Greetings!
This may sound like a joke, but it's real. With the way technology is making things easier, especially in terms of learning online, I've been thinking and have concluded, to some extent, that maybe traditional schooling is no longer necessary. By "school," I mean physically attending classes and enduring all the associated stresses, instead of simply sitting and getting tutored online, just as is happening currently.
Haven't you heard of people undergoing courses online? I think we can even learn about fields like medicine, surgery, dentistry, and many others online, and perhaps transition into practical experimentation from there.... without going to SCHOOL.
Before I deviate entirely, let me tell you about a time when I learned something online and felt 100% proud of myself.
I had just finished NYSC, and I was called by Christiana, a friend with whom I served, to get my documents ready because her dad, who works at the Central Bank, had slots in one of the commercial banks in Nigeria. She gave me a website to submit my details and asked me to forward the details I submitted online to her. One of the requirements was to compile all my credentials into a single PDF file, and the size shouldn't exceed 1MB or so. Initially, I thought it would be easy, so I went ahead and did what little I knew, but the result was almost 10MB after I compiled them. I tried again and was able to reduce it to 8MB. I tried yet again and got it down to 6MB, but the files were not visible as the quality had reduced significantly.
After many trials, I decided to visit the top computer center in town. I got there, explained to the boss what I wanted, and he quickly jumped into action. After a few minutes, he came out with a 5MB file, which was still far from what I needed. He tried again and reduced it to 4MB, but this time, the quality was so poor that the file was unusable. He tried multiple times to get it done, and when he got tired, he left, saying he needed to go pick something up. I know the man very well, and he couldn't stand the shame of admitting that he couldn't do it.
Out of frustration, I returned home that day in anger, thinking, "Why is the site demanding something that's not doable?" At that point, I had convinced myself that since the computer expert couldn't do it, then it must be impossible for anyone to do.
After a while, something prompted me to search for solutions online, and behold, I came across a website used to compile PDFs, JPEGs, and PNG files into one file. I decided to try it, and surprisingly, the result was excellent.
"So this solution was here all along while I was running around in circles?" I couldn't stop reflecting on my "foolishness" because, as a tech-savvy person, it was foolish of me not to have checked online before seeking help.
Ever since then, I've relied entirely on online learning to get things done. I only ask others for help when I know the issue I'm seeking can't be found online. But is that even possible these days? AI has made it possible to find almost everything online.
Thanks for reading.
This is my entry to Hivenaija prompt of the week