Guess Who is Debating The Issues?

I had every intention of further editing what should've been today's blog entry and then posting it but my little brother Ato, who some readers will remember from the bacon incident that I mentioned in a different blog entry titled A Ghanaian Breakfast, made a comment this morning which compelled me to change plans. I dropped him off at his school, the University Primary School at Legon (UPS) as I usually do, glad that he didn't throw up in my car today. (By the way, Ato claims he does not vomit when he takes tro-tro, but posh cars make him vomit. Imagine that!). At UPS, Friday is the big day for club activities so the Girl Guides wear their blue dresses, the Brownies wear their brown attire, the Boys Scouts wear their khakis and boots, those in the football club bring their footballs and so on, so just as we got there, I noticed other students wearing their club attire. Curious, I asked Ato why he wasn't wearing his and he answered that he's in the writers and debaters club and that club has no special attire. If there's such a thing as an internal groan, I did it. Another writer! Why couldn't he be in the drama club or drumming and dancing club, Red Cross or even the science club? Twelve years ago when I left UPS, there was something called the Young Writers Club, but I don't recall that they did any debating. So I pressed him further to ask what they debate on. His response?

"We debate the issues!"

Ei, ei, ei, Ghana has indeed moved forward. Twelve-year-olds are debating the issues! The way Ato said they debate the issues left me quite impressed because I certainly wasn't debating the issues when I was in JSS 1 (middle school). Now with a smile forming on my lips, and pride growing in my heart, I humbly asked, dɛm a? ɛbɛn issues dɛm na wɔ debate? (tr: Is that so, what are some examples of issues you've debated) I was really starting to feel cheated out of a wonderful educational experience since this same school had not empowered me to discuss the issues when I was there. Then Ato said "caning, and why caning must be abolished". (caning = the act of beating kids with a cane, a normal part of school life in Ghana) Oh my goodness! I started laughing and could not stop. By this time he was out of the car, holding on to the door. He cracked a smile and asked me why I was laughing. My response was "awo to me car no mu ma me nko" (tr: you close my car door and let me go). I laughed my way out of there. Here was I thinking that the kids were discussing education, healthcare, job creation and employment, the economy and so on, so out of touch with young people's concerns when indeed, the issues for twelve- year-olds in Ghana have not changed that much since my time...