IS YOUR CHILD READY FOR THE NEXT PHASE?

Marésa Viljoen

THE NON-NEGOTIABLE ‘READINESS’ KIT FOR YOUR CHILD’S SUCCESS AND YOUR OWN SURVIVAL

Yes. Believe it. Guilty: I was also one of you. 

One of those parents who fretted and wondered if my children would be okay with change and whether or not they would cope with the new grade and phase and later, with the change to high school. Because you see, the Grade 3 teacher was their second mother. I was totally convinced that the Grade 4 ‘school master’ would be altogether too strict. What if the child is in trouble because of a book left at home, or homework is not done or - just as bad - done badly ... what if the child is bullied or does not understand the work ... what if he or she is teased or the teacher picks on them and is lonely and has no friends? What if....... what if, what....? 

Those same little angels over whom we work ourselves into a frenzy worrying about whether or not they will make it, will in a few years’ time engender completely different emotions in our parental hearts. In Grade 3 they are the “seniors” of the phase – little tigers and prima donnas; in Grade 4 they are the ‘little ones’ of the intermediate phase. Later, the teenage years hit us. This is the stormy phase of extremes of emotion swinging between withdrawal into stony silence and testing the strength of the door jamb. This phase can transform young individuals into hormonally- driven demons that drive alarmed mothers to experience the early symptoms of menopause. Mix a heavy dollop of increasing peer pressure into the recipe as children get older and the chances of someone really losing their ‘cool’, are very good indeed. 

But, let’s step back a pace or two and get some perspective. The different school phases have been defined as they are for good reasons and are actually the building blocks that will prepare our children to one day be able to spread their wings and fly on their own. Why? Because an academic achievement of 80%, certificates and trophies are no guarantee for success in life.  

The Foundation Phase is the first step. It is the phase in which children are cherished to allow them to feel emotionally safe enough to dare to learn new things. The teacher still has the time to give comfort when a knee has been grazed or a toe stubbed during the break. There is also extra time to finish whatever tasks have been started. In fact, the child is deliberately surrounded by a sense of security. But no. It is not a good idea to do your little angel’s homework for him/her, because in Grade 4 the picture changes dramatically. The pace increases significantly; the number of subjects increases; there is movement between classrooms and the presence of a greater number of teachers each having a different approach to teaching and a different sense of discipline. And if you thought that Grade 7 is simply an extension of Grade 6 with all the lessons and nuances now comfortably learnt: You are wrong. Grade 7 is the beginning of a new phase – the Senior Phase. This phase is the preparation year for the high School and increased responsibility. There is now much less time to invest on the development of physical, social and emotional skills. If you fall behind you fall behind. Balanced children who can look after themselves, pack their own bags, organise themselves and their own space, who can work under pressure, who can come up with solutions to problems and simply use their common sense, can tip the scales of success heavily in their own favour. So, what is the magical but seemingly elusive element that needs to be standard equipment in our ‘quest-kit’ to bring up a successful child? It is actually quite simple: It’s that empowering little phrase, “Come. Let us.... 

Let us equip our children with a comprehensive vocabulary that will enable them to express their thoughts and emotions in words. Because life is about communication. Parents with toddlers must talk to their little ones and read to them as much as possible because this is where the foundations of a rich vocabulary are established. Learners who have a limited vocabulary struggle to understand the work to be learnt, to participate in class discussions, to ask for help or to articulate their emotions. A lack of knowledge of language and an insufficient vocabulary is the biggest stumbling block in a learner’s progress. 
Instilling a sound sense of discipline and routine is the responsibility of the parents. It is not the responsibility of the school. Parents must be prepared to lay down definite, consistent rules and boundaries in the home. Life is about choices and the choice is either obedient children or, obedient parents. As parents, the choice is ours. Let’s take care that our children don’t waste unnecessary time in front of computers, television screens or on cell phones and ensure instead that they get sufficient sleep. Tired children who struggle to keep their eyes open and concentrate during lessons are a greater problem than parents realise. Children learn by example. Inadequate coverage of the curriculum is in large part blamed on the learners’ insufficient language ability and poor vocabulary but also, significantly, on teaching time that gets lost. So, parents who themselves have poor time management and are regularly late for work and late to drop their children off at school, create the impression – by example - that crisis time-management is acceptable. It is essential that children have time to socialise with other children before the start of the formal school day – it is when the sense of “I am part of/ I belong” is established.  

Be careful not to “spoon-feed” your child. If a book or sports bag is left at home, well, so be it. Don’t run after your child. And furthermore, we do our children no favour whatever to insist that the teacher carefully and clearly demarcates the work to be learnt for tests or exams. All we are doing with this sort of interference is to make our children’s tertiary education lives more difficult. At tertiary level students are expected to be able to study completely independently. Our children have to learn how to work through masses of information, quickly and critically in order to get an overall, wholistic sense of the subject. Let us therefore, rather support our children by ensuring that they have the correct study methods, that they know how to take and use notes, that they know how to learn on their own and that they know how to organise their time and themselves. Just as parents have the right to have expectations of the school, just so do parents have responsibilities as well. Parent evenings are actually rarely, if ever, optional. Let’s make the time and attend. Remember that children spell LOVE like this – TIME. Respect the school’s line-function and always start with the teacher, NOT the principal. Let’s teach our children how to handle conflict. Let’s carry fewer complaints to the principal and work harder at developing a sound working relationship with the teachers by giving them the benefit of the doubt, more often. Perhaps we should give ourselves a quick glance in the mirror and remember that actually, we are all human. Let us, as parents take hands with our children’s teachers and start trusting each other. That sort of working relationship has to start somewhere – why not with us as parents?

A poorly developed sense of personal responsibility can be one of the biggest stumbling blocks on our children’s path to success. Grade 12 is just around the corner. Come, let us teach our children from the beginning the values that we ourselves would look for in an employee: work ethic, comittment, respect for all around us, tolerance for other languages and cultures, patience, friendliness, positivity, integrity and basic good manners. Let us teach our children to meet deadlines and to finish what we start. Let us teach them how to work in a team. Let us teach them to communicate, openly and fearlessly; collectively and individually, humbly, without arrogance and without the need for cell phones. Let’s teach them to look each other in the eyes and to LISTEN. 

Life is a pivilege: let us respect it as such. Only then will our children be ‘okay.’ 
by Anet Burns, Departementshoof, Laerskool Monumentpark, Pretoria 16 Jan, 2024
Jy het uiteindelik jou studies voltooi en met die aanbreek van die nuwe skooljaar sien jy uit na jou heel eerste onderwyspos. Hulpmiddels vir jou klas word gemaak en gekoop, en van die kalender tot verjaarsdagplakkaat pas alles by die oulike tema wat jy gekies het. Op sosiale media sluit jy fluks aan by die onderwysergroepe en vra raad by ander. Alles sodat jou eerste dag sonder enige haakplekke kan verloop! Alhoewel daar ‘n magdom praktiese wenke is wat jou nuwe kollegas met jou sal deel, is dit belangrik om te onthou dat elke kind, klas, skool, jaar en ouergemeenskap van mekaar verskil. Planne en tegnieke wat by kollega A se plattelandse skool in die Noord-Kaap ‘n treffer is, sal dalk nie by jou voorstedelike skool in Gauteng so suksesvol wees nie. Tyd en ervaring het egter geleer dat daar wel ses basiese dinge is wat alle onderwysers (meestal) positief en produktief sal hou - maak nie saak waar of hoe lank jy skoolhou nie.
by VivA • 19 Jul, 2023 19 Jul, 2023
Het jy al opgelet hoedat mense die woord bottel gebruik om eintlik na die inhoud van die bottel te verwys, soos in Die baba drink sy bottel ; of hoe oog vir detail gebruik word in plaas van fyn aanvoeling vir detail , soos in Sy het ’n oog vir detail ? Wanneer jy woorde só vervang, skep jy skakels tussen dinge rondom jou: tussen die bottel en die inhoud daarvan, of tussen die vermoë om fyn detail te identifiseer en die deel van die mens, die oog, wat die fyn detail waarneem. Hierdie skakels word deur hulle taalgebruik gereflekteer. Jy wys hierdeur vir ander mense hóé jy sin maak van die konsepte rondom jou.
by J van den Berg 02 Jun, 2023
Onderrig is 'n veeleisende beroep wat baie fisiese en geestelike energie verg. Met lang ure en 'n besige skedule kan dit vir onderwysers uitdagend wees om die tyd en energie te vind om goed te eet. Om seker te maak dat jy 'n gebalanseerde en gesonde dieet eet, is egter noodsaaklik om goeie gesondheid te handhaaf en op jou beste te presteer. In hierdie blogpos bespreek ons 'n paar wenke vir onderwysers om goed te eet en gesond te bly.
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