Schools, Kids, Educators and Parents

DISCIPLINE
At this season that the world is going through this pandemic, COVID-19 and most families are at home due to the lockdown. The experience of staying truly reveals the real character of their child or children. And most parents are really looking for solution. That is why I have to abstract this title from my upcoming book, which title is at bottom of this article. Please, enjoy it and send your comments.
‘’One of the hardest things to teach a child is that abstainer is more important than consequence’’. O. A. Battista
‘’Discipline your son while there is still hope. Do not be the one responsible for his death’’. Proverb 19: 18.
“Father, do not exasperate your children, that they may not lose heat” Col. 3: 21
The root word ‘’discipline’’ come from the word ‘’disciple’’ which means student or learner. It’s also from a Latin word ‘disciplinarian’ which means ‘to teach’’. Discipline is a form of instruction, education and correction that helps us as human.
How then can parent discipline their child? The first step of discipline is for parent to develop responsibility for their child to respond to their direction. If the child does not learn the skill, the child would not respond to discipline. This is very important. The major thing about discipline is the ‘heart’ the person responding to the discipline. Dealing with the heart is very important. Parent must have their child obedience before he or she can respond to discipline. You need to earn your child’s respect and obedience as ‘authority figure’. Every parent should be figure of authority to their child. The question is how can parent accomplish this goal? The answer is to this question is to go back to God. Another question parent need to ask is ‘how does God parent his own children? The book of Hebrews gives us an insight into God’s parenting style. The book says “Child pay attention when the Lord discipline you. Don’t give up when He correct The Lord discipline anyone He loves. He severely disciplines everyone He accepts as His child’’ Heb. 12:5-6. God love and care for us and He wants the best for us. God only discipline us when we need it. He doesn’t want us to continue down the wrong path, so He allows us to experience difficulties and hardship to bring us back to course. Every God discipline is based on deep love for us.
Some parent belief exercising their God – given authority by disciplining their child would make their child not to love them. Parent think love means never to make our child feels bad or angry. But in reality, it means doing what is right for your child even when it requires unfriendly consequences. True discipline is based on deep love for the person under discipline.
As a Christian, we believe in discipline. We believe there is only one set of rules, which is God’s rules. These rules applicable at all time and in every place.
Please parent, don’t be fool or deceived about your child. All children are born with foolishness bound up in their heart. That is the reason parent need to follow God’s example, discipline your child. Please know that every child needs discipline and guidelines.
God given Parents authority to discipline their child. You are not doing it to suit your fancy, you doing it, because God want you to. Discipline is to make your child to do what God wants. It is good to encourage your child to do what God want. Parent require obedience from their child, because parent are called to do it and your child are called to obey you and to honor you as their parent, that what God says.
‘’Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live for a long time in the land the LORD your God is giving you’’.
‘’Train a child in the way he should go and even when he is old he will not turn away from it’’.
Teaching someone to obey, is teaching someone to live by a set rules. So, as parent you need to teach your child about obedience. Obedience is knowing the important of learning to a live under authority. Obedient is an important ingredient of a healthy family. So, for a functional family, parental authority is use for the benefit of their child. Every children are band to obey their parent, when parents are committed to high ethical, moral standard of living.
It is a wrong belief that discipline is to change the behavior of a child. Most parents are not facing the main issue, they are busy focusing on the behavior of their child, instead of dealing with what is going in the heart of their child. The change in behavior does not develop from a change in heart.
Most parent love good behavior, but they confuse it with a will submitted to God. Parent need to know that rules only does not only make up discipline. Some parent believe that setting rules is the only way of discipline. But if it is rule, anyone can train animals to obey rules. Discipline is all about relationship, not about setting rules. And this relationship is between the parent and God, parent and the child and the relationship of the child and God. It is a tripod things. It is the love of God that makes this discipline to function within the parent. Every process of discipline instill in your child, makes your child to conform his or her character to the character of Christ. Parent should know that It is the love you have for your child that makes you to discipline your child. And this is all about producing Christ in them.
It is very important to know that parenting is the actual form of discipleship. Parent must seek to follow Christ in their lives and the child too should learn to follow Him. The only power behind our authority is God. So, parent should submit their authority to God. –“MODELING GOD TO YOUR CHILDREN” By Akinpelu Murphy Shola

Copied from another forum

HOW SAFE ARE YOU WITH YOUR PERSONAL STAFF?

How safe are you with that nanny, maid, steward, cook, security guards, driver, lesson teacher, etc, whether at home or in the office?

We are all shouting "Security! Security!! Security"!!! but are we not all guilty?

1) All the above mentioned people working with us, do we have their guarantors?

Do you ever visit their referees even after a year or two of their engagement?

2) Do we ever revisit their home address provided or call to see if there has been a change in address or phone numbers?

3) Did you register the maid, drivers, nannies, etc, you keep in your homes with the relevant agencies such as the Police, Safety Commission or Neighbourhood Vigilante groups?

Do you have their photographs?

4) Do you attend your Estate/Street meetings or are you so reserved that you have no relationship with your neighbors and too busy to attend meetings?

5) Do you have a What'sApp group for residents only for emergency messages such as when a neighbour is being attacked or robbed, a fire incident, a neighbour is critically ill and needs urgent help and other emergencies?

6) Do you know that your cook, nanny, driver, steward, maid, day care center handlers or lesson teacher, etc, could be HIV positive?
He/She can have Hepatitis B or even tuberculosis?

What will it cost you to do a medical test for them before you employ them?

It is your life that is in danger if you engage a sick victim without knowing their medical history.

7) Do you know that your driver could be a wanted person by the police in another state for theft or kidnapping?

Have you done a check on him with the Police and do you have a 5x7 photograph of him?

Do you know that he could be hypertensive, have Hbp, poor eye sight or he could have an enlarged heart and not fit to drive?

8) Is your security guard a citizen or a foreigner from Niger, Chad and Benin Republic? How did/can you confirm that? If he is a foreigner, is he
Registered by the requisite organisation and eligible to work here?

9) Never talk about money transactions or cost of your jewelleries or valuables in the presence of your domestic staff.

Most theft usually have in-house informants. Please note that the longer your domestic staff work with you, the more dangerous they can be.

They wait for a time to strike when you least expect and they are hardly ever thought to be the suspect.

Don't be a victim.
Do all the necessary checks immediately.

Save your life and that of your loved ones.

Security and safety is everyone's business including you 👈and I 👉

. 1. If your child lies to you often, it is because you over-react too harshly to their inappropriate behaviour.

2. If your child is not taught to confide in you about their mistakes, you’ve lost them.

3. If your child had poor self-esteem, it is because you advice them more than you encourage them.

4. If your child does not stand up for themselves, it is because from a young age you have disciplined them regularly in public.

5. If your child takes things that do not belong to them, it is because when you buy them things, you don’t let them chose what they want.

6. If your child is cowardly, it is because you help them too quickly.

7. If your child does not respect other people’s feelings, it is because instead of speaking to your child, you order and command them.

8. If your child is too quick to anger, it is because you give too much attention to misbehaviour and you give little attention to good behaviour.

9. If your child is excessively jealous, it is because you only congratulate them when they successfully complete something and not when they improve at something even if they don’t successfully complete it.

10. If your child intentionally disturbs you, it is because you are not physically affectionate enough.

11. If your child is openly defiant, it is because you openly threaten to do something but don’t follow through.

12. If your child is secretive, it is because they don’t trust that you won’t blow things out of proportion.

13. If your child talks back to you, it is because they watch you do it to others and think its normal behaviour.

14. If your child doesn’t listen to you but listens to others, it is because you are too quick to jump to conclusions

15. If your child rebels it is because they know you care more about what others think than what is right

Read this, it MAY GUIDE OUR MODERN PARENTING.

WHO'S PACKING YOUR PARACHUTE?

Air Commodore Vishal was a Jet Pilot. In a combat mission, his fighter plane was destroyed by a missile. He however ejected himself and parachuted safely. He won acclaims and appreciations from many.

After five years, one day he was sitting with his wife in a restaurant. A man from another table came to him and said "You're Captain Vishal ! You flew jet fighters. You were shot down!"
"How in the world did you know that?" asked Vishal. "I packed your parachute," the man smiled and replied. Vishal gasped in surprise and gratitude and thought - 'if that parachute hadn't worked, I wouldn’t be here today'.

Vishal couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. He wondered how many times he might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, he was a fighter pilot and that person was just a safety worker".

So friends, who's packing your parachute? Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day or one situation or the other. We need many kinds of parachutes when our 'plane is shot down'. We need the physical parachute, the mental parachute, the emotional parachute, the spiritual parachute & the financial parachute.

We call on all these supports before reaching safety. Sometimes, in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say 'hello', 'please', or 'thank you'; congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason.

As we go through this week, the rest of this month and year, let us recognize the people who pack our parachutes. In the New Year and for the rest of our lives, may we never forget to recognize and appreciate those who play significant roles in our journey.

I just want to Thank Everyone who packed my parachute all these years in one way or the other - through your words, deeds (including hugs, yeah hugs) and prayers. May God bless you all. Amen.

Dear Parents,
HABITS THAT SHOW IMPROPER UPBRINGING OF CHILDREN (edited copy. pls ignore d one earlier posted)
Please, carefully look at the list below and identify where you may want to make amends on yourself or on the young ones you are bringing up.
Children, if not properly groomed may never get to the top in life, even if both parents are at the top of their careers.
Manners take you to where your education can't, irrespective of your status, wealth or your riches or influence.
1) Going to your child's school indecently dressed. Think again.
2) Speaking rashly to your child's teacher.
3) Cursing, using foul language or swearing words in front of your children.
4) Using makeup on children.
5) Dressing your little children up indecently (they loose their sense of Princess hood).
6) Putting earrings on your son's ears.
7) Your child holds the cup or glassware by the brim and you don't correct.
8) Your children don't greet and you just feel they will come around one day because they have a mood swing. ( You will be blamed for it)
9) Your children eat with their mouth opened and you feel they will grow up some day.
10) Your children bring home something you did not buy for them and you say nothing. (that is the beginning of stealing)
11) They talk back at you and you conclude it's okay since you are a 21st century Mummy. (You will hate yourself if they do that outside and they are disciplined )
12) They interrupt when you are speaking with another adult and you think they are bold and clever. (Its really bad manners)
13) They exercise authority over the nanny and domestic staff and you let them be. (that is bad parenting)
14) They say things like "my driver is on his way..."
I do not advocate that children should call your domestic staff aunty or brother, calling them by name when they are not young people is not poise either. The use of Miss, Mr or Mrs will look good on them.
15) Your children don't say a 'thank you' when they have been helped or served something and you are cool with that. (Bad parenting)
16) When your children cannot stand children who are less privileged.
18) When they pick their nose with their hands.
19) When they don't wash their hands after visiting the washroom or after returning from school or outside visits.
20) When your children take something from the fridge without taking permission. (Bad parenting)
21) When your children don't knock on closed doors and wait for a response before opening the door.
22) When your children don't collect from your hands items you brought in as you walk into your home.
23) When your children request for a bribe to carry out their home chores or extra task. (That is disgraceful )
24) When your children act like their grand parents irritate them.
25) When your children have not learnt to get up from the chair for the elderly or visitors to sit.
26) When your child tells a lot of lies. (You will both cry in the future)
27) When your child asks "who is that?" at a knock on your door instead of "please, who is there."
28) When your child is always seated by your visitors when being served drinks etc.
29) When your children still point their fingers at other people.
30) When your children play and jump around when prayers are going on.(age 4 above). Dont be a 21st Century parent who cannot correct a child. Train your child in the way of the Lord so that when he grows up he will not depart frm it. IT IS BETTER TO LET YOUR CHILDREN CRY AT AN EARLY AGE WHEN YOU CORRECT THEM, IF NOT YOU WILL BOTH CRY AT NIGHT WHEN THEY BRING DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY WITH BAD AND TERRIBLE BEHAVIOURS
Pls circulate to all parents and grandparents that are on your contact list to assure us all a better future. God bless you.

DISCIPLINE
"Discipline your son while there is still hope. Do not be the one responsible for his death ". Pro. 19:18.

Discipline is from a root word 'disciple' which means student or leaner. It's also a Latin word 'disciplinares' which means 'to teach'. Discipline is a form of instruction, education and correction that helps us as human.

How then can parent or teacher discipline? The first step of discipline is to develop responsibility for their child to respond to their direction. If the child doesn't learn the skill of responsibility, the child would not respond to discipline. The major thing about discipline is the 'heart'. Dealing with the heart is very important. Parent or teacher must have their child or student obedience before the child can respond to discipline. You need to earn your child's or student respect and obedience as 'authority figure'. Parent or teacher should be figure of authority. The question is 'how can accomplish this goal? The answer is to go back to God. And another question is how do God parent his own children? The book of Hebrews gives us an insight into God's parenting style. This book says "Child pay attention when the Lord discipline you. Don't give up when He correct. The Lord discipline anyone He loves. He severely discipline everyone He accept as His child". God love and care for us. He wants the best for us. God only discipline us when we need it. He doesn't want us to continue down the wrong path, so He allows us to experience difficulties and hardship to bring us back to course. His discipline is based on deep love for us.
Some parent or teacher belief exercising their God - giving authority by disciplining their child or student would make their child or student not to love them. Parent and teachers think love means never to make our child or student feels bad or angry. But in reality, it means doing what is best for them even when it requires unpleasant consequences.
As a Christian, we believe in discipline. We believe there is only one set of rules, which is God's rules. These rules apply all the time and in every place.

Child Safety and Teachers Mental Health:
The mental fitness of the teacher, is a prerequisite for the safety of our children in Schools. This means that for our children to be safe in the hands of our teachers, the teachers must be certified mentally fit. Our position here may sound too regimental, but, when viewed from a backdrop of recent physical abuse by teachers across the globe on children, it becomes imperative that teachers be made to undergo periodic mental checks to ascertain their mental balance.
Only last week, a teacher in Baltimore, USA was arrested for breaking the jaw of a seven year old child in a school. The report claimed that the teacher, threw the kid against the wall, thereby breaking his jaw and knocking out two of his teeth. Of course the teacher denied throwing the child against the wall, but, a surveillance camera caught the teacher in the act. His name is Timothy Randall Korr. The child is Trayon Grayson.
According to Trayon's mother, her son "Keeps having visions of his teacher throwing him against the wall." Trayon Grayson is physically hurt, needs surgery and is suffering mentally.
Back home in Nigeria, the is a plethora of child physical abuse by teachers. Sometime last month, a teacher flogged a female pupil on her buttocks, causing some physical bruises, and, of course, mental disorientation as such a child, will associate school with pain. She is just a case in Isolation.
The School Overseer therefore submits that teachers need to pass a mental test once every term.
See below for pictures of Timothy and Trayon.

TWO SCULPTORS

I dreamed I stood in a studio
and watched two sculptors there.
The clay they used was a young child's mind,and they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher.
The tools he used were books, music, and art; One was a parent,
who worked with a guiding hand, and a gentle, heart.

Day after day the teacher toiled, with a touch that was deft and sure.
While the parent labored by her side and polished and smoothed it o'er.

And then at last their task was done. They were proud of what they had wrought. For the things they had molded into the child could never be sold or bought.

And each agreed they would have failed if he had worked alone.
For behind the teacher stood the school and behind the parent, the home.

True today!Always true.

Collaboration has and will always be more effective than competition. Let's get with the programme.

I am open to . There, I said it first.

I have never understood the need to fight. The crab in a bucket mentality is a killer.
I do not need to prove my superiority or skill set to another. So please don't feel pressured to prove anything to me. I respect you for who you are.

I agree with the ideology that says when we work TOGETHER we can achieve much more than working against each other.

As schools, we need to get to that point where we stop tearing down another because we feel it builds us up. Let me tell you something for free; It does not!
Your need to prove you are better than I am, shows and screams your inadequacies louder than an objective comparison ever could.

I am not so insecure that I think admitting my need for your unique competencies belittles mine in anyway. No way!

I need you. We need each other.

Have a lovely week everyone.

Several years ago, I remember waiting in the Waiting Area of a school with my husband, we had an appointment to see the Head Teacher of a School one of our children was starting the following term. The children in the school were going into the IT room for a lesson, they were whispering, winking and giggling as they rushed past us. One of the teachers was trying desperately to quieten the children down but had little success. The secretary called us in and said to us as we passed her by 'Mr. Grant is ready for you now. Please ignore the children, they are usually better behaved but they are going to watch a s*x education film, so they are overly excited.'

'S*x education! S*x education Film!' Alarm bells started going off in my head. This was a school in England, UK. I could not understand why anyone will be talking to children between the ages of 7 and 11 about s*x! Needless to say, I have moved on from that point now and so should you.

Now the S*x education talk was necessary for the children because research has shown that a lot of under 10-year-olds are already s*xually active in the western world. We don't do much research about these issues in Nigeria, so we are not too sure what the accurate figures are for our society. Teenage pregnancy was a problem at the time, so part of the solution was for the government to come up with a plan to tackle it by educating the children. It must have worked because the figures have started abating in the past few years.

The issue of showing them a film about s*x is another issue. Too much information too soon is not good for the children. Maybe it was not a graphic blow by blow information film! It's just that I don't trust that too much information is not given too soon.

So today I stand on the side of indeed having s*x talks with our children, at home by mom and dad and in school, just to cover all bases, in case Mom and Dad are not yet having the talk. Read More at www.ayopejufalekulo.wordpresscom/blog

www.ayopejufalekulo.word

PROFESSIONALISM
The competence or skill expected of a professional.
There lies the quandary of a few folks in the educational profession. What is expected of us within our sector? I will choose to offer a few hints that may probably set some of us along the right path.
As a professional teacher, traits like late resumption to work, falling short of deadlines, tacky attire, abbreviations in our writings, not to talk of grammatical mistakes, cannot be the norm when discussions of us arise. Or shoddy teaching methods, apathy towards students (and dare I say parents as well) with half hazard feedback to children on their performance in an exercise (e.g., well done, keep it up, excellent… Really, keep what up?)
Let’s even step into proactive habits that should be second nature: understanding the character and traits of children in our sphere of influence (and that includes those we have taught and have not taught but are members of our school community), going the extra mile in ensuring that children learn according to their level because we teach that way. Or being on the ball with communication to parents more on positive advancements of their wards rather than calling them up when they fall short of expectations. Pristine lesson plans, books marked and up to date, taking on challenges that don’t really concern us, but will reflect badly on our school….
I can never take it as acceptable when I meet teachers that fall below these expectations!! I’m sorry, but I have been in the profession for about 22 years now and I will just not accept these falling standards. Those close to me sometimes ask why I left formal teaching, having worked(arguably) in some of the best schools in Nigeria, at a time when it seemed I was at the peak of my career earning about $1700/month in hard currency too. Yes, you read that correctly and it was at todays’ forex rate. While I don’t owe you a reason, I would just mention that part of it was because it was time for me to do my best to hijack the failing standards of education in our GREAT COUNTRY NIGERIA and offer a platform whereby I can mentor, train, groom and guide those who have a sincere passion for teaching. I am glad that a few fruits have started germinating already.
Let’s stop the mediocrity and take the baton to the next level. After all, it’s not only Finland that knows the right way of education! We have the best brains in the world for education! Let us start the true re invention of education that places Learning &Teaching side by side with strong Moral values and Character traits which will truly transform the world of the future for our children in Nigeria first, and then the world, and leave a legacy that cannot be shaken.
I encourage you to watch this space as I and several of us high flyers in education offer services, insights and help (at none or minimal cost) to the world.
Let us be truly professional and set the pace for our great profession

Good to all Parents/Educationists in the house, I have been pi**ed lately about the non-challant attitude of the admin settings of my kids school, if not that I can see the impart of the academic teaching on my kids I would have changed them, especially when parents complain about something or about a teacher they take it personal rather to address the the issue promptly.
Back to today's scenario, I went to my 2yr+ girl's class to pick her only to meet her on the corridor to her class coming from the toilet, we were about to move and she started crying as I bend to ask her what happened I notice her pant and boxer were half way her knee, I was so pi**ed coz av complained to the class teacher just last week she said they were training them to do things themselves but I told her its good but they need to be monitored and guided to understand better, in the process of d so called training I caught my girl last week with her class mate playing with water after urinating, within this term her two shoes has got spoilt due to excess water in the shoe.
I need advise on how to make the management understand my worries during the next PTA meeting, coz I believe the school is taking advantage of parents unjustly because they have been existing for over 40 years in Shomolu/Onipan axis and they have another at Ketu/Magodo.
Thanks Admin.

STRATEGIES TO CURB LOW ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

To start with, it is imperative at the beginning of this treatise to clear the air that contrary to popular belief, unless born with mental or/and developmental challenge, no child is born a dullard. Similarly, no child is a slow learner. What makes a child to find it difficult to cope academically is mostly on the ground that man educators don’t seem to remember that learners don’t learn through one teaching approach (especially the lecture method).
The typical learning environment in Nigeria seems not to cater for the difference in learners’ personality types – all learners are most times taught with one teaching approach. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences and Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience open our minds to this shortfall in teaching activities.

It is also important to state that, the onus to curb low performance lies largely with the learners or the government. I wish to state clearly that this obligation to improve on academic performance rests largely on the school, partly on government, a bit on parents and barely on learners themselves.

Why largely on the school?
Because learners spend about 73% of their active hours per year with/in the school. Hence, the school (be it day or boarding) has become the surrogate home, while the teachers are the surrogate parents. Also, in the History of Education, it was erudite individuals (e.g. Aristotle) and religious bodies that initiated, started and maintained the establishment of learning centers (schools); curriculum planning, structuring, improvement and development; policy making on education and implementation and not the government of those days.

Why partly on government?
The government supposed to serve as merely a regulatory authority to the educational sector and not to be the operators of education. Due to many political and professionalism factors, it would be very hard for the government of any country to monopolize educational policy planning and implementation and succeed. Government roles in education are stated somewhere below in this write-up.

There are some efforts to be made by learning stakeholders to ensure that all machinery needed to certify that learner’s academic performance becomes and remains excellent are put in place. The learning stakeholders in this context are, the school, the teachers and the parents. Below are also the steps to be taken by these learning stakeholders to render the support needed by the child to augment for any of his identified weak points and low performing subjects before examination.

1. School Role:
a. Employ 21st century learning approaches
b. Integrate the provided and available learning infrastructure into learning indeed.
c. Allow teachers to carry out their teaching responsibilities with these available learning infrastructure and the modern learning-made-easy technology and tools
d. Understand developmental psychology needed to nurture the learners
 The Right-Left Brain Theory in learning
 Learners’ Personality Types
 Learners’ Performance Differentials
 Empathy in Learning
e. Undertakes consistent learner’s performance audit and improvement
f. Spontaneous response to learner’s performance shortfalls and weak-ends
g. Strive to develop the total child – moral, intellectual and innate talents.
h. Carry parents along regarding their wards’ performance

2. Parental Role:
a. Support their ward in his/her academic endeavor
b. Pay attention to Responsive Parental Practice [RPP] towards their wards’ immediate needs
c. Relate well with their wards’ school community.
d. Reward excellent academic performance by highflier learners encourage the average and upcoming (wrongly known as slow learners) performer.

3. Learners Role:
a. Show the willingness to be schooled
b. Appreciate the efforts of other stakeholders in getting him/her educated.

4. Government Role:
a. Provision of modern day infrastructure like, libraries, laboratories, workshops
The libraries, laboratories, workshops, etc provided many years ago to schools do not correlate with the new and improved subjects taken in schools nowadays.
b. Maintenance of these infrastructures
c. Adopt PPP, and hence hand over 80% of educational policies on education to the private operators
d. Make public educators’ job enviable and remunerate educators well
e. Embark on consistent and continuous capacity development of educators.

PRE-EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE EFFORTS TO FORESTALL LOW PERFORMANCE

The journey to academic success always start far before examination:

1. SCHOOL’S EFFORT
a. Understand the Learners.
b. Understand Learners’ Personality Types
c. Troubleshoot performance differentials in your learners
d. Use assessment documents (e.g. broadsheet) as tools of academic improvements.
e. Pay attention to learning reinforcement activities.

2. TEACHER’S EFFORT
a. Explore the broadsheet to assess individual child’s performance in CAs or Mid Term Test
b. Go through the answer scripts to discover which questions were missed and check why it was been missed. Perhaps it was an error of omission or of commission.
c. Show empathy and help to upgrade or support the learner in the low-performing subject/s
d. Trace the history of the learner’s performance in the previous classes.
e. If need be, call the learner for counselling.
f. Three weeks to examination, before the examination time table would be out, structure ‘examination study time table’ for the learners.
g. For school heads, start typing exam questions before going on midterm and ensure that the questions are properly vetted before been finally printed out.. (Some schools finished typing their examination question papers before the commencement of the term).

3. PARENT’S EFFORT
a. Go through your child’s report sheet in CAs or Mid Term Test as soon as it’s been released.
b. Also, go through the questions papers and answer scripts to find out those questions which questions were missed and check why it was missed. Perhaps it was an error of omission or of commission. If it were errors of omission inform the school authority. If it were error of commission, seek learning supports and reinforcement for the child.
c. Brush up the child in the low-performing subject yourself or if you have a home lesson teacher, inform him/her of the affected subject/s.
d. Use the feedback you received during the school’s open day to help your child further.
e. Find time to say encouraging words to your child. He needs it especially now.
f. Allow them to have enough rest and to sleep early.
g. Reduce how much they watch TV and gaming till after the examination.
h. Structure examination study time table for the child.

4. LEARNER’S EFFORT
a. Encourage yourself if no one is encourage you. Forget about those bad words they say to you. Tell yourself, ‘I will prove them wrong.’
b. Have enough rest and sleep early.
c. Reduce how much you watch TV and gaming till after the examination.
d. Structure examination study time table for yourself if your school or parents haven’t done so.

PREPARING FOR PIVOTAL EXAMINATIONS
A pivotal examination is a terminal examination that transits a learner to another threshold of learning. Instances of pivotal examinations are the ones written to transit from nursery to primary threshold; from primary to secondary school threshold, from secondary school to university threshold. It is otherwise known as a terminal examination.

Examples of pivotal examinations are:
i. FSLC
First School Leaving Certificate Examination

ii. COMMON ENTRANCES [for Federal and Private institution]

iii. JSSCE
Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination

iv. WASCE
The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASCE) is a type of standardized test in West Africa. It is administered by the West African Examinations Council. It is only offered to candidates residing in Anglophone West African countries

v. NABTEB
The National Business and Technical Examinations Board was established in 1992 to domesticate craft level examinations which were hitherto conducted by City & Guilds, Pittman’s, and Royal Society of Arts all of UK in accordance with the provisions of the National Policy on Education

vi. JAMB
The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) is a Nigerian entrance examination board for tertiary-level institutions. The board conducts entrance examinations for prospective undergraduates into Nigerian universities

vii. IGSCE
The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language curriculum offered to students to prepare them for International Baccalaureate, A Level and BTEC Level 3 (which is recommended for higher-tier students). It is based on the GCE O-Level and is recognised as being equivalent to the GCSE. The IGCSE was developed by University of Cambridge International Examinations.

viii. TOEFL
Test of English as a Foreign Language is a standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers wishing to enroll in English-speaking universities. The test is accepted by many English-speaking academic and professional institutions. TOEFL is one of the two major English-language tests in the world, the other being the IELTS.

ix. A Level Examinations
The A Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational authorities of British Crown dependencies to students completing secondary or pre-university education. A number of countries, including Singapore, Kenya, Mauritius and Zimbabwe have developed qualifications with the same name as and a similar format to the British A Levels. Obtaining A Level or equivalent qualifications is generally required for university entrance.,
x. etc.

The approach to preparing for this type of examination has a different twist when compared to termly or promotional examinations. There is a way to package the kids for this form of examination without leaning on exam malpractice for academic success as common in African schools.
It is so sad that it is even some schools that solicit for parents’ cooperation to float examination malpractices in pivotal examinations
Below are some useful approaches to prepping the kids for pivotal examinations:

For would-be primary and secondary finalists, the following are what a teacher need to do:
 START THE PREPARATION MUCH EARLIER
Start revision for the exam well far from the date.
 STOP TEACHING & USE JUST PAST QUESTIONS FOR REVISION
It is advisable to stop teaching process in about 3 months to an expected pivotal examination and concentrate on revision of past questions. The revision of this past question must be in form drills.
 RE-TEACH CERTAIN TOPICS
If there is a particular topic in a subject that the handler notices that learners’ performance is generally low, that is an indication that that topic needs to be improved upon. He/She should pause on the revision exercise and re-teach that topic. While revising,
 DISH OUT THE REVISION EXERCISE IN DRILL FORMAT
Many items of questions per exercise during the class contact but not more than 10 items of questions for home drills. The home drills should cover a maximum of
 PLAYS ENHANCE LEARNERS’ ASSIMILATION AND RETENTION OF CONCEPT
Sandwich the rigorous revision exercise with a lot of structured recreational activities.

These tips above are tested and proven. They are used by many schools over the years. If you can adopt and implement them.

Brain Food:

What to Serve Learners While Revising for Examination
A common mistake made by parents and boarding schools during crucial period like examination is not knowing that diet during this time has to be adjusted a bit.
School tuck shops have to limit or avoid sales of junk food to learners. Junk food, lots of chocolate, energy drinks and crisps are often eaten in place of normal meals to “keep energy levels up”. However, this is not only harmful to your long-term health, but can also negatively affect your exam performance.
Here are some brain food recommendations during the most stressful period of your academic year…

a. Oily fish
Salmon, sardines and mackerel are amongst the healthiest types of fish. Why? Because they contain lots of protein and omega 3, which is essential to keep a functioning brain working well – eat them on some whole-wheat bread.
b. Vegetables & fruit
Vegetables and fruit are also low in calories, delicious and can give you an energy boost when you are working away at revising, since they contain fructose and healthy sugars your body can convert into energy. Top snacking fruits: apples, bananas, avocadoes, berries.
c. Peanut butter
Peanut butter contains healthy fats and lots of protein per serving. This means that as a brain food, just a little can keep you full for a long time.
d. Coffee
And while drinking too much coffee is certainly bad for you, research has also shown that a few cups a day can actually be beneficial

Finally, and I know this might be cheesy, but healthy bodies do lead to healthy minds. And having a healthy mind will help you ace that crucial exam or paper.
Adedamola Adedokun Olofa
[email protected]
+234703 752 8764, 08056053020