09/01/2019
Born in BHS; schooled in Lenasia; studied at Univ. of
Natal and Wits; first MD to serve in Kwaggafontein,
migrated to Canada and been there for 28 years.
I am about to present a motivation speech to
encourage YOUR primary purpose here – Your
education.
I do have some valuable information to share with
you.
This speech is for the children struggling with what
life has given them;
for the ambitious students who dreams to be the
future leaders of Africa,
and the student who wants to make a real
difference for himself, his family, his community, and
his country.
Firstly I will focus on Intelligence; the different types
of intelligence (each of us has 2 to 3 unique types of
intelligence – that is why we are so different in the
way we learn), then on what makes a great student,
and finally focus on the importance of your
education for your country, your family and your
community.
Intelligence is defined as the capacity to learn,
reason and understand.
There are several types of unique intelligence –
Most of us have 2 to 3 types of unique intelligence.
Which type of learner are you?
1st) The Visual (Spatial) learner (called picture
smart) – vivid imagination, loves art, thinks in
pictures – need to see things to understand them –
love charts, diagrams, films –very common type
2nd) Kinaesthetic learners ((called body smart) –
the ‘doers and makers’, are physically active, need
to be active to learn – create models, build projects
– may find classrooms confining
3rd) Musical learner (songs and rhythm smart) –
sings, are musicians, like mnemonics, listen to
instruments while studying and sings or play an
instrument in breaks.
4th) Interpersonal learners (social smart) – -
learn by talking and interacting with others – love to
talk in class, love debates and discussions- are
natural leaders and tutors
5th) Personal learner (solitary smart) –reflective,
quiet, introverted – study alone –prefer one on one
– prefer a quiet place at home to study
6th) Mathematic learners (logic smart) – are the
math whizzes, the organizing gurus, the pattern
finders and planners- sometimes have trouble with
creativity and social activities – like traditional
classrooms
7th) Linguistic / Verbal learners (word smart) –
are bookworms, are brilliant writers and speakers,
do well alone and sometimes in groups – also like
traditional classrooms like math learners
So what makes a great student?
One who understands their types of unique
intelligence , and their strengths and weaknesses –
and takes advantage of the strengths and works to
improve on the weaknesses
One who sets goals that guide how to spend time
and energy – goals are specific eg not ‘must
improve in class’ but ‘must get 100%’Lead
balanced lives – knows importance of success in
school, friendship, family, community, country,
hobbies and extracurricular activities
Have curios minds – Chinese call ‘beginners minds’
– pretend to be learners
Now I will focus on the importance of your
education.
Have you ever thought why the wealthiest and most
advanced countries in the world have the best of
everything?
The best health care, the best education and justice
systems for all its citizens;
the most peaceful and safe living environments
freedom of speech and movement,
and the most advanced and creative inventions.
These countries include Canada, Germany, USA, UK,
and Japan.
Have you ever thought why Africa is so poor; has so
much violence; has such corrupt leaders that are so
profoundly abusive to its own people?
Why does Africa have to depend on the developed
countries for its survival when it has more natural
resources than any other continent?
Have you ever thought why your uncle or father is a
gardener or a manual labourer, or why your mother is
a housemaid, a laundry maid or a street hawker, or a
beggar?
There is only one reason for all of these scenarios,
and it is the lack of EDUCATION
Most of Africa is uneducated – so any group with a
little knowledge abuses and threaten those with a
lessor education, or the ignorant – and force them to
live in fear, to live in poverty and in a confused state
of anger, which they project onto their family and
community!
Tragic, but this is true. This is the reality of the
oppressors and the oppressed.
In Canada every person is equal:
male or female; black, brown or white; gay or stray;
any religion, any age, any disability, any background
– all are one
one big family who care for each other; who support
each other in health and wealth; who are proud of
each other; who care of each other’s families and
communities; and care and aid the needy people all
over this world when tragedy falls on them.
This is not a dream – it is a fact – I live this dream
in Canada
And it can be the same for us all here in South Africa
Only with Education can you achieve it – and you
have it right here in this school with the support of
your educators.
So what is your obligation?
I quote a very famous and influential grandson of
Africa He is changing the world with his education.
He is Barack Hussain Obama, the President of the
United States of America. He said when he spoke to
some students at a New York school he visited.
“… at the end of the day, we can have the most
dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents,
and the best schools in the world – and none of it
will matter unless all of you fulfill your
responsibilities.
Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention
to those teachers; listen to your parents,
grandparents and elders; and put in the hard work it
takes to succeed.
And that’s what I want you to focus on today: the
responsibility each of you has for your education. I
want you to start with the responsibility you have to
yourself.”
That’s the opportunity an education can provide.
Apartheid has ended, racism has ended, and
Imperialism has ended.
But you have a greater enemy, a greater weakness,
the strongest weapon of the oppressor. It is the
enemy of peace and love, of hope and progress, and
communal and national unity.
That enemy is your ignorance, yes YOUR ignorance!
Your lack of Education.
The same enemy controls you mind through the use
of alcohol and drugs.
When you return to your classes, think of these
points:
Why is Africa in trouble? How can you change it for
your family, your coming children, and country
Education starts by changing one person’s life, and
ends up changing the world.
The only real failure in life is the failure to try. Never
give up trying to fulfil your dreams and ideas.
In the end everyone who tries will succeed, and if
you haven’t succeeded, then you have not reached
the end.
Remember; be proud of who you are and what you
have already achieved so far.
Keep moving ahead and set your goals high. Believe
in yourself.
