Clash of Cultures

Spent last weekend with a friend who is also mom to quite an assertive 5-year-old, he questions every move you make especially those he considers inappropriate. As I grew up in an environment where a child should only be “seen and not heard” I subconsciously become irritated and tell him not to bother me but each time it happened my friend would quietly lecture me on “how my answers matter to him” and “how I’m no more in Nigeria”.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand children have curious minds and we as parents/family/friends/teachers need to feed their curiosity however my reaction stems from my childhood environment. I grew up in a Yoruba household (1/3 of the largest tribes in Nigeria) where I learnt to respect all elders i.e. anyone older than you are, they are either “Aunty” to “Uncle”, you greet with both knees on the ground, never interrupt while adults speak and you even apologize to your parents after you are punished. This was my reality growing up though didn’t bother me much except once in a while when I watch a teenage movie or cable TV to get a glimpse into the lives of children in the Western world.

This mentality seeps right into the education system where teachers are supreme especially as most secondary schools have boarding facilities. Oh God help you if you are the rude type; you would get a cocktail of punishment ranging from getting flogged to cutting “stubborn” grass to washing toilets or a combination haha. You can also it in the workplace where they operate on a “no first name basis” and bosses are addressed “Ma/Sir”. To be honest, I can’t tell if this works well or not as I do not have statistics but I guess whatever system used in different cultures there are pros and cons plus it makes for a good laugh when seated with other Nigerians who’s gone through similar experiences.

A recent program on BBC, Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School is about an experiment in a British school to determine whether the Chinese education system is really the best. It follows a set of secondary school teachers from China who take 50 teenagers in different subjects. My husband and I look forward to each episode mainly to compare notes because it reveals alot of similarities between Nigerian and Chinese upbringing – how education is ultimate, parents check your notebooks when you come home from boarding school, teachers teach from the front of the class and you have to write paragraphs of notes as the teacher recites it out as fast as you can, you also get random tests at the end of a class just because (I’m grinning while typing this). Though no Chinese punishment styles have been revealed yet on the show but all the teachers think their British students are very rude and have can afford not to take education serious due to the social welfare system in Britain. Definitely a must-watch for readers based in the UK.

Brings me back to the start of this post, these students are just a product of their environment – not that I claim all British/Irish kids are rude (they definitely do not see it that way) because from the start of their lives they are taught to be assertive, discerning and questioning individuals.

Now at 32 months, my tot has reached the ‘why and what’ stage and very interactive which I am loving! And like my friend is with her son, always willing to answer every question 😀