It's what's within us that counts

We take for granted the chance to have an education through to the end of high school. The "Fifteen is too Young" campaign has managed to convince us that anything less means our future is limited.

Perhaps though it takes more than years-at-school to make the difference to our future pathways. Perhaps some of the Intrapersonal Catalysts that Francoys Gagne mentions in his Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent) might be more important than the content we cover.

Imagine living in an African village where there was no running water, no electricity and where the village is on the brink of starvation as a result of a severe drought. Imagine having to leave school because your family could not afford the annual school fees (a sum that is less than the voluntary contribution in many schools and less than the amount WA parents get back from the government when they have a child in the senior years of school).

For one young boy in Malawi this was his reality. Although he had to leave school at the age of 14 and to work on his family’s plot of land, his dream of a better future for his village and of further education did not end there. After work he went to the library and continued to read and learn. He was fascinated by science and his life changed when he found a picture of a windmill in a battered text book. seeing that the widmill could generate power, he was able to imagine a life with running water, the luxury of an electric light and see a chance to protect his village against hunger.

Like many people who step outside the normal expectations, he faced some challenges and derision not only from the community but also his family, as he scrounged from rubbish and persevered, cobbling together enough pieces to build a makeshift turbine and windmill. Over time he powered his family’s compound, began to change life in his village and inspired the world.

To continue in the face of opposition, to creatively use what was available towards and to stick with his vision shows something more valuable than he might have learned in school.

I believe there is danger in attempting to ‘normalise’ those who fall outside the ‘normal’ curve, in expecting uniformity and in setting expectations too low. I wonder if this boy would have been driven to continue to work on this project if he had continued at school. I wonder how many of our children assume that all the ‘good’ ideas have already been thought of, that there is no need to strive or feel that they must conform to have a future.

This heart warming story is a reminder to celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of our children, to encourage ingenuity and to remember that there is more to success in life than high test scores. Creativity, perseverance and volition may be under rated in some circles, but they may just be more important than almost anything else our children may take out into life with them.

If you would like to find out more about William Kamkwanda, "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" you might like to read this article or this one (with video clip and book review) or to read his blog and see what has happened since word has spread.