Informal Education has continually shifted base from home to school, as we are about to read in the following story:
In the small town of Awaye, education was once deeply rooted in the home. Embracing informal education, parents were the first and primary teachers, passing down skills, values, and traditions through daily interactions. Mothers taught cooking, weaving, and storytelling, while fathers imparted knowledge about farming, carpentry, and ethics. Children learned by observation, imitation, and hands-on practice, making informal education an integral part of life.
Among the families in Awaye was the Balogun household. Mr. Balogun, a skilled blacksmith, often had his son, Seyi, by his side in the workshop. Seyi learned the art of forging tools, understanding the balance between heat and precision. His mother, a skilled storyteller, narrated folktales every evening, embedding moral lessons in Seyi’s heart. What a family that embraced informal education so dearly.
However, as Awaye modernised, schools began to take centre stage. Education became institutionalised, with formal curricula and structured classrooms. Parents, eager for their children to succeed in the changing world, began prioritising formal learning over informal education.
One by one, families like the Baloguns sent their children to school, leaving little time for hands-on learning at home. Seyi excelled in academics, learning math and science in ways his father never could have taught him. However, something was missing. Seyi noticed he struggled with practical tasks, like repairing household items, and realised he had not learned as much from his father’s workshop as he once did.
Parents, overwhelmed by work and societal shifts, started outsourcing traditional teaching roles to schools. Teachers, recognising this change, began incorporating life skills into their lessons. In Seyi’s school, a teacher introduced a ‘practical learning week,’ where students tried cooking, crafting, and gardening.
It was an attempt to bridge the gap between home-taught skills and formal education. At first, it was like it was not going to work because it was becoming too burdensome to schools. Teachers thought that parents were meant to do the work and parents looked at the direction of the school. It was like a blame game was about to start, due to some lapses that were showing. Then, something helpful came into practice.
Parents collaborated with schools, offering their expertise for workshops. Mr. Balogun was invited to teach blacksmithing basics to students, blending traditional knowledge with formal instruction. Other parents followed suit, sharing their skills in sewing, storytelling, and farming.
Seyi’s generation became a blend of the old and new, carrying forward both formal education and the informal lessons passed down by their parents. Though the method of delivery changed, the essence of informal education—its adaptability, creativity, and practicality—found its way back into the learning process.
In the end, the community of Awaye discovered that while schools played a critical role in academic education, the richness of life skills from parents was irreplaceable. Together, they created a balanced system where both forms of education thrived. Then, Awaye started assuming a global standard, attracting investors all over the world.
