We have hidden our heads in the sand for far too long

Suddenly, the entire neighborhood is quiet. Quiet in a nice and refreshing way. In this quietness, the surroundings announce to everyone who cares to note that the children are back to school. It was a short holiday, enough for them to catch a breath of fresh air, empty the food cupboards at home before heading back into the final term of the year.

I have often thought to myself that our children by default rule the world. Or to put it more clearly, the education system runs the economy and the country at large.

Two Sundays ago I was doing my weekly shopping at one of the supermarkets. Quickly I realised that the place was busy with a sudden surge of customers. It was not as quiet and pleasant as always.  The queues were long and winding!

Oh! The children were beginning to return to school and parents were busy shopping. Every time that school is about to resume, everything nearly comes to a standstill. The traffic almost always hits the roof as many shop keepers smile all the way to the bank. The amount of spending in the season is enough to cause a shift in the inflation! 
Recently, I was remembering some of the things we studied in history, European history like it was called. 

Aside from the accumulation of the stories about the French , what else did I pick as value from two years of enduring this subject and writing long essays to the same? 
I have continued to ponder whether our education system,  which is such a force in everything we do, is as relevant as it should. I know I am shaking tables with very expensive drinks but is the value reciprocate of what it’s taking from us?

Our children start school some as early as two years of age and they stay in school until their late teens or early 20s.  We are looking at over two decades of going round and round a circle of spending, spending and more spending. The sad reality is that for many, they finish school, only to become even more dependent on the very folk who has been spending money for their education. 

This seems like a maddening cycle. Something is deeply wrong and I hope a good number of parents notice what I’m labouring to say. What kind of adults is our expensive education system designed to churn out? Doesn’t it matter?
It feels like as a people, we have hidden our heads in the sand for far too long. We act like everything is going right and pretend not to notice that something is fundamentally wrong. 

At all levels, the system is releasing graduands who appear to be as clueless about the future as our ancestors were. We go through the motions, afraid to question why, what or how? We study the same subjects, same format and same style that hasn’t delivered it’s promises of development years later!