WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T READ?
E Gouws Head of Intermediate Phase
1. You lose your vocabulary
Talk to children after they have not spent time reading, whether books, study notes, news articles or various texts, their vocabulary dwindles to basic which is the vocabulary used in the home/social circle setting. If they do not speak English as a home language, then that is a very basic level of language indeed!
2. Your knowledge of the world around you becomes limited
Foundational knowledge is absent. Children can tell you what they ate for breakfast because it was written on the cereal box in front of them but general knowledge about animals, the weather, soil, music or any topic is almost non-existent. Their world knowledge is limited to their circle of friends and their friends’ latest activities.
3. Your writing skills are restricted
Children who do not read, cannot write. Period.
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” Stephen King
Good writing starts with a love of reading. You need to consume good writing if you want to produce it.
“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” Stephen King
Reading should be part of a child’s daily routine. If parents enforced reading as much as they enforced brushing teeth, children may develop some astounding skills.
SCHOOL IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES
D van Straten Head of Senior Phase
Looking back over the past year, we are reminded of the ones we chose.
At school learners are provided with opportunities to choose some really nice ones, like a hazelnut praline or a mint deluxe: an opportunity to play for the school first team, a top-100 position in a national Olympiad, or an academic merit award.
Sometimes there are those they wish they had selected, but someone else beat them to it: a second position in the 200m sprint, or a third position in class.
Then there are those they wish they hadn’t picked, but did anyway, like a milk chocolate with a bland almond, or an imitation orange: a last position in the cross country, a failed test, or a detention notice.
The fact is, no one can be 100% happy all the time; often it depends on how one chooses.
Recently while helping my daughter prepare for a next day final exam, I realised that it was probably too late to help her catch up on a few concept gaps created during the year. It was one of those chocolate caramel centres with all the contents not there. Time caught up with us and trying to analyse whether the cup is half full or half empty was futile; the contents of the cup had to be drunk.
However, all is not lost. Thankfully technology provides us with the opportunity to access remedial programmes at little cost, and sometimes even free. Google a few options, ask for advice, but do careful research first. There are various options available, like Mathletics and Khan Academy.
Finally, similar to school, life is like a box of chocolates. Waiting too long on the shelf so that the best is passed before date-time not used, is often the biggest reason for disappointment: it causes the milkiest chocolate to whiten and the creamiest toffee to harden. Perhaps putting the box a few moments in the sun will do the trick – try it.
ENDING WELL
J Sibeko Head of FET Phase
The end of the school year is a special time. Teachers and students eagerly await a well-deserved break.
What happens in the final weeks of the school year has an impact on both the students and the teachers. A positive experience leaves both teachers and students with better attitudes going into the December holidays and returning for the following school year.
Year end is a time where children need an opportunity to reflect on what they have learned and how they have grown as people. It is important to link the beginning of the school year to the end. It is important to recognise and share all that the children have accomplished.
Parents owe it to their children to finish the year strong. To teach their children the importance of ending the school year well, parents should give their children the opportunities to reflect on the year. One of the greatest ways for your child to process the ups and downs of this year is through reflection. This will not only help them sort out any unaddressed emotions but will also help them grow.
When reflecting, it’s normal for children to recall some areas that are still challenging for them. For example, if your child mentions they’re struggling in Maths, you can help him or her create a growth goal and display it somewhere in your home. Have them decorate an index card with their goal and check in with them throughout the next year.
There is a quote which I think we can often ponder on: “Children only have one childhood.” Perhaps this should remind us that proficiency is not the most important thing. And it shouldn’t be the most important thing about this school year either.
In a time when gaps in learning is all anyone can talk about, let’s choose to remember our children’s childhood. The time for making memories in this school year is soon ending. Don’t let the threat of proficiency devour your sense of time with your child as the school year comes to a close.
Source https://theparentcue.org/ the-importance-of-ending-the-school-year-well/
QUIET QUITTING
A du Preez Academic Head
“If you have to make your bed, you may as well do it properly.” These were once the wise words of a mother to her child. For the child it became a way of life, and a very blessed one at that.
The modern trend worldwide, however, is to do the bare minimum: Do not dare to go the extra mile. Do just enough to stay out of trouble, but do not do the work with all your heart. Why work for someone else’s benefit while you are the one getting tired and worn out?
Quiet Quitting, it has been named recently – quit from doing your best … but do it on the quiet. This new worldview got a foothold in social media a few months ago and went viral immediately to great applause of, especially the younger generation.
In August this year, an American survey across all age groups pointed out that 25% of employees admitted that they were doing the bare minimum at work – 30% of them were between the age of 25 and 34, whereas only 8% were above 54. (CBS news 24/08/2022)
One wonders what an army with this attitude would be able to accomplish in a war. And would we soon have doctors and police refusing to save lives under “too difficult” circumstances? Imagine sitting in a plane with a pilot who is quitting quietly in the cabin!
We need to show the next generation how to love work. They should see in us the joy and fulfillment that result from doing one’s best. They should learn that the highest calling in God’s eyes is to serve others, and to do it well. After all, life is not all about ME and MY wants. We need to help our children experience how rewarding it is when people work together in selfless unity and love.
“Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the inheritance which is your reward.” (Col. 3: 23, 24) AMP
Sources https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2022/09/13/1122059402/the-economics-behind-quiet-quitting-and-what-we-should-call-it-instead
“Quiet quitting”: A revolution in how we work or the end of working hard? – CBS News (24/08/2022)