By: PNG Youth Focus
RACHAEL Tovot grew up getting spanked by her parents from time to time just like any other child from Papua New Guinea. However, she was only spanked for one reason- getting low grades in school. Rachael who comes from Karavi Village of Kokopo District in East New Britain Province had strict parents who had their expectations when it came to her education.
“Those of you who have strict parents would know how life was like for me. My parents belted me up when I scored low grades in school. That scared me and so I worked hard to get good grades to avoid the beatings.”
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| Social Media Stole Her (Racheal Tovot) Study Time but Not her Parent's Expectations |
Racheal was selected to Kokopo Secondary School in 2014 after completion of her grade 8 at Kalamanagunan Primary School. Rachael was so happy to have made it to high school but there was no time for enjoyment because her parents had still not thrown away the stick and belt that reminded her to do better in her studies. She continued to focus on her studies and she was able to continue on to grade 11 in 2016. Upon making it to upper secondary, Rachael, just like other teenagers felt that she was almost at the end of her education journey and that there was no need to worry about her parents’ expectations. She felt that she had made it in life.
“I did not worry about doing well in my studies. I felt that I was a ‘big girl’ now that I was in grade 11. I believe some teenagers have that thought too when they move on to another level of education. I did not worry about my grades. I told myself that it doesn’t matter if I get good grades or not, as long as I complete my secondary education.”
That same year, Rachael felt that it was time for her to be part of the social media platform so she created accounts on Facebook and WhatsApp.
“Those two things (Facebook and WhatsApp) kept me so busy. They diverted my focus away from studies.”
In year 12, it finally dawned on Rachael that she had to score good grades to be selected into a tertiary institution. She realized that she had to do away with her as-long-as-I-complete-secondary-education-whether-I-get-good-grades-or-not mentality. Grades did matter if she wanted to go to college and achieve her dream of becoming a teacher.
Rachael sunk back into her textbooks and handouts. She badly wanted to get into college and that meant she had to make up for the time she had misused. Unfortunately, Rachael was unable to pull up her marks to meet the requirement to be accepted into any tertiary institution.
“Results came in at the end of 2017 and my name was not on the acceptance list of any tertiary institution. There was no one to blame except myself. It was all my fault. I started regretting all the time that I wasted on Facebook and WhatsApp when I could have studied. Social media made me a lazy person. I cried bitterly when I saw that all my friends’ names were on the acceptance lists and my own name was not there.”
Not only was Rachael broken hearted but so were her parents. They badly wanted to see their daughter walk into a tertiary institution. Their expectations and their dream for their daughter’s education were crushed. They were disappointed but they also felt that this experience had taught their daughter an important lesson and showed her the reason why they have been so strict on her. Instead of spanking Rachael, this time, they stood on their feet to push Rachael into one of the tertiary institutions so she could achieve her dream.
“My parents found me a space at Sonoma Adventist College and enrolled me there in 2018 since I always wanted to be a teacher. As I walked into college, I promised myself that I would never repeat the same mistakes again and that I would never make decisions that would make me regret me later.”
Rachael went into college as a self-sponsored student. She worked hard, much harder than she did before. The following year, 2019, not only did her name appear on the list of continuing students but also on the list of students who were awarded HECAS.
“I realized that being a drop-out did teach me a valuable lesson. I learnt that I have to work hard if I want to be successful. My friends abandoned me when I was not selected into any tertiary institution but my parents, my strict parents stood by me. They told me not to give up and helped me to find a second chance.”
Rachael, now 22 has continued to work hard in her studies and she has maintained her scholarship under HECAS since second year of college. She is proud that she will be one of the first Papua New Guineans to graduate in November this year with a Bachelor in Primary Teaching. God has been so good to Rachael. Her friends labelled her as a drop-out but God raised her up and He will put on her head a crown of mortarboard in four months’ time.
“If you are being labelled as a ‘Drop-Out’ by the society, I want to remind you that God did not create you to be a drop-out. He created you for a purpose. And if you are a student who spend so much time on social media like I once did, I want to tell you that there is time for everything. Facebook and WhatsApp are here to stay; you can use them anytime. For now, concentrate on your studies, put God first in your life and you will not regret anything in the future. To all the strict parents out there, I urge you all to keep up with the good work you are doing to help your children to be in the right path.”
Rachael once thought that she was unlucky to have strict parents but now she realized that she was the luckiest child to have parents who were strict because it meant that they really did care about her. She couldn’t have made it this far without them. Yes, social media did take away Rachael’s study time but it did not take away the expectations that her parents had for their little girl.
Picture Supplied
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