Thattallgirl:
With everything you wrote, to me the school shares most of the blame...the school owner and the person in charge of the day to day activities in the school including the director. It's like some school owners do not know what having a school should be all about. I feel some schools aren't strict anymore in terms of discipline (not talking about flogging). Every parent should provide textbooks for the kids as a requirement into any new class.

I don't know how it's done in the school you teach but when a child scores an F in a subject, what happens? Is the child given an opportunity to rewrite the exam during holidays with a different set of questions? If the child, due to lack of seriousness still doesn't perform well, is it suspension that comes next or the child will repeat the class? Or it's just going to be in the record and that's all?

Why choose a different curriculum from the one the Lagos government offers when you cannot continue with it even up to exam? Why condone students who won't follow rules by not doing assignments and still allow them enter the school premises? Well, I guess it's because of money. They want to keep impressing the parents so that they won't remove their children from the school.

When parents and students know how strict the school is and that they have a very good reputation in building students, I doubt they'd behave the way they are doing. About attention in the classroom, I wonder when schools will allow teachers give short tests at the end of each class everyday, based solely on what was taught in that particular period. Each tests could carry 3 marks or so and make up for the entire test scores per term. Reduce the 60 marks given to exam cos it just makes students cram and pour. Raise the F grade to 50 marks or 60 marks. Give more emphasis on daily tests and midterm tests and practicals. Let's see if students won't be forced to pay attention and jot down when need be.

Honestly there's a lot to say and I understand how annoying it is for you as a teacher.

Youve said it all. These school owners are only protecting their own interests, not because they really care.

As for the exams, they are not made to retake it. It will just be there in the records but they will pass. I've never seen a child repeat in my years of teaching. As in... You can't make a child repeat a class even when it's glaring he didn't pass and doesn't deserve to be promoted. The parents will withdraw the child and because the school doesn't want to lose pupils, they'll just promote. Parents that even come to ask for double promotion for their wards and the school will grant it? The system is really messed up.

I was actually thinking in the direction of conducting test weekly to see if that would bring about improvement and instil seriousness in them but then I considered the timing because as a visiting teacher, I am time bound and only go once in a week. So I may not be able to meet up with scheme and timing. Will look into though and see if I can manage it.

The frown against discipline in schools these days is getting too much. You are not allowed to discipline anymore. The children know this and are now capitalizing on it to misbehave and be disobedient to the teachers.

Thanks dear. Will look into that weekly test.

Blessedmercy8:


Youve said it all. These school owners are only protecting their own interests, not because they really care.

As for the exams, they are not made to retake it. It will just be there in the records but they will pass. I've never seen a child repeat in my years of teaching. As in... You can't make a child repeat a class even when it's glaring he didn't pass and doesn't deserve to be promoted. The parents will withdraw the child and because the school doesn't want to lose pupils, they'll just promote. Parents that even come to ask for double promotion for their wards and the school will grant it? The system is really messed up.

Wow. If I were a school owner, I'd want to be proud of the fact that parents line up to enroll their kids into my school and that we even turn some away cos of the number of students we already have per class. I'd want both students and parents to know that if the students do not take their academics (both academic and non-academic subjects) seriously, they'll either be asked to retake the exam during the holidays or they'll be suspended or repeat the class, but that students who get enrolled in my school are well trained and are brilliant or end up becoming brilliant due to our methods, and are well equipped with different skills to survive out there even if they're unable to attend university. Some parents may wanna threaten to remove their kids if I don't favor them, and I'd be like "please take your child away. I only want serious students even if they're few". But that means either my school fees are high or I have other things doing to fund the school cos education is a great thing to invest in. Sadly, that isn't the case for many school owners.

I was actually thinking in the direction of conducting test weekly to see if that would bring about improvement and instil seriousness in them but then I considered the timing because as a visiting teacher, I am time bound and only go once in a week. So I may not be able to meet up with scheme and timing. Will look into though and see if I can manage it. [quote] If it's something you can do please do.

[quote] The frown against discipline in schools these days is getting too much. You are not allowed to discipline anymore. The children know this and are now capitalizing on it to misbehave and be disobedient to the teachers.

Thanks dear. Will look into that weekly test.

That's why majority of the blame goes to the school owners. The students can't try that rubbish with a well reputed strict school.
You're welcome.

1. Before blames are pushed, we must know and understand that the educational system of Nigeria is poor and wack. Trying to establish a good building on a failed system will cause more pain and loss. No matter the solution or initiatives passed to ensure good academic performance, if it is based on the old order of operation there will be no positive result.

2. Academic performance borders on intelligence quotient(IQ), environment, socioeconomic status, school, teachers, etc. A child with a low IQ will find it difficult to match with a higher IQ child, the only remedy is to put more attention on the academics of the child. This will not cause a great increase in IQ points, probably between 1-5 points at most, but it helps the student to perform better and excellently.

3. If these kids with low IQs are compared with their mates with higher IQs without serious consideration of their IQ deficiency, teachers and schools will be blamed and held responsible for their academic performances. Students with a high IQ will always do well no matter their tough academic challenges.

4. In our contemporary day, young pupils and students are exposed to a truckload of material and physical things that takes their attention from studying.

Their exposure to social media without parental guidance is a contributing factor. By the way, parents don't care about their kids anymore. No discipline. No good counseling. They feel providing food and shelter is all.

Children mingle with their colleagues in school, and they are influenced by these colleagues. If parents don't place adequate attention on their kids there's nothing anybody can do. Charity begins at home. From observation, modern-day parents are weak, and not even responsible enough to raise good kids.

5. In a country where "school na scam" is being harangued into the ears of the young and old, you should not expect any good and tangible result.

6. Teachers on the other hand are not equipped and paid well to deliver maximum information and teach effectively. Many Nigerian teachers are not even interested in teaching, most found themselves in the occupation because of the high rate of unemployment in the country. Teaching is just a temporal solace for them. The ills of society are experienced by teachers too, and this in turn affects their performance in class.

7. You can't categorically place the blame on a particular person. On one hand, all of them are free because of the poor cultural, social, political, and economic situations of the country. On the flip side, they are reprehensible because they don't do the needful under their control.

The educational system of Nigeria is standing in a quagmire, it needs a total and deliberate overhauling, else, we continue to patch and push blame.

Thanks.

CaveAdullam:
1. Before blames are pushed, we must know and understand that the educational system of Nigeria is poor and wack. Trying to establish a good building on a failed system will cause more pain and loss. No matter the solution or initiatives passed to ensure good academic performance, if it is based on the old order of operation there will be no positive result.

2. Academic performance borders on intelligence quotient(IQ), environment, socioeconomic status, school, teachers, etc. A child with a low IQ will find it difficult to match with a higher IQ child, the only remedy is to put more attention on the academics of the child. This will not cause a great increase in IQ points, probably between 1-5 points at most, but it helps the student to perform better and excellently.

3. If these kids with low IQs are compared with their mates with higher IQs without serious consideration of their IQ deficiency, teachers and schools will be blamed and held responsible for their academic performances. Students with a high IQ will always do well no matter their tough academic challenges.

4. In our contemporary day, young pupils and students are exposed to a truckload of material and physical things that takes their attention from studying.

Their exposure to social media without parental guidance is a contributing factor. By the way, parents don't care about their kids anymore. No discipline. No good counseling. They feel providing food and shelter is all.

Children mingle with their colleagues in school, and they are influenced by these colleagues. If parents don't place adequate attention on their kids there's nothing anybody can do. Charity begins at home. From observation, modern-day parents are weak, and not even responsible enough to raise good kids.

5. In a country where "school na scam" is being harangued into the ears of the young and old, you should not expect any good and tangible result.

6. Teachers on the other hand are not equipped and paid well to deliver maximum information and teach effectively. Many Nigerian teachers are not even interested in teaching, most found themselves in the occupation because of the high rate of unemployment in the country. Teaching is just a temporal solace for them. The ills of society are experienced by teachers too, and this in turn affects their performance in class.

7. You can't categorically place the blame on a particular person. On one hand, all of them are free because of the poor cultural, social, political, and economic situations of the country. On the flip side, they are reprehensible because they don't do the needful under their control.

The educational system of Nigeria is standing in a quagmire, it needs a total and deliberate overhauling, else, we continue to patch and push blame.

Thanks.

Hmmm... Well spoken.
Thank you Sir.