultures through the use of puzzles and codes. Click to order https://9ijakids.com/activity-books/
