FAILING TO JOIN A TOP O’LEVEL SCHOOL IS NOT THE END

ENROLMENT: All parents dream of sending their children to the best schools, but there are other alternatives.

It is the ambition of every parent and student to attend the best schools and universities available. This is usually a guarantee of future success in this competitive world.
The problem is that with all the pressure to achieve good marks, superior - star schools are forgetting about the importance of holistic education and concentrating only on their students achieving high marks.
This competition begins when the students have to take their Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE). Educationists are concerned about this growing trend amongst parents competing for slots in star schools. This trend has also been cited as the cause of the competition among schools to work entirely towards passing national examinations. It is true that star schools instill discipline, hard work and perseverance in their students, but is the competition threatening the intellectual health of the students.

Good O’level education provides a foundation for both A’level and university education. When a child excels at O’levels, they are assured of being able to join a good A’level school and their future chances of joining university and receiving government sponsorship are high. It is the accepted way of progressing through the education system, but what about all those who do not make it? Does it mean the end of one’s child’s educational future?
Parents must remember that even students in so-called 'rural' schools can still pass and make it to university. It is simply a matter of discipline and determination. Even children in star schools can fail.

Many parents want their children to join top performing schools and pass with flying colours, but is that a good, wholesome education?

There are many secondary schools in rural areas with adequate facilities to provide a good education to enable children to perform well academically and in all other aspects of life. Good buildings and equipment are important, but the most basic requirement in the school is the teacher. If the teacher is incompetent, then you cannot achieve good results. It is not the school that passes the examinations, but the ability and willingness of the child to learn coupled with the efforts of the teachers. This can be achieved in any secondary school with basic standards.

People should not be frustrated because they cannot get a vacancy for their children in a top school. They must do research and identify other options and other good schools that will meet the educational needs of their children. They must accept that star schools are not the only way for their children to make a future for themselves.
What needs to be done to reduce the fuss about top schools?

It is obvious that all our schools need to be improved and transformed into learning centers of excellence. To enable schools to meet the required standards, they need to be rehabilitated and equipped with sports facilities as well as libraries and laboratories, good dormitories and good staff houses. Especially important is the building and improving of schools in remote areas.
Most importantly, we must not forget that the students are the most important thing. Their educational health and preparedness for the future, is more important than the marks they get now.

Your comments are welcome - we’d love to hear your thoughts! Please hit the comment link and let us know what you think.

LACK OF READING SKILLS HAMPERS PLE PERFORMANCE

Last November, eight of our students sat for Primary Leaving Examinations at Nadangila Primary School. Our students sit their final exams there. Few of us had any hopes that any of our students would pass. Of the 8 pupils who sat for the exams, the best three passed in second division and the rest in third division. There were no failures! (in the picture is there Headteacher,Teddy at the farewell party organized for them-SPACC PLE LEAVERS)
Research shows that poor PLE results is strongly linked to poor reading skills. In most parts of central and northern Uganda, thousands of pupils are helpless when faced with exams, as they neither understand the questions nor do they have the ability to write the correct answers.
There is what is called “thematic curriculum” that started five years ago. This curriculum is aimed at teaching pupils in their local language from primary one to four, and then they switch to English. It has been found that pupils who start their primary education in their mother tongue have a better chance of improving their reading skills if they get good teachers to help them with the transition to English in primary four. However, there is always the challenge of funding for training teachers to manage the transition because most teachers admit they did not receive any training. The first pupils studying under the thematic curriculum will be starting their primary five classes this year.
Most critically, it has been revealed that reading skills are so low, with children remaining virtually illiterate even after three years in school. When asked to read a simple passage at P2 level, nearly 70% of children could not do so successfully. When it comes to reading comprehension, scores are extremely low, with nearly 90% of children scoring zero on the comprehension task.
It’s been noted that the lack of reading materials is a major hindrance to reading development. One can barely find textbooks for literacy class, in either P2 or P3. It shows that children are learning to read without materials to refer to or learn from which is far from ideal.
We recommend that we get support to include new initiatives in encouraging reading in class, as well as teaching formal comprehension techniques and setting literacy benchmarks. We also recommend that mother tongue assessments should be included at the end of primary examinations and a new focus on teacher professional development.
A child who goes to school everyday and ends up illiterate or semi-literate will not only experience self-esteem problems, but will also develop a negative attitude towards school. As a result, some of them drop out of school. Reading is not being taught properly as a subject and as a result, pupils in middle primary are finding it hard to understand what they are taught.
We are requesting all sorts of support from our contacts and collaborators to remain committed to this reading initiative and also to carry out a follow-up until the pupils complete their primary school learning.

TAKE YOUR CHILD'S EARLY LEARNING SERIOUSLY!

FROM my experience, early childcare is one of the biggest expenses any family has faced. As a parent and teacher, I have resolved that I owe it to myself to ensure my children get a true educational advantage from this investment.

Research reveals that early childhood experiences have powerful effects on the development of children’s physical and emotional abilities. It also influences their achievements in math, logic, language and music.

According to studies carried out in different countries across the world, children from poor families were found to be a year or more behind in language skills due to limited exposure and poor care.

The findings also reveal that children who grow up in an organised and calm home are more likely to have good early reading skills by the age of five and six.

Children who get the poorest support often face multiple challenges since most of them are less likely to have been born to well educated parents or living with their biological parents.

Unfortunately, it is undeniable that educational inequality exists and starts early in the lives of children. It leaves children from disadvantaged homes struggling to keep up throughout their school life.

Despite the economic challenges leading to poverty, all hope should not be lost. Good parental involvement in the early education of a child can lead to great triumph.

Parents need to continually encourage their children to aim at excelling by insisting on success through hard work. This reduces the levels of school dropouts and adult unemployment.

Children will be keen to learn honesty, respect, love and hard work at an early age if well provided for at home and school. The teaching of critical thinking skills that help children to solve problems in a constructive way should also start at an early age. These skills become useful in the child’s life as they grow up being more confident to find solutions to problems instead of complaining or being complacent.

Reading to children and taking them to libraries (not a common practice in this country) is found to be helpful in limiting poverty. As children read too often, they form healthy relationships with others as they develop their listening and communication skills.

They are eager to learn as they get sufficient knowledge necessary to help them finish school and build a productive life. The social skills children need to succeed in school and work are developed at an early age. It is therefore important that children get a good educational background because it reduces links with anti-social behaviour, detrimental to their success.

If a parent or guardian, chooses to educate a child, they should give it their best by investing in good years education programmes that provide a foundation for the child’s success.

In the picture Rune Gustavsen from Norway( http://www.facebook.com/rune.gustavsen1) driving a point to SPACC kids.

Wondering what our readers out there think about this?

TAKE YOUR CHILD'S EARLY LEARNING SERIOUSLY!

WHAT IS A GOOD SCHOOL?

WHEN exam results are released, adverts about how students performed dominate the media. In my view, the performance of a school should not be measured by the number of first grades it gets.

One educational researcher warns that those wishing to exercise leadership in education must go beyond accepting the inadequate criteria used to determine that schools are doing well.

Good results cannot be used as the standard of performance. The performance of a learner studying with limited resources, with another studying in an enabling environment should be viewed differently.

Schools have different curricula and can emphasise some aspects over others. For instance, making comparisons between students’ performance in math in one district with those in another, without taking into consideration cultural differences, allocation of time for instruction or teaching approaches and exposure, makes it hard to account for the differences in performance.
Nowadays, many schools are business-minded, and bad results mean going out of business.

The reward system that pays school heads based on the performance of their students in standardised tests has consequences for a school’s priorities.

There is a danger of narrowing the curriculum to what is to be tested and dividing subjects into core subjects while marginalising others. This violates the function of schooling which is to enable students do better in life — what students learn in school should exceed in relevance to the limits of the schools programme.

We need to emphasise individuality in our assessments. Educational achievement should be assessed by the way learners use what they have studied to do what they want to do.
We’d love to hear your thoughts! Please hit the comment link and let us know what you think

A good teacher is never forgotten

A few years ago, for the older folks at least, there was that one teacher who would make your heart skip.
Not because they were big and carried a menacing cane that would give you the creeps throughout their lesson. No. Actually they were that rare breed of teacher who made your heart skip in excitement at the prospect of the next lesson.
You would not miss the lesson for the world, because you knew it would be interesting, filled with humour, and the experience would entirely blow your mind.
It is no wonder you passed the subject your favourite teacher taught almost effortlessly. Now years later, you still remember them, hoping they remember you too. Indeed every road you take along the path of success is a tribute to them.
But what made these teachers tick?
•“They are very practical and like involving students in teaching.
They crack jokes without going off topic and keep the whole class on their toes because you never know if the next thing she says is a very important point or a joke, and you would want to catch both. She encourages us to ask questions and you feel a part of the class.”
•They can help children achieve their full potential, through creative teaching methods and the use of positive discipline; one who genuinely cares about the students, and understands their learning process, treating them like the special individuals they are.
•They go beyond just giving students information, to helping them understand and absorb this information and equipping them to apply it to everyday situations and “Much as they want the children to pass, they do not encourage cramming.”

•FOUR-STEP LEARNING
Learning is basically a four-step process which starts with the children grasping the information, analyzing it, exploring it and, finally, applying it. Grasping the information involves getting to know the basic facts. Analyzing involves comparing what has just been grasped to what the student already knows. Analyzing is deep. A student’s mind churns out what is useful, and tries to make sense of it. The step of exploring is where the student finds out what the information means to them before applying it in their daily lives. At each stage of the learning process, a good teacher equips the students with the relevant skills, and the rewards to the teacher are immense, in form of excellent performance.

•Some students value a teacher who gives them freedom and encouragement.
“The first thing is that a good teacher should not cane the students. The teacher should encourage the students to follow our dreams even though they may be outside the strict academic arena. I personally liked football and I respected teachers who encouraged me to play. I ended up passing their subjects.”
Many times teachers use intimidation and threats of punishment to get students to comply with their orders but one of the characteristics of a not-so-good teacher.
“I absolutely detest teachers who use the cane. Another thing is that a good teacher should not involve himself or herself in love relationships with students. They should be friendly without crossing the line,”
Well, such is the pedigree of a successful teacher, managing to be an educator who commands respect from students while maintaining a warm approachable demeanor.
Yes, such is the status of a wonderful teacher: being remembered with reverence and fondness that border on idolatry. And when the time comes, they shall sit back and bask in the glow of flawless legacy.

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