Ask people questions

One of the life lessons I learned from reading about Robert Sobukwe:
Ask people questions.

Particularly, people from other African countries. But actually, this applies to everyone really. The people you meet have this great wealth of experience you can learn from.

Know a doctor? Ask them about the strike... what conditions are like in hospitals... what their day to day experience of work in life... how things are different in different areas in SA...
Know a teacher? Ask them about their salaries... ask them about the Department of Education... ask them about the state of schools... ask them about the capabilities of learners... ask them about OBE...
Know a Kenyan? Ask them about their elections... their government... ask them how their nation is managing to get education right...
Know an Afrikaans person? Ask then about how they feel about their place in the new SA... ask them how they feel about Wikus... ask them what their take on home language eduation is...

We all have such different experiences of life, especially in South Africa. You can stand in the queue at the ATM with people whose life experience is SO different from yours, speaking to them could open your eyes. Give you insight into things you really have no other way of understanding. Speak to them. Ask then questions.

I got this from Robert Sobukwe's biography How Can Man Die Better. He spoke about how, in his day, information about what was going on in other places was really inaccessible. Particularly in other African countries. Because of the censorship and propaganda of the South African government I suppose. So what they used to do was just talk to people, make the most of opportunities to ask people questions. When you met someone from Ghana, say - drill them will questions about what is going on there.

And I think the principle easlity extends to day to day life - we can learn so much about the world from the people around us. Speak to them, ask them questions!





(I also learned this lesson from one of my pastors - he always used to tell us to take the opportunities presented to us to ask people questions!)