As I approached my last exams at the tertiary level, I became more concerned about why I had to go through the four years in the first place. And it was during this time when I heard my course mates talk of finishing the 8-4-4 syllabus, others thinking about their marriage proposals and the few who have entrepreneurial spirits in them talk about starting a new business. It really was the end of our undergraduate life in Kenyatta University.
But I still couldn't give a precise answer to what I think graduation is. So I decided to ask my fellow comrades on the matter. The answers I received varied significantly- some were spiritual, others intellectual, philosophical, chemical and of course, others full of sense of humour. " It means that the University too is a witness to the fact that we are officially unmarried, that is why they give us the Bachelors Degree," One of the proponents of immediate marriage after graduation replied. Others said that it means we have gained enough knowledge and skills in our areas of expertise (though there was nothing like enough knowledge or any area of specialization in our course). There are few who took time to answer me. And their final answer, as you have guessed right, was that they didn't know.
They made me accept that I didn't know too. That we were so engrained in the system; the short semesters, the cramming, the googling and all until these practices were all that mattered. We didn't experience the learning processes; we went through them.
So I decided to find out what it means- or at least give meaning to graduation. I first defamiliarised with the term, and then distilled what it isn't, fractionally distilled what it seems to be and the product was a simple redefinition. Graduation, in essence, is a way of life.
Our life is made up of discrete stages, and for us to grow and develop, we graduate. We graduate from one stage to another; from a foetus to a child, child to an adult; from a son to a father, and so on. From this personal view I came to understand that we do not need to qualify for the next stage of life for us to graduate. It is just a matter of time; when we reach a certain age, we jump into the next stage. It doesn't matter whether we have performed well or matured to deserve the next title.
therefore, some of us will graduate with honours, others with passes. Some of us will marry when fully equipped, others will only marry because its time to. Some of us graduate into adulthood, and others become grown up babies.
What do you think graduation is?
But I still couldn't give a precise answer to what I think graduation is. So I decided to ask my fellow comrades on the matter. The answers I received varied significantly- some were spiritual, others intellectual, philosophical, chemical and of course, others full of sense of humour. " It means that the University too is a witness to the fact that we are officially unmarried, that is why they give us the Bachelors Degree," One of the proponents of immediate marriage after graduation replied. Others said that it means we have gained enough knowledge and skills in our areas of expertise (though there was nothing like enough knowledge or any area of specialization in our course). There are few who took time to answer me. And their final answer, as you have guessed right, was that they didn't know.
They made me accept that I didn't know too. That we were so engrained in the system; the short semesters, the cramming, the googling and all until these practices were all that mattered. We didn't experience the learning processes; we went through them.
So I decided to find out what it means- or at least give meaning to graduation. I first defamiliarised with the term, and then distilled what it isn't, fractionally distilled what it seems to be and the product was a simple redefinition. Graduation, in essence, is a way of life.
Our life is made up of discrete stages, and for us to grow and develop, we graduate. We graduate from one stage to another; from a foetus to a child, child to an adult; from a son to a father, and so on. From this personal view I came to understand that we do not need to qualify for the next stage of life for us to graduate. It is just a matter of time; when we reach a certain age, we jump into the next stage. It doesn't matter whether we have performed well or matured to deserve the next title.
therefore, some of us will graduate with honours, others with passes. Some of us will marry when fully equipped, others will only marry because its time to. Some of us graduate into adulthood, and others become grown up babies.
What do you think graduation is?
loved this post..
ReplyDeleteI think graduation is an evolution process that we pass through every time when we come out on the other side of life's hurdles..
Joy Beryl Odondi
Thanks.
DeleteThat is how I like to look at it. It makes graduation worthy of our time and devotion
I was one of the "I don't know" respondents until I read your article. However, graduation is a conferment of certificates upon completion of the studies at diploma, certificate, degree or post graduate level of academics. Rather than performance ranking as is the case for KCPE and KCSE which are based on achievement of a certain mark or grade before upgrading to higher level, graduation purely marks the completion of a course hence incomplete, unfulfilled, referrals/re-takes , missing marks and fail in a stated number of course units disqualifies one from graduating. My nephew will graduate from pre-unit upon completion of the required study units therein. This, too, is graduation.
ReplyDeletewe are given certificates at each level of education; KCPE for primary and KCSE for secondary education. We are also in a way graded during graduation, as there are honours and non-honours in all the ranked classes. That's why I distilled this part from my definition of graduation, because even though it is part of it (as you have correctly pointed out), it is not its essence.
DeleteAgree to that, so, should we conclude that certification and graduation are independent process!
DeleteNot necessarily independent. Certification is specific, graduation is general.
DeleteGreat topic and great blog. Great work, Ali.
ReplyDelete