My Turn: Preparing for new academic year
All too soon, a new academic year is here again. Parents and guardians are running around the clock to get their wards ready for school. School fees, new uniforms, new shoes, text books, and all the necessary requirement must be ready.
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The management of some schools, apart from putting their premises in good shape, organise special ‘welcome back to school’ activities for their children. In recent years too, the Ministry of Education and district administrations have also been organising My first day in school activities to welcome class one pupils to formal education . This is to make the transition less stressful and a memorable occasion for the youngsters.
Teachers also revise their curricula in order to get their weekly forecasts and lesson plans ready. The smart ones go a step further to get their teaching and learning aids ready, long before school reopens.
Schoolchildren are excited about going to a new class and also meeting new friends. They also look forward to meeting a new class teacher or teachers. Those of them who are already familiar with the teachers in their school have no mixed feelings because they are used to how such teachers handle children.
However, a new entrant to a school or class will be anxious and uncertain about what to expect. This is because they are not sure of how they would be received by a teacher or mates they meet on their first day in school. Nevertheless, they will be in school soon and they have to brace themselves for the unexpected.
Apart from the physical preparations made by parents, school and teachers, there is also the need to consider the psychological aspects as well.
While parents whose wards performed creditably well in their last promotion exam should encourage them to keep up the good work, those whose children’s performance was not impressive rather than discouraging them with derogatory comments, should also encourage them to step up their academic performance,
It is the responsibility of all workers in educational institutions to seize the opportunity on the first day of school, to build a strong relationship with their charges.
Teachers especially, must put all their personal issues aside and warmly receive their pupils and students back after vacation. This is because the overall performance of a child in school depends partly on a teacher’s total psychological preparedness and attitude towards the child.
Indeed , we all have our individual differences and peculiar circumstances but these notwithstanding, every schoolchild deserves warmth, appreciation and respect.
Teachers would make or mar a child’s expectations at school even on the first day. Let us all remember that First Impressions, they say, always last forever.
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