Genius or not?........Age appropriate learning

Our National Policy on Education refers to primary education as the education given in institutes for children aged 6 to 11 plus. There are lots of 4year olds beginning formal school (primary 1) . Have you noticed this trend? Age appropriate learning takes into consideration the natural developmental stages of childhood. Students learn faster and develop a life-long love for learning. It makes learning less of a chore.When teaching students the correct skill that matches his/her developmental level, they learn very quickly. If you teach something before the student is ready and able to process the learning, they will get frustrated, develop low self-esteem and come to hate not only that subject but also the whole process of learning. They will take that throughout the rest of their schooling. You may find that the 'rush-starters' (beginners at 4) fare far less due to the pressures of an early start in the long run. About 2.2% of the world's population are geniuses......let's leave the obvious statistics. About 98% of us are regular people. Geniuses learn far more effortlessly OR is Nigeria now full of geniuses?

When 'homework' takes center stage!

Excessive homework can create family stress, cut into family time and generate tension and tears among Nigerian children. Homework has become a tough issue for parents to deal with. 

Parents and tutors silently grumble at the thought of dealing with homework. The idea behind homework is to give the child an assignment that they could go home and try (without) having to receive active adult supervision. On the contrary, homework has become a 'google tour'. It even cuts into very late hours for some kids as parents struggle to get results. Children spend an average of 7-9hours in school on weekdays. I would expect that those hours were thoroughly used in imbibing the concept and skill that a homework checks; so why all the exhausting homework? Shouldn't homework be similar to  a pattern of checklists? By checklists, I mean a process where parents identify the progress of their child's work in the task given effortlessly. 

Parents should be allowed to spend more quality time doing other things with their children as against having to meet with the demands of a tedious homework. Who benefits from these homework? Teachers.......come on!

Excellence in education

Is the teacher a babysitter and a depository of knowledge filling children with all kinds of information? Or is the teacher a guide, facilitator and co-learner in a learning environment? Isn't teaching meant to be complemented with engaging parenting? Excellence in education will occur through modifications to the teaching and learning processes. Structural changes by education institutes go a long way too, but parental involvement is considered unrivaled. I have seen a good number of parents have huge expectations from teachers. Can there be real excellence without a close parent and teacher connection?

Education in Nigeria

I am a mother, child educator and curriculum researcher. I love to teach. My yearning for 'real' conversation on Education has led to the birth of this blog. Education is a life tool needed to survive in an evolving world. I have had the privilege of experiencing what Education should represent and how it could be applied. I welcome you to my world: passionate about contemporary concerns in Nigerian Education. It's a place I'd like to share my thoughts. I invite you to share your thoughts and take on issues pertaining our Education.