‘The school loves your child’

THE curtain for this year’s academic year came down last Thursday, giving learners and their teachers a deserved holiday. This is an opportunity for them to recharge their batteries and hope they come back firing from all cylinders, to use this expression. As far as learners are concerned this can only happen when they get proper guidance at home. The general misconception that schools and “schools” only can shape learners into responsible citizens should surely be dying among the citizenry.

It is a fact that learners spend more time at school than at home, but, reality has shown that proper guidance at home helps produce a responsible learner who fits well in the school system. A learner with a sound home background has no time involving herself or himself in indiscipline. These introductory remarks serve to explain the abrupt end to the reading of our interesting play, The Harvest of Thorns Classic: A play by Shimmer Chinodya.

This is a temporary break from the text since schools have closed. We want to give our learners a break and we will carry on with the play at the beginning of the year in readiness for the coming term. It is expecting too much to expect learners to be seriously studying when everybody else will be merry-making. My apologies to book worms who might feel hard done as they would have liked to follow the reading of the play.

However, as already indicated the reading and discussion of the play will continue very soon. Some learners get into the holidays with wild excitement and forget that in just over a month they would be back at school. They overindulge in nefarious activities and ruin their lives. All this is as a result of the permissive attitude from the parents or guardians. We have an element that believe that their children or relations are always right. They will not take kindly to any adverse comment about their children.

As a result of such attitudes learners bring that to school. They do not take learning seriously. They become incorrigible. Teachers in general are a patient lot who try by all means to convince the learners to see the value of learning. There are very few instances where teachers give up on learners. But, some learners continue in their slumber and do not make an effort to improve. That is where we call upon parents to step in during the holidays and help improve the attitudes of learners.

Obviously it is relaxation time during the holidays and we would not encourage parents or guardians to overburden learners with school work. Learners need to play and relax as long as they do not endanger their lives by engaging in disastrous activities. For example, in some cities there are notorious parties which have taken the youth by storm. A lot of despicable activities take place there. Recently there was a strong discussion against these socalled “Vuzu” parties on national television with participants stating their immoral nature and the harm they have done to young lives.

Children being children succumb to peer pressure and find themselves in situations they cannot extricate themselves. When they go back to school, especially boarders, they think about that and fail to adjust to the school environment. They become so addicted such that they prefer to leave boarding school and go back home. Trying to keep them under lock and key at school becomes a big challenge. They involve themselves in many disciplinary cases. You find schools holding many meetings involving the parents or guardians of such learners.

The greatest mistake parents or guardians make in matters of indiscipline is taking sides with their children or relations by failing to accept their children’s unruliness. Most of the time such parents pretend to hear of it for the first time in the hearing yet they would know of it from home. Parents and guardians should never be defensive when it comes to matters of discipline. Never should you compromise on matters of indiscipline.

A school cannot just victimise your child out of hundreds and claim that yours is the naughtiest. Schools build characters and the moment they call you to come and partake in the discussion of your child’s behaviour accept it and co-operate for the betterment of the child. Your defensive stance will not help. Most of the times that unruly behaviour comes back to haunt the family to the vindication of the school. A school loves your child, means no harm to the child as she or he is part of that school family.

Parents and guardians, as the holidays start make sure you play your roles well. Help schools by teaching your children proper morals and correct ways of behaviour so that what happens at schools complements what has already been sown at home. All basic learning takes place at home and all that is exhibited by the learner at school shows the nature of the home she or he comes from.

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