Youth do not realize they are the future until it is too late!

The perennial problem with youth today is that on the one hand they are impatient, but on the other they do not realize that it is them who are the future of the country and they must have a vision for the future if they are intent on taking ownership of it. They must not think that their rights will just fall onto their laps when they come of age. It just does not happen that way.

It is important that there is some method to inform them of how they can affect their future through activism now. They may feel that the world is run by older people and that they do not have power. However remember in most democracies the new voters are significant in number and they can actually make a difference to the result if they vote enmasse for a particular party. They can even change governments and administrations. It is therefore important that they know this, as often they cannot appreciate the power of their strength in numbers.

In the age when young people graduate from children, being dependent on parents to adults being responsible for themselves, first and their future later, it is best to galvanize their thought process and their focus to what is important to them. Then they can with commitment and numbers embark on a political process by joining a movement or political party, to achieve their objectives first as it pertains to youth, and later as it pertains to them and their families.

If one studies history and the biographies of statesmen, it is often an indication that they have shown their vision of the future in their early writings or campaigns, be it for student political office and other youth related project, be it in Environmental protection or education benefits that affect them now and in their future.

In order to instill in young people the responsibility they carry for their future, and that it will be of no use to blame the earlier generations for their predicament, there has to be a carefully tested method using real life examples of what is practical and doable. If as the heading implies, that ‘if they do not come clean now, it will be too late for them to make a difference’, it implies that there must be a long term plan beginning now for them to achieve their goals in life.

As part of leadership and empowerment, we would like them first to have a vision of the future. Then they can take that vision and try to make it happen in a practical way, that may include getting involved in politics, especially in Sri Lanka as it affects people’s livelihood, more than in most other countries. Change takes place in Sri Lanka with a lot of political backing or interference depending on your outlook, but it is political nevertheless, that can make a difference.

A Brilliant Pupil’s logical suicide – What do you make of this?

Taken from a very popularly read article in the Independent newspaper in the UK of 3^rd December 1998, which I believe is appropriate for young people to read in 2012. It does not try to judge, just report.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/brilliant-pupils-logical-suicide-1188778.html

A BRILLIANT schoolboy shot himself in the head after carefully calculating the benefits of life and deciding it was not worth living, an inquest was told yesterday.

Dario Iacoponi, 15, a pupil at the London Oratory in Fulham, west London, which is attended by Tony Blair's two sons, Euan, 14, and Nicky, 12, kept a diary of his philosophical thoughts on life in the two months leading up to his death. The Oratory is one of the top Roman Catholic schools in the country.

After weighing up the pros and cons, he decided to commit suicide and planned it meticulously. He taught himself to use his father's shotgun and worked out how to fire it with a wooden spoon. He then waited until neither of his parents was at home before carrying out the plan last month. Dr John Burton, the West London Coroner, said it was clearly a considered process and Dario "came down on the side of suicide". The inquest was told that the teenager was a brilliant pupil who had already passed six GCSEs at A* or A grades a year early. He played the violin and piano and was hoping to study law at Yale or Harvard.

But a darker side to his character emerged in diaries found by police. They spoke of his difficulties in coping with life, although there was little, or no mention, of any specific problem such as bullying.  Dario, an only child, was found by a 20-year-old lodger at the family's home in Ealing, west London. He had a shotgun by his side. His father, Pietro, a translator, was in Switzerland on business, and his mother, Saleni, a teacher, was at an amateur dramatics class.

Inspector Colin Nursey, who found five diaries covering the last year of Dario's life, said there was a reference in them contemplating suicide. "He would not leave a note, he was very specific about that," he said.

Neither parent was in court, but Nadia Taylor, a family friend for the past 15 years, told the inquest that Dario was "always a very sociable and very friendly person". She added: "We are all very shocked. It all came as a surprise to us that he felt this way." But Dr Burton said he could see no other conclusion than that Dario had taken his own life. "He has made it clear that he did so. That is the only verdict that I can return.

"He was quite stoical about it. He did not fear death. He decided on balance that life is not good and points out that the mathematics he has used are indisputable."

Dario's headmaster, John McIntosh, has said he was baffled and the school shocked. "He was an extremely able boy and he got on well with other pupils and his teachers and was extremely happy at school."

The Z score conundrum – what is taking so long?

As we all know the Head of the Department of Examinations, within the Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission, had decided to pool the two syllabi of the A levels and issued the Z score based on the old and new syllabus being equivalent. So to simplify, a score of 89 in each amounted to the same for the purposes of calculating the Z score, which was issued on December 25^th 2011, even though one exam might be more difficult, involve a completely different scoring base than the other.

The resulting furor, and subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court, only came in a ruling on June 25^th 2012, which I consider an inordinate delay, when comparing and evaluating the issue at hand, and importance of the determination for over 300,000 students who may be affected.

Despite the recommendation of the Court, the UGC, the Govt. committee appointed to recommend a solution, has as yet, (July7th) not come up with a definitive decision. The students still do not know if they can or not enter the University, as their score has not been finalized. The mental anguish the young people in Sri Lanka must go through must be immense. The Govt. does not seem to care, as those in the decision making role do not appear to care!! Of course the President of Sri Lanka, included, as he is perfectly aware of the importance and urgency, but does not seem to have the power to come to a firm timely decision.

Education for a young person is their livelihood. A delay of over 6 months at this stage is tantamount to career change and chances missed. Just because politicians do not see the urgency does not mean there is NO urgency. The reputation of the Sri Lanka A levels has suffered irreparable damage, only giving a fillip to the private sector that does not take heed of the local A levels, and instead train their charges to international O and A levels, that now seem to be a better bet, especially if one is able to afford it.

We are seeing a separation of haves and have-nots in Sri Lanka, where the have-nots are further disadvantaged by this Z score fiasco. This leads to the private sector students gaining an upper hand. This Govt. is has completely failed to satisfy the basic requirements of the free education system and appear by its action or inaction to further erode free public education rights of Sri Lanka. Critics can argue that the Politicians are in the pocket of the private sector bent on destroying the credibility of the public sector.

Self Harm – ‘A growing trend among Youth’

A recent article in the Sunday Observer, (July 1^st in fact) written by   Nilma Dole, highlighted a problem, I have also noticed and was wondering about, and now it seems to make sense.

In addition to smoking, alcoholism and drug abuse, hitting or cutting oneself are all various degrees of self harm. It is the latter two I wish to highlight, as we are well aware of the former issues, which have been mentioned in this blog in earlier essays.

Apparently boys are more likely to hit themselves and women cut themselves. They are part of a system of externalizing of internal or mental pain they may suffer from. The best way to get to grips is first to identify there is a problem and try to find its root cause.

The parents are usually the last to acknowledge a problem, as they cannot believe their offspring can resort to such activity. However in Sri Lanka we appear to be very weak in reading depression and mental illness, and so are unable to see the external signs of this problem. Even worse, if parents go with their offspring to see a doctor, they usually insist on being present with the doctor, a wholly counterproductive exercise.

It is important that the consultation is done on a one on one basis with a medical practitioner, well versed enough in knowing what to do and who to recommend they see as a specialist. Parents usually are adamant it is not something that the specialist identifies as a problem, either because they themselves are in denial, or are also aware that they are partially to blame for this condition.

Often this problem can arise out of a feeling of low self esteem that can be caused by abuse, physical or sexual, either in the home or in school, that is internalized. Only a good counselor can get it out of the young person, before something is done about it. Many young people are embarrassed to be open about it or admit to the problem. Once identified, a good medical practitioner will be able to determine the mix of drugs and counseling that is required to hopefully cure the patient out of the problem. It is most important that the young person seek the guidance of someone they can completely trust. We must open up the communication links for young people to address their personal issues so they do not go in this direction.

The entry into politics for Youth is through the Opposition

If you are thinking of entering active politics in the future, and you have a clear goal as to where you want to go, I would recommend, especially for those with meager resources to come in through the Opposition. When a party is in the Opposition, they have less of a demand on their resources. A young person can more easily make a name for himself amongst his peers in the opposition as only those serious enough will be in that group of active members, be it in a youth organization or not.

One has a greater chance of making a name for oneself within the opposition as there will be too many people within the government, and favorites of the ruling coalition will grab all available places. This is not the case in the opposition. The numbers are fewer, the chances and greater and in time the opposition will form a government, and by that time those who join now will be able to be where the action is with the movers and shakers.

To achieve this you have to be sure of yourself and faith in being able to come to power. Once you build a name within your party as a hard worker, you will without doubt get nomination for the Pradeshiya Sabhas as they allocate a specific percentage of positions for youth. You can almost be guaranteed to get the ticket to contest, and often they have no members to fill the quota according to the age group currently set as 35 and under.

When you receive your ticket you will get the needed experience to contest and run a campaign. There will be an element of competition within the party, and this will toughen you for the road ahead and know exactly what is happening outside. You have time on your hands, and so defeat does not need to be taken as a reason to quit, but more as a reason to learn from the mistakes so that next time round, you will be able to do what it is you want with the campaign and know how you can play the game, as that is what it really is, a game of bluff and counter bluff.

The skill you put to your campaign and the initial number of votes you get generally allows you to contest next time with a base of people willing to help be it in kind or generally in cash. There are people willing to fund you. They can be called on to help and you just need to run a carefully planned campaign. It is the only real method through which one with few resources can build a base of youth and they will be with you as and when you are able to get to the next point of elected office, when fund raising becomes easier.

It is easier to cut your teeth into the game that is politics at an early stage, but also to keep a balance to ensure that you build a career that is other than politics. Otherwise you will be beholden to others or resort to crime to fund your way as many who have been down this road have done. It is important that you are able to consider yourself a man of principle and are willing to dedicate yourself to the people, and represent their interests first and foremost as a holder of elected office is a servant and representative of the people, not the other way round.

Never forget that during your whole political life. Service to your people and to your nation. Not the examples you see today.

The Fundamental Right to ‘Free Education’

The Leader of the Opposition, Ranil Wickremasinghe MP stated on Wednesday, 4^th July in Parliament that if an Amendment was introduced in Parliament, enshrining in the Constitution, the Right to Education as a Fundamental Right, that his party will support the Amendment.

It is significant that this extremely important statement received scant attention from the Government benches, perhaps because no one really understands that term, as most people in the Government appear to display ignorance or lack of schooling and will be put to shame if there are actually educated people around, thanks to this Fundamental Right.

I do not know the real reason, but either way, it is a landmark that the Youth of today must consider adopting as one of their goals in Sri Lanka. This amendment will then safeguard free education, at least till the A levels, and will be the responsibility of the Government in power to provide.

While Private Education will always thrive in a society that becomes increasingly prosperous, the right will still remain to ensure a basic standard of state education, free of charge until the A levels. The increasing trend to private education in the primary and secondary sector, to say nothing of the tertiary sector will reduce the pressure on the state system, and also release funds to improve its quality, by syllabus revision, lower class sizes and improved quality of teachers in the public sector.

I recommend that a ‘Youth Lobby’ be set up for at least lobbying the lawmakers to think about introducing and passing this amendment without delay. It will at a stroke, prevent the Govt. from taking arbitrary steps to reduce the value of free education, by providing fewer facilities both of quality teaching staff, of equipment and infrastructure to drive students away to private education.

In order to market this concept, one must highlight the current trend in education, which with the Z score fiasco, gives little confidence to students and parents about the quality and desirability of Public Education. It is important that in the amendment some basic quality standards are adhered to prevent students from falling behind and not completing their basic education, as it will impinge on their future, which they will not know of until it is too late. It is important that someone takes the initiative now.

Tell the Truth for God’s sake

Is this the first time or do I continue on this theme? If it is continuous it is because it is a topic that needs to be addressed time and time again, as lying especially by young people who are unable to account for their actions is a huge issue in 2012 Sri Lanka. Is it a problem all over the world? I am sure to a lesser degree, but young people in Sri Lanka believe it is a license to lie.

This lying culture especially by the youth who get routinely beaten up by the police because the answers given are lies and bald faced lies, it is important that something is done about it and addressed. In addition to lying, the SL culture is one that hates to say No to anything or cant and therefore there is an added cultural dimension to the lying. For example when people are invited to an event, even a dhana, they do not say they cannot come. So when they do not come it is either expected or not a surprise. So it is hard to know who will come when invited as no one likes to say no. They at least say they will try and come for at least a short while, when they mean they really have no chance of coming to the event.

I have this lying problem from well educated intellectuals, more than I get from poor or simple youth from villages who sometimes seem to have a better sense of truth and lies!! That I find is quite surprising, as it therefore is not an education issue, and is more a cultural thing, with people who try to keep up with the Joneses more likely to lie than those who have simple tastes and simple requirements.

I hope that we will be able to change this lying culture, but that can only be done through a project at schools for grade one and two to discourage them from lying.

This will then, along with practical aspects of saving the environment are all areas where youth can be taught a whole lot of things. In this blog, I will go on about adding to the list of primary teaching requirements so lying or telling the truth is top of the list, saving the environment, and preventing pollution is also top of the list, and along with the respect for the elders, that is also lost on youth. These are all timely requirements which can make a huge difference to the future of youth, in them being able to find employment and hold down jobs, both of which they find hard to do today.

I hope young people can look inward and stop lying to save their skin!