There is a stereotypical picture of education in Africa, that of youngsters sitting under a tree. It is, of course, a picture totally out of date and out of place, though it could easily and rightfully be pointed out that education can still happen under a tree; learning does not have to be confined to a classroom, rows of desks and technological equipment, as studies have shown. Let us note, however, that while education should ideally not be undertaken under a tree, there is a great deal that can be learned of trees, first of all.
Africa is certainly blessed with some amazing, contrasting, beautiful trees; there are so many different types. From the confused, confuddled, upside-down baobab trees, to the stunning, powerful acacia flat tops, from the colourful jacarandas and flamboyants to the spectacular msasa trees, there is great variety. There are large and small, smooth and spiky, indigenous and exotic, neat and random, bushy and round. Some thrive in hot conditions, others in wet and even windy. Some grow quickly, others slowly.
In a similar way, trees offer so many different functions. Some provide shelter from both the sun and the rain; indeed, some in Africa are bus shelters and even prisons! Trees can be home for animals and birds. Some provide wonderful colour to the countryside others provide fruit. Trees are used to build fires and furniture; they are the base for paper and carvings. They provide oxygen for our needy world and a third dimension to the landscape.
More significantly, and in a similar way that there is a great deal that can be learned of trees, there is also an enormous amount that can be learned from trees about education. Education can benefit and learn hugely from trees. Our children are like trees, each one being so different from others — indeed, sometimes we might think some children are like the upside-down baobab tree or the thorny fever tree! Similarly, as trees have different purposes, so do children, with some bringing comfort and protection to others, and others energising and empowering people.
As trees need to put down roots to provide stability and strength, so education must do the same for our children so they can take their fruitful place in society; these have been defined as the roots of responsibility. They must be earthed in deep values. Some children develop quickly, others more slowly, so we must educate accordingly. We need to realise that it takes years for children to develop but all that growth can be chopped down in minutes by a word or look.
We also do well to remember, when it comes to our children’s education, that we too often “look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye” — a woody problem There is a similar danger when we consider how a small spark can ignite a whole forest of trees; it does not take much in education to spark a destructive element that will spread through the community, all the more so with the advent of social media.
There is an old saying too that people cannot see the wood from the trees; that is extremely true of education. We are so caught up in the finer, smaller, less important details of curriculum and examinations that we fail to see the bigger picture of what education is really about — helping the child to grow with real purpose and significance. Albert Einstein famously summarised the daft way we consider education when he said that “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Education is not the same for everyone. Again, variety is welcome and valued and necessary.
We do well to remember what Warren Buffet is attributed as saying: “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago”. Our children are relying on us to plant and nurture a tree, not simply of knowledge of good and evil but also of life, for the future well-being of our children. We need to plant trees, of that we are constantly being told, to provide much-needed energy and life to the environment. We need therefore to ensure the educational trees that we are planting are equally helpful and life-giving. Would that not just be tree-mendous!
Tim Middleton is the executive director of the Association of Trust Schools [ATS]. The views expressed in this article, however, are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of the ATS.
Email: tim@atszim.org website: atszim.org