‘Uncontrolled use of social media affects child formation’
A former Chairman of the National Media Commission, Mr Kabral Blay Amihere, has warned that the uncontrolled use of social media among children can affect their personality and character formation.
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He said social media weakened the bond of inter-personal relations in the family and exposed children to countless destructive vices.
Mr Amihere was addressing parents and schoolchildren at the seventh graduation, Speech and Prize-giving Day of the Delsi Montessori School at the weekend.
The graduation was on the theme: “Advancing quality education through teacher-parent involvement”.
Dangers of social media
On the benefits and dangers of social media to schoolchildren, Mr Amihere said, “It will, however, be pointless to attempt to prevent or ban our children from accessing and using social media because it is such a valuable source of knowledge and information and can be used to support academic work at school and home.
“Since the use of phones at school is prohibited, our parents must start showing an interest in what their children do on social media back at home and make it a point to constantly monitor and control what their children access on social media,” he advised.
Mr Amihere was unhappy that social media had suddenly become a consuming passion for schoolchildren to an extent that it undermined academic performance and exposed children to character-damaging pitfalls.
Parents’ engagement
Delivering the keynote address earlier, Mrs Ellen Sam, a renowned pharmacist and pastor, called on parents to engage their children as part of efforts to advance quality education in the country.
She said parental engagement had a positive impact on students’ achievement and contributed to the development of the country.
On the theme: Advancing quality education through teacher -parent’s involvement," she said parents’ engagement would enable students to get higher grades, reduce school dropout, develop better social skills, improved behaviour and strong belief in the importance of education.
Stating some responsibilities of parents to promote quality education, she asked them to make time to attend parent teachers association (PTA) meetings, help their children in doing home work, discuss school work as well as continuous engagement with teachers to monitor the progress of their children. Mrs Sam added that parents should identify areas that needed improvement and notify the school authorities.
"Quality education is not cheap, it comes at a cost and not only money but time, effort and energy, which means the input determines the output. Quality education is so complex and exacting that it cannot be given by the school authorities alone, therefore parents must get involved, she stressed.
Appreciation
The Proprietress of the school, Mrs Rev. Lawrencia Dafiemekpor, expressed appreciation and acknowledged parents and teachers for their contribution towards the success of the graduands.
She explained that during each graduation, the management assisted pupils to produce some art pieces as their project work, adding that, "These works are auctioned during the graduation ceremony to raise some funds for the purchase of something needed by the school in the name of the graduating class."