In my family, education has always been priority number one. My parents decided that the one thing we need to accomplish is to finish school. Not only that but finish school with excellent results. If you get good grades in school, you can get further higher education and eventually have better career prospects.
Parents always want the best for their children because they want to give them more than they had. Specifically, growing up in an African country most families have a disadvantaged past. If you consider mostly black families some parents never had the chance to complete high school or go to university/college due to circumstances. It is only natural that the dream would be for their children to get a better education and opportunities.
With all these dreams come sacrifices that must be made. The cost of education is significantly different between public and private schools. Many parents want to send their children to a private school because the belief is that the level of education is better. Not only that, in a private school the children may be exposed to more activities, diversity, and attention. What I mean is that at a private school the child may have more options in the types of sports or extracurricular activities because of the costs. However, with the additional advantages of being in a specific school comes the additional financial cost for the parent. Did I mention that there is also the cost of uniforms and study material?
Whether you send your child to a public or private school, one thing is guaranteed, the parents must have money and time. For most, they may have to work longer hours at work to afford to pay for their child's education. Besides money, the child will also need the support of the parent in the form of time. Time assisting with homework, time preparing food so the child can eat, time transporting the child to school if it is far. If the child can go to university the costs are greater because there is accommodation, allowance, the type of course, the study material, food, and others.
My parents decided that we would go to private schools which we did from pre-school. As an adult, I now realise the burden they had. Every year there must be new study material bought, a school bag, and pocket money for each day. There were also additional costs for trips if you wanted to take part in additional school activities, transport to take us to and from school and a lot more. I do not know how they did it, but my siblings and I finished school. The next time you see your parent, thank them for their sacrifices, it could not have been easy. While you think you are the only one under pressure because you write the tests, your parents are hoping they are giving you a chance for a better future.
