The Sunday News
Charles Dube
BEFORE discussing the above subject consider the following: Learners focus on what you are reading and stop pretending to be concentrating when you are not, be it at school or at home. There are learners who pretend to be glued to their work when the teacher or somebody else is around, yet, in actual fact their mindset will be far from whatever they would be doing. Stop pretending! If you are seriously studying, do it. If not, close those books, sleep, play or even watch television than steal that valuable time from yourself.
Self-discipline leads to success. Believe in yourself when you sit down to study. Initially I did not understand why some schools waited till the last couple of weeks before having their end of term tests. At face value I thought schools who did that were mean to learners and were putting teachers under undue stress when it came to marking the tests. But, now I have realised that they have noble reasons. The key one of course is the high rate of absenteeism.
After writing the examinations most learners decide not to go to school. Teachers would be occupied with marking and writing reports and do not attend their classes and this gives learners an excuse of not going to school. They would rather stay home than waste time going to school where there would be very little if any learning would be taking place. The same applies on opening day — most learners do not go to school because “it is cleaning day”.
My advice to learners is for them to attend school in all the designated days. There is a strong purpose why the educational authorities assign those days. If no specific learning is taking place, as a learner partake in the activities taking place there even if it means playing with others. Being in school gears you up for actual learning.
Most learners detest cleaning, showing some form of irresponsibility as cleaning is also part of learning. Who do they expect to clean the learning environment for them? If there is confusion at school, learners should not abscond but should be part of finding the solution to the problem. This also works well with noise makers. A noisy class should find a solution to stop the noise than have part of it moving out looking for quiet places. It is only that class which can stop the bad habit.
It is with sadness to hear that bullying among learners is rearing its ugly head again when we thought it was getting under control. One hopes with all key stakeholders involved cases of bullying will one day significantly subside. With schools closing in a week all residential areas will be teeming with learners from toddlers to teenagers all enjoying the fun of the holidays. While in the past most children would go home mainly in the rural areas nowadays things have changed and children remain in towns, cities and growth points.
There is not much to occupy young minds especially with long hours of power cuts in existence nowadays. Before children would spend hours glued to televisions watching films or videos of choice, but, with power load shedding they are forced to be outdoors playing a variety of games. This is where a lot of bullying cases take place. You find older boys taking advantage of small boys dispossessing them of their toys or at times physical abusing them. Some have been found with broken limbs from the physical abuse.
It is embarrassing to find a high school learner playing physical games with primary school learners. Obviously where there is physical contact, the latter will come out the worst at times with severe injuries. Parents should be on the lookout for what their children are doing especially where they play in these groups. A cry from a young one should be attended to quickly as it could assist in curtailing bullying or injuries. Of course, there are cry babies who are uncomfortable when playing with other children and will persistently cry to draw the attention of their mothers.
However, this should not give bullies the leeway to torture other children. Bullying should be nipped in the bud before it gets to uncontrollable levels. It is a pleasant sight to see young ones engaged in various games and activities away from books as long as they play safely. Violent individuals should be weeded out as soon as they are spotted. I have seen boys playing dangerously with others, for example, attempting to kick the other’s face.
All dangers come through child play then result in terrible accidents where other children are hurt. Some children have lost eyes because their friends have thrown dangerous objects or stones at them. Children should be monitored in the manner they play to avoid injuries and unnecessary medical expenses in these days of want. It is good for children to be allowed to go out and play with others for their social well-being.
On the other hand, it is unfair to deny children the opportunity to get out of the house and play with other children in the neighbourhood. They need to mix, mingle and socialise with their colleagues, after all, they attend the same schools and are in the same classes. Well socialised learners learn better as they easily share information with others than being introverts. Games played in the locality foster oneness among children.
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