THERE?IS A?SCHOOL OF?THOUGHT that vacation should not mean extra classes – no matter the perceived benefit, no matter the cause.
There has often been the argument that something is wrong with the curriculum if teaching days are not enough to adequately prepare our children for their examinations. And to boot that schools only persist with the vacation classes for fear of having a poor assessment, based on students’ performance.
If schools do well, their principals, teachers and students are promoted in the Press, with emphasis on the performance of their charges: the best in this and the best in that, which critics say brings in the end far more trauma than thrill.
Is that really so? We raise the issue, given the efforts of some primary schools to provide extra teaching to pupils preparing for the Common Entrance Examination.
We had reports of teachers and pupils buckling down to work, mostly every student loving every bit of it.
And we have no doubt that this diligence will continue within the next two weeks. The period of extra study is short and should have no significant impact on the children’s playtime.
Even so, that teachers were willing to give of their time – without special remuneration – to see after the aspirations of their young ones is highly commendable. As we understand it, the pupils in the programme are those who may need a little sharpening here or there, or who could benefit from a bit more explanation and workbook exercise.
The extra classes may help them perform beyond their perceived limitations.This could especially be so for mathematics and the English language, in which areas performance has fallenin recent years.
Parents should thank the school principals and teachers for conducting these vacation remedial sessions.
No matter the weaknesses of the Common Entrance Examination, it is what we have; and until such time as it has been altered or retired, we must encourage our little ones to perform to the best of their abilities.
No teacher or principal would go out of his or her way to hold these vacation classes if they were not for the benefit of the students. Our teachers and school principals, with rare exceptions, have always conducted themselves in a manner befitting the ethos of their profession.
Parents will therefore now be left only to accept responsibility for their charges’ continued development – whether they fare excellently or poorly in the upcoming exams.
