If you ask a child what makes him or her successful in school, you may be surprised to hear something like, ’It’s because a particular teacher never gave up on me’. This just shows to reason that as a tutor, establishing a personal relationship with the children in your care is important. We also need to ponder these questions;
‘Why are our some of our kids looked down upon and constantly underestimated just because they attend Nigerian schools? Why does our education system seem to be relegated to the background even after all these years?
During one of our staff training few days ago at my place of work, my boss raised this issue which had dominated her mind for a very long time- ‘What is the way forward?, How can we strike a balance and ensure that schools are covering the required concepts, as well as establishing a deep foundation of the knowledge acquired by the kids?’
As a mum and educator, I feel that the responsibility lies in the hands of parents as much as it lies in the school because the home could either be the bane of a child’s laxity or not. I used to be the typical mum with my kids when they were much younger. It was somewhat effortless and life was good (Not like I am not anymore, but you know… life happens). So in my search to understand how to strike a balance with teaching concepts, I came to realize that just like motherhood, this can only get better if one is determined. I discovered a new buzz term- Flexibility.
It may amaze you to know that humans, especially kids learn new concepts and skills much faster and more efficiently but flexibility helps them to retain the information in a better way.
Try out new ideas, be innovative, make use of virtual reality if you can, make use of technology to your advantage-this can never be over emphasized. As a mum or educator, have you ever been so bored teaching that it feels like such a run-of-the-mill job? This is where flexibility and change need to come in to ignite the brain with excitement and adventure.
Adding some bit of fun and humor can make even the most mundane concepts seem more interesting and easy to learn. Break out of the box of ‘I can’t do it’ and take the bull by the horns because you can do whatever you set your mind to do.
Learn, unlearn, relearn and never stop doing so because curiosity is the mother of invention. So, when it comes to our education sector, ponder this- What If That’s Not The Way The Cookie Crumbles? Be the change you want to see in the world.
XOXO
Yours Truly.
Nikimandi
