“what you make of yourself is what you will become”

ALPHA-BETA EDUCATION CENTRE, DANSOMAN, ACCRA, GHANA
SPEECH AND PRIZE-GIVING DAY, SATURDAY JULY 5, 2008
GUEST SPEAKER’S ADDRESS BY ERIC N. YANKAH

“The Art of Perseverance”
“what you make of yourself is what you will become”

Distinguished Guests, The Managing Director, Madam Principal of this great School, Staff and Students, Dear Parents and Friends of Alpha-Beta, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

Several years ago, I got into the company of a group of individuals at a meeting aimed at fostering the development of information and communications technology into schools in Ghana. From that initial meeting, a friendship was nurtured with Sammy and Florence Adjepong because there was a convergence of interests, tenacity of purpose. It did not take long when I was invited to visit Alpha Beta Education Centre which was a small place on the other side of Dansoman. On a regular basis, I would learn about this small development or the other until one day Sammy invited me to visit his new site and that is when I concluded that perseverance with a purpose, dedication and self-control was one sure way of achieving the impossible.

I am moved today and feel really honoured that on this occasion, my friends, the Adjepongs, have invited me to be a part of the story of Alpha-Beta as this year’s Guest Speaker. Thank you Sammy & Florence.

Distinguished Ladies & Gentlemen, just like you, many of the children here did not have a choice as to what school they should attend, that choice would have been made by the parents based on many factors – recommendations from friends, proximity to your houses, the only school that had vacancies – whatever the reason, the future of these children has been interwoven into that of this school. Alpha-Beta in turn has also become a part of your own efforts at providing a future for these children. Many years into the future, when they grow up and look back in time, my expectation is that the only thing that the children will do is to say thank you for the solid but humble beginnings that you gave them.

It is therefore appropriate that this morning, I share some thoughts and perspectives on life in the fast lane with you on the theme “what you make of yourself is what you will become” – This is the essence of positive perseverance.

To you the students of Alpha-Beta, this school has developed and earned the reputation and pedigree that is the envy of many in Ghana as a citadel of learning, extra-curricular activities, moral education and good upbringing in an environment of cultural diversity that is devoid of social class. Whilst in school, you will note that your class or school mate is from this or that part of the country, comes from some good or not so good family somewhere, always comes to school in a different private car or with public transport. Whilst in school you would envy some of these classmate(s) for having all the pleasures of life whilst you curse your parents for not caring enough about you!!…but by the same token, long after passing through Alpha-Beta you will find that the classmate who was the subject of your envy now envies you for your own achievements.

My dear students of AlphaBeta, education is not about chewing and pouring. It is not about having the most books and private teachers at home, or your own computer in your bedroom, bandanas on your head when you go off to town, it is not about being the richest boy or girl in your class, it is not about having the most wicked nickname. It is certainly not about the number of cars your parents have or the posh breakfast you eat in the morning. Education is all about preparing yourself for life in the real world. It is about building positive confidence that would be useful in the service of the community. It is about being able to participate in school activities and being recognised for your deeds. It is about getting an all-round upbringing, complete with character moulding. Some of you deliberately create problems for your friends, teachers and of course the school at large because you are serial non-conforming students. Being at Alpha-Beta does not mean that you should leave the Education and learning in the hands of the Almighty God. You must be a part of the process by studying very hard and then with the guidance of the Lord our God, you will pass through with flying colours.

Students of Alpha-Beta, you have a promising life ahead of you. For those of you who pay more attention to only what your friends tell you, let me also venture to add that there is no guarantee that you will succeed when you finally have to be left alone to manage your life if you do not listen to the advice of your parents and your teachers. You have a choice of being of service to our community or be a complete nuisance and disregarded person by your actions. A bad character formed today can influence your character and actions tomorrow. If you steal pens and pencils in the classroom, your classmates will mark you down as a thief and many years later, when you are as old as us, your mates will remember you as the thief of Alpha-Beta. It is difficult to lose a bad name. It follows you everywhere you go. If you like, ask your parents, if I am lying!

My dear Students, some of you are graduating today from this great school. you came here on your own application to learn and to share in a great educational experience. You will each leave this school as an individual with a personalised certificate with only your name on it. As I have found with my own classmates, from the day you leave the compound of Alpha-Beta, you may never see again some of your closest school friends. You will truly part company. What it tells us is that they have gone on to live a life of their own far removed from yours. If you don’t succeed in life, who would you blame? Your ticket to life is not just having Alpha-Beta or your parents’ fortunes tied to your name. Your destiny in life must be thought of as yours and yours alone. If you choose to waste it with indiscipline, indecision, laziness, you will become what you have made of yourself.

The good news however is that - I would like to assure you – you can help to shape your future by your deeds today. You can be somebody in future, you can be a leader, you can be one step ahead, you can be different, you can stand out in a crowd provided and only provided that you do the right things at the right time. You can be of service to the community. Which side of the fence do you wish to hang on? Is it on the path that would make you become what you ought to be or do you just want to become what reflects your character and life in the school?

Let me repeat here that success in life can largely be driven by determination, discipline and love for community service in school and during your youthful days. By the grace of God, I am more than sure that with the grounding you have received here at Alpha-Beta, your path has been cleared.. it is left to you to walk the rest of the journey with a positive attitude and determination. Your perseverance would surely pay off.

Well, don’t let me take it all on the students today. You, my fellow parents and guardians, are actually either part of the problem or the solution as much as you are also a potentially great influence on the positive development of the students in this school. My one question for this morning for you to ponder on is “What therefore is the contribution of parents and guardians to facilitate the fulfilment of the dreams of their wards? My fellow Parents, I know one thing for sure that many of you are making great efforts to educate your children and wards here in this School. But how close are you to the progress not only of their academic pursuits but of their life as students?

Occasionally in the media and also when we meet school authorities, we hear sordid stories of indiscipline among students in our schools today. Not being in the frontline of school administration, I am naturally not only shocked at the extent to which boys and girls will go to get the attention of their school authorities but also about the very significant contributory role played by parents in the emerging indiscipline among students today. Well the problem is that some of our wards are not living up to standard and our actions and attitudes are being used by our own children as the mirrors of destruction rather than as windows of opportunity.

Fellow Parents and Guardians, we have to ensure that we strive continually to improve our Parental Responsibility towards the life of our wards who happen to be the students in this school. To a large extent, the disappointing and lacklustre attitude of some of our parents is reflective of the general indiscipline we find in the Ghanaian Schools today. The lack of respect, immorality, indifferent attention to schoolwork and social responsibilities among our students is only a tape recording playback of the corruption, work place and social indiscipline that we find in Ghanaian Society today. I am sure that some parents have even forgotten that parent meetings called by the school authorities are an essential part of the joint effort to educate our children in Alpha-Beta. My experience with my own children’s school had been that not only do the parents and guardians not attend, but they also subsequently frown upon the decision taken at the meetings. If parents don’t care.. who loses? our own children!! Is that what we want?

At the beginning of every academic year, parents knock on doors of schools looking for admission. In our eagerness to get in, we promptly pay all the fees with surplus to spare. Naturally the accountants and headmasters become very happy. Immediately we get in however, we manage to find all sorts of excuses not to pay our fees and this hide-and-seek continues throughout the child’s stay in the school. My fellow parents, have you asked how the school manages to survive if you don’t pay the fees of your ward? Naturally, the school would not see much development or expansion because it is clear that it lives on credit and credit is expensive. Parents would be the first to cry foul if interest is slapped on outstanding fees. Let us therefore be alive to this very important aspect of our children’s education.

Mr Chairman, I believe for us parents, the message is clear… we can make our children what they will become, if we provide quality leadership in the exercise of our parental responsibility not only towards the lives of our children here in AlphaBeta but also play a fundamental role in the upbringing in collaboration with the School. It is very imperative that we push ourselves to an attitude regime that makes us, as parents, more proactively responsive to societal challenges of educating a responsible crop of young men and women to take over our places in the future in an environment of achievement, discipline and self-development.

As members of the PTA of this school, you the parents and guardians are awash in skills and this is portrayed given the rather wide diversity of professional backgrounds you come from, I can only call on you to begin to or continue to support the school by channelling your experiences and rich backgrounds to helping this school rise to even greater heights today.

Dear Parents and Guardians of Alpha-Beta, I am only calling on you to join the school in preparing these fine young men and women to meet the challenges of the future. Our support has to be continuous and effectively targeted to meet AlphaBeta’s critical mission of providing sound education based on solid Christian values. I am not sure the teachers alone can do it.

Mr Chairman, at this stage, let me also have a few words for our teaching staff and administration of the school. There is no doubt in my mind that many of us gathered here today do recognise that we have in this school a fine crop of teachers and support staff that any school can boast of in this country. Their input is more than critical in producing the finest bunch of young people to serve mother Ghana.

Distinguished Ladies & Gentlemen, a teacher is best remembered for the many things that the teacher puts in to make a difference in the life of a student. This school’s greatness was not built on indifferent or sub-standard teaching but on a combination of several factors. The school’s academic performance although very good could still be better. We consequently ask what is being done to raise or maintain the level of academic excellence the school has enjoyed over the years?

Education is the key to a nation’s development. Proper language, proper sense of dressing, firm and resolute attention to disciplinary issues, involvement in extra-curricula activities, commitment to teaching are the traits that we expect to see in our teachers. Teachers, may I call on you to also work hard with your Administration towards introducing more innovative programmes that would generate a new interest in learning among the students of AlphaBeta. The Commitment and Challenges of the times require us to grow a new breed of student.

To the Teachers and parents, there is more to indiscipline than just being a bad boy. We need to distinguish between school pranks and acts of gross indiscipline. Ladies and Gentlemen, we must find ways of making learning easy and interesting; find ways to get our children to be more productive, to read more to improve not only their comprehension, but also their analytical capabilities. If we engage them, they find little excuse to go wayward.

Parents of this school, Teachers and Staff of Alpha-Beta, our new attitude and renewed sense of commitment would more than bring this school to higher levels of excellence in educational achievement..

Once again, my challenge to the students of AlphaBeta is that – no matter your station in life – poor or rich, royal or commoner etc – you become what you set out to be… if you choose to run the path of indiscipline … it may catch up with you in many ways.

Finally, to the graduating classes, let me repeat that what you make of yourself is what you will become. Life is the school that we all pass through that unfortunately we never have a chance to repeat a class. Why waste your opportunity?

It is truly possible to Persevere to Excellence as the motto of Alpha Beta states.

Once again, Mr Chairman, Let me thank the management and staff of AlphaBeta for the honour done me in inviting me to be the Guest Speaker at this Speech & Prize-Giving Ceremony.

Long Live Alpha-Beta, Long Live Ghana, and may the Good Lord Bless us all.

Eric N. Yankah
Saturday, July 05, 2008

Footnote: The Alpha Beta Education Centre comprising a nursery, basic school, junior high school as well as a secondary school offering courses up to Sixth Form Advanced Level is located in Dansoman, Accra, Ghana. More information can be found at http://www.alphabeta.edu.gh/