As said by the renowned Greek philosopher and historian, Socrates, education is about drawing out what is already within the learner. “I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think”. The Latin word, ” e-ducere”, meaning “to lead out” is really the case whereby one is aided to develop the mental faculty and to come out with something tangible as answers to pertaining problems.
Also, functions of education is revealing, where one passes knowledge or skills from one to another such as generations and cultures. Education undoubtedly, is a necessity in the life of everybody to acquire, owing to the power that leads every individual into those enclaves of light.
Therefore, in every endeavors of human life, the enhanced or trained mind is better placed to comprehend issues more and to come out with solutions to all bottlenecks of life. Paradoxically, our forefathers who hadn’t seen the kind of formal education we contemporarily have, were able to stay together for years. What really happened?
The trained and enhanced mind is an added advantage to all humankind because, substantially, today’s contemporary world is being driven by information technology whereby everything is encoded in some sought. The normal cliché, “global village” was coined after our forefathers who lived in a primitive and isolated villages where everything and everybody is known to each other by the stroke of their mental conditioning.
In such environment (rather perceived by modernity), and seen as disadvantaged, they knew when, where, who, and why to marry and the formalities that leads to it, “with civility” and their spouses lived up to expectations, even in their perceived “stone ages”. Today, every awareness is substantially accessed by reading and observations by our mental faculties. In so doing, the learned mind is arguably far ahead of his/her uneducated mind based upon the person’s delivery.
In marriage for that matter, educational background can largely be measured by the composition of the minds of the respective spouses. If one is ahead of the other in education, what could be the incentive behind one match against the other?
Is it truly a love brewed by Eros, phileo, or agape?
The Positives:
When both spouses are well educated, it is sometimes beautiful because of the level of awareness and deeper touch to issues of human and social concerns. One might be a degree holder, whilst the other a second cycle graduate or an entrepreneurial person with minimal command of literacy.
Love for each other (especially from the educated to the minor), could positively neutralize the disadvantaged one without being noticed. Love blinds, and absolutely, love can blind the thought of anybody who is well attended to in terms of matrimonial expectations which educational background no longer matters.
The higher level of awareness puts them in a limelight to grasp issues understandably to the benefit of their nuclear family, their extended family, and society at large. Nothing goes around them, either positively or negatively without being noticed.
In marriage, the main bone of contention is the social status of either spouses (the church, workplace, and social gatherings) which necessitated mingling with prominent people of higher class and the opportunity to interact with them. In such scenarios, it is a spectacle to watch.
Things to do with the education of children, investment, and confidentiality between spouses, acquisition of properties and so on. The positives in relation to learned spouses outweighs that of the uneducated spouses or one educated against the semi-educated, simply because issues to do with independence becomes compromised as a result of low self-esteem.
Mothers, or wives who are well informed are extremely well placed with spousal legalities which largely encompasses everyone around them. Additionally, when mothers are well educated, subject to the level of their spouse, the rights of choices are well fought for in accordance with rule of law.
The Negatives:
One may argue, based upon the experiences one might have gone through, to support the motion that the educated wive is beneficial to the home or vice versa. The negatives that emanate from the uneducated spouse (especially wives) always puts them in a vulnerable situation because, their mental preoccupation is largely dwelled on superstition and presumption.
When a mother is uneducated, issues with primary health cares are shunned owing to presumptions from opposing thoughts. Culturally, parents from either side (or the partner with higher academic background) who are obsessed with conservative attitude, would do whatever they can to reject the less educated probable in-law of their ward.
In other words, if the parental barriers are cleared, it then behoove on the spouses themselves to strategize for one to cushion the other through a timetable for upgrading. Interestingly, the lower level of education of one partner against the maturity of the two, can be worthy of emulation when beautifully contained.
Educational background can only breed negative tendency when one (especially the informed) tend to inflate his/her ego with superiority in mind. Similarly, the other partner who is disadvantaged can beautifully integrate if he or she is ready to submit and to learn. Hell can sometimes break lose when a spouse decides not to be truthful, dishonesty and unfaithfulness.
Spouses are easily swayed by hearsays. Unsubstantiated claims and allegations are easily believed and acted upon leading to unfortunate catastrophic end of relationships. Adversely, disadvantaged spouses always harbors misconception against their partners of infidelity when there’s none.
Educational background of probable spouses before marriage should be well thought out because marriage doesn’t only involved the main protagonist, the presence of the extended family is vital.
The preference of the spouses is paramount when adequate consensus are built in relation to their educational background.
By Sammy Ladzekpo
