Tue, 09 May 2017 13:29:07 +0000
By Edna Y.Kazonga
| This is a true story though the names are ficticious. Its prize-giving day at Musha Secondary School and all the pupils are seated in the School Hall in an orderly manner pretending to obey school rules as they wait for the Minister of Education to come and grace the occasion. The school surroundings are spotlessly clean with the lawn and flower beds well watered and properly weeded. |
There are no sweet wrappers on the school grounds, not even the lolly-pop sticks, crisps or biscuit wrappers. The famous banana and orange peels have properly been disposed off in the trash cans. As for the teachers, mmm…lovely suits!
Prize-Giving
Prize-Giving is a time when deserving pupils get rewarded for their hard work either in the academic year or as a cumulative venture. Rewards were categorised as best pupil in Natural Sciences (Mathematics, Science and Computers), best pupil in Social Sciences and the most well behaved pupil. Extra-curricular activities were also recognised and rewarded. This was the same in each grade stream. Another interesting prize was for the most improved pupil. This prize is meant to encourage those pupils who perform badly but have shown signs of improvement.
There was a large well decorated table in front of the hall where wrapped prizes were put. Among the top prizes were Laptops, I-pads, Tablets, Smart phones and digital cameras. These were perfect prizes for these teenagers. Other prizes included dictionaries, pencil cases and Mathematical Instrument sets. The top 3 prizes came with reward money of K300.00 each. Not bad for teenagers.
The motive behind prize-giving is to encourage pupils to work hard and also to simply reward them for their hard work. The table on which prizes were put had to be well guarded after Musonda, a grade 12 pupil threatened to snatch the Laptops because he never got any prize since grade 8.
Minister’s Speech
The minister chose to enter the School Hall using the back entrance which gave him a long walk to the front and this walk lasted for eternity. The reason for choosing the back entrance was not known. The pupils stood up reluctantly and did something that I have failed to understand up to now. As the Minister passed, each of the pupils looked at him from top to bottom as in from his hair to his shoes and back up from his shoes to his hair, each and every pupil did exactly that… beats me. What were they staring at and what was going on in their minds? I asked one of them to tell me and a number of them just giggled and told me to ask them later.
In his speech the Minister as usual encouraged pupils to work hard and the famous adult phrase was echoed from him, “When I was at school, I used to pass number 1…..” I had to suppress a comment from a naughty pupil who whispered, “What about now what number do you pass in Government Sir?”
Presentation of Awards
Time came for presentation of prizes and the pupils waited anxiously as the Minister and the School Principal positioned themselves to give out the prizes. The Principal started speaking, “The first prize for best pupil in grade 12 Mathematics goes to…” at that time a loud voice was heard from under the table “Musonda” and at that moment Musonda came out from under the table where he was hiding and as swiftly as lightning he snatched the well wrapped laptop which was about to be handed over to the minister for presentation. He headed for the school gate but fortunately was caught by the School Security Guard. Nobody knew at what time Musonda went to hide under the table which had prizes on top of it. No one took him seriously either when he earlier threatened to snatch one laptop.
Teachers struggled to bring things back to normal as everyone present was trying to come to terms with what had happened. The programme eventually continued but at a very fast pace this time probably for fear of other eventualities.
Put to Task
As the others continued with the programme, the School Counsellor with 2 other Guidance Teachers were put to task to calm Musonda down so that they could get to the bottom of his desperation. Musonda could not budge and he kept his mouth tightly closed and gazed into space for a good 15 minutes. It was clear that the teachers were dealing with a troubled child. So sad! It was important to get a word from Musonda so that they could find a way of helping him. A check at his past performance at junior level showed excellent academic performance but at grade 10 level, Musonda’s performance started declining up to grade 12.
The school Counsellor decided to be alone with Musonda so that he could open up. Musonda complained that he studies hard for long hours ..way long into the night but fails all the tests. He vowed never to leave secondary school without scooping an award. The award was not forthcoming and he was now in grade 12, hence the stealing of the Laptop. Poor child!
The following points came up after Musonda was asked to explain his study pattern. Why is it that he studies hard but performs badly academically?
- Studying only when a test is announced
- Studying with earphones and loud music on
- Studying while lying on the bed
- Studying alone all the time
- Studying only from his exercise book
- Studying while eating all the time
- Studying aimlessly without any plan or time-table
These and many other points came out as Musonda and the school counsellor discussed for close to 1 hour. Unfortunately, when Musonda’s parents were contacted, they refused to cooperate with the School Cousellor and said with pride that they had given up on Musonda who was their only child. This sad situation is not permanent but it can be reversed. Parents, pupils and teachers working together can transform any situation into what I call a fertile learning ground.
Lessons learnt
Clearly Musonda had the potential to do very well academically. This is seen when his records for the junior grades were checked. There must be something that Musonda was missing out that led to his poor performance. Obviously Musonda was doing it all wrong in terms of revision. He seemed to have no interest in mixing with friends to find out how they were studying in order to get those very high marks which got them those awards at Prize-Giving day. Musonda also had no interest in asking his teachers or let alone his parents for any guidance on how to study. Musonda’s case was simple to solve and all he needed was a guide on good study techniques and a relevant good dose of motivation that’s all.
We could also conclude that due to the present teacher-pupil ratio, it is very difficult for teachers to guide pupils on how to study effectively. It is also difficult to notice abnormal behaviour in pupils early enough for correction purposes. Had Musonda’s desperation been noticed early enough it would have been corrected by his teachers at the earliest possible momment and the embarrassing incident at the Prize-Giving day would not have occurred at all.
Way forward
Pupils should open up to their teachers and parents when they experience problems with their school work. Parents on the other hand should not rush to condemn their children or teachers when there is underperformance but they should get to the bottom of things by seeking an audience with the teachers concerning the child to chart the way forward. It could be something that can easily be solved through coaching or counselling as was the case with Musonda. Parents must never give up on an underperforming child because one day that child could be a recipient of his dream award at a Prize-Giving day. I will soon start writing a series of articles with simple guidelines on how to learn, study and revise for excellent school performance.
We safely conclude that when pupils know how to study and revise well, it not only helps them to pass examinations but helps them settle down in future in any environment.
Some techniques for good study and learning habits go a long way in helping the future endeavours of a human being. I have always said that it is not only the I.Q. of the child that counts but it’s a combination of a lot of other factors such as how, when and what to study. Even though each school subject has its own guidelines of how to learn and study it, there is always an intersection in the general learning and good study habits of all subjects.
