It’s a new
session; if you like, spend all your time playing so that at the end of the
session you would repeat again, and if you like, face your studies, all I know
is that I have done my best,” was the admonition, nay, parting words, of a
mother to her child at the entrance of a school in Ikeja axis of Lagos that
morning.
It was a
sort of remarks that shocked those who heard it. The woman’s frustration could
be safely presumed, whether rightly or wrongly.
No doubt,
it’s always a thing of delight for parents when their children do well in
school. And so, it is entirely understandable when some go the extra mile to
reward such children, not only for making them proud, although that can be
enormous, especially in the midst of fellow parents, but also for justifying
the huge investments in them.
But, on the
other hand, it could be very disturbing and sometimes disappointing for parents
when their children perform woefully or below expectation in their studies.
However,
being the start of a new session, a renowned educationalist and a former
Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Peter
Okebukola, says there are things parents can do to help their children to do
better in school. Some of these include:
Steer their
reading efforts in the subjects they are weak at:
Okebukola, who is a professor of Science
Education, said parents who are desirous of helping their children to do better
in the new academic session should take a look at the result of the child at
the end of last session, take note of the subjects where the scores were
relatively low and then make conscious efforts to steer their reading efforts
in such courses. He said, “In many cases, mathematics will be one of them. Have
a chat with your child to find out where the challenge is. In many cases, they
will ascribe the fault to the teacher. While this is highly likely to be true
because most of our mathematics teachers (indeed teachers in most of the subjects)
have very weak content knowledge, it should be appreciated by parents that from
studies of my research group at the Lagos State University, over the last 25
years, poor performance cannot be ascribed to school factors alone but also to
genetic factors in terms of low natural talent for the subject.”
He said this
was hinged on the theory of multiple intelligences, and that having identified
the subjects the child has difficulty in, they should ensure that a greater
proportion of the reading time of the child is allocated to the subjects. He
added, “This factor does not mean that other subjects will be neglected; the
idea is to focus more on the weak areas so that the child can be an
all-rounder,” he added.
Hire a good
home tutor or enrol them in coaching classes:
According to
Okebukola, this factor has two benefits. Apart from preparing them ahead of
time before tests or exams come, the students or pupils tend to learn more
through such avenues. He said, “Now that your child is (expectedly) in a higher
class with greater academic demands, you should not wait till when the
end-of-term examination is knocking at the door to prepare your child for
success.”
Speaking on
how to maximise this option without overburdening such a child with work,
Okebukola said, “If the child is a day student, let the child take a nap after
lunch then receive coaching from a good home tutor. With the pervading poverty
level, many parents may not be able to afford the services of a personalised
home tutor, so the idea of a coaching class with other children in the
neighbourhood would appear more attractive and cheaper.” The revered scholar
stressed that he deliberately qualified home tutor with “good”, saying many of
those who parade themselves in Nigeria as home tutors even know far less than
some of the children they are teaching.
“Please
shine your eyes while engaging such teachers, by doing due diligence on their
competence,” he added.
Let them
read one book per month to boost their reading habit:
At any level, reading has been identified as
an ingredient for success, and it is particularly recommended for children so
they could imbibe the habit as they grow up. Okebukola said instead of buying
them toys, parents could help their children by buying them books and
encouraging them to read new books every month. He said, “While in the primary
school, my father used to buy me a book a month that I must summarise at the
end of the month. This significantly bolstered my reading habit and it rubbed
off positively on my performance in all school subjects. I recommend this
approach to parents. Buy your child a book a month that is pitched at his/her
reading level and request for written summary of the book.”
He added
that such children should be told to note the big words in the book and check
their meanings, so they could also learn new words. He added, “Rather than a
toy for the birthday or something that will not endure, buy your child a book for
his/her birthday. In my house, I have a collection of such books that my dad
bought for me. These have endured. If he bought me toys, they would have long
gone out of remembrance.”
Limit the
time they spend in social media and in watching TV:
If most children
have their ways, they would not mind spending most of their time watching
cartoon. But, according to Okebukola, parents should cut down, not stop, the
time their children spend on the television and in the social media, which he
said had constituted huge distraction for them. He said, “More time on academic
tasks will guarantee your child better performance this session. Our recent
studies have shown that social media constitute huge distractions to students.
This body of research also shows that if all the variables in the performance
equation are held constant, cutting the time spent in social media by half will
increase academic performance by 20 per cent. It is impracticable and an
exercise in self-deceit to enforce a policy asking your child to stop making
posts on Facebook or other social media or to stop watching music channels and
soap operas on TV. What can be enforced is limiting the time they spend on such
academic diversions.” Speaking on helping them to stay safe on the internet,
Okebukola said, “Do not allow a child below primary three to get a social media
account and be sucked into the dark world of cyberbullying and pornography.
From primary three onwards, strict monitoring of social media use is a must for
Nigerian parents. I said ‘Nigerian’ because elsewhere, if you do, the child,
quoting child’s rights, can call the police for child abuse. This new session,
cut the time allowed for social media, texting and TV by 75 per cent and you
and your child will smile when the school report card is turned in at the end
of the session.”
Pay
attention to their nutrition:
It would
seem that not all parents know that there is a nexus between nutrition and
concentration in school. Meanwhile, Okebukola said parents should always make
sure their children do not go to school hungry and that what they would eat
while in school is equally taken care of. He said, “Ensure that your child does
not go hungry to and in school. There is a common Yoruba saying which
translates as ‘when hunger enters the stomach, nothing else can enter the body
(including the brain).’ Give your child good food before going to school and
make enough provisions for school feeding.” He said they would have better
concentration if they are not hungry.
Pay
attention to their health:
No doubt,
being in good health helps people to function maximally, and that is more
important for children. Thus, the don advised that parents should pay serious
attention to the health of their children. He stated, “Healthy children are
better disposed to doing well in school, a sound mind being in a sound body. If
you want your child to succeed in school this session, you have to pay great
attention to his or her health status. At least once every month (except when
illness comes knocking), conduct health check-up for your child to locate any
abnormality so that corrective action is taken before illness prevents your
child from attending classes.”
Monitor
their activities all the time:
In addition
to the factors mentioned above, parents are advised to keep their children on
the radar all the time. He said, “Many parents allow their children to roam and
forage good and bad pasture during the session. It becomes concerning when the
children are into bad habits which will depress their performance at school. Such
bad habits include smoking, alcoholism, partying, pornography and sexual
immorality. While attention should turn on academic performance of your child,
equal attention should be paid to their development of good character.”
Pray for
them:
A key
ingredient for success is prayers, adding that praying for and praying with
their children and asking God to open their understanding at school and protect
them from bad boys and girls would help. “There are needs you can cover but God
covers all needs of your children, even yours,” he added.
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