Sometimes, the best way to internalise a concept is not just by defining it but by using pictorial analogy. This will give it depth and better outcomes.
My primary four teacher did this, and it stuck. It was a social studies teacher, and she wasn’t looking like a regular teacher. She had a mien and a personable look. It was her second class with us, and she came in and held a pack of parmalat drinks. She held it high and told us to aim at it. We filed out, and each of us took turns.
We all tried until the crowd thinned out, and only three students continued jumping. I thought it was crazy. She was over five feet tall.
Just when I was resenting her in my thoughts, I had the whole class screaming. One of us got it! And he wasn’t even the tallest among us. Our teacher beamed with smiles and wrote on the chalkboard the topic of the day ‘PERSEVERANCE’.
And she asked us what we thought it meant. We all had an inkling, as we had seen it in action. It goes without saying, as it is often said. Perseverance takes numerous efforts, actions, and intentionality. Perseverance is not just having what you want, it is not doubting, stopping or quitting before you get it.
Life is tough, and it is certainly full of twists and bends. Yet, we all need to persevere.
Every student writing an examination complains about the rigour of studying. Apprentices moan about the ordeal of apprenticeship. Parents are saddled with the responsibility of caring for their children. I have heard even children complain of meltdowns. It may sound awful, but it is no ruse.
As a young child, I heard my parents talk about austerity and the austere measures put in place to mitigate it. In the late 80’s in my country, people tried out a lot of options. Ofada rice was chosen over imported rice. Cassava bread was introduced when the cost of flour hit the roof. People started packaging pure water when bottle water became the exclusive preserve of the affluent. People started migrating from the cosmopolitan areas to areas less dense, with cheap house rents.
Perseverance is not cast in stone. It is inherent in humans. All that is needed is to keep improving against all odds.
The tiny virgina births a newborn. The small uterus stretches to accommodate a baby. Perseverance is a virtue we all need to survive, especially in the contemporary world.
Keep stretching! Students who persevere become graduates. Trainees who endure learning become trainers. Servants who forbear become masters. Providence has rewards only for those who persevered. Remember, life thins out people who get rewarded. If you desire gold, be ready to withstand the furnace.
The moral here is simple, before you think you cannot, think about what if you could? Go again and again, a thousand no does not negate a yes!
Ebunoluwa Ibibo
@ Golden muse.
