Give children time to relax
Aug 24, 2010
<b>The homework is just too much</b><br>I have lived in Uganda for 15 years now and I am a permanent resident. I have been a foster mother to many children (I work with 210 children and youth) and I have been watching the changes in schools for some time.
The homework is just too much
I have lived in Uganda for 15 years now and I am a permanent resident. I have been a foster mother to many children (I work with 210 children and youth) and I have been watching the changes in schools for some time.
No wonder last week’s, article, How much homework is enough for your child published in Vision Mwalimu touched me. Children in Uganda have too much work to do and very little time to be creative and play.
The children I raised that are now at university had a lot more time to relax and yet they performed better than the ones in primary now. Besides spending 12 hours a day at school, the pupils are also required to go to school on Saturdays and during holidays.
Now they have shortened the holidays due to complaints from the school administration. Is it about educating the children or is it about making money. When I talked to teachers from three different primary schools, they said they do not like teaching in holidays or for long hours but have no choice.
The village schools are hardly teaching. Worse still, many P.7 pupils are failing their tests because they are taught in vernacular rather than English. So, if a parent wants his child to be well educated, he has to send him to expensive private schools which many cannot afford.
Previously, many candidates used to pass in grade one but today, many are failing. The children in private schools are so tired, they have no life but school.
These are the views from someone who reallly cares about this country and the future of these children and youth. Are we raising soldiers or future leaders? There is no sense in forcing children to be at school all the time. This practice is destroying children.
Children should be home by 4:00pm and not start school until 8:00am. Do adults work for as many hours in a week as school going children? Remember parents also need these children to help them with house chores.
Are children becoming slaves to the country’s school system? Most people around the world work between 37 to 40 hours a week. Anything over that is overtime. Why should children go to school from 7:00a.m to 6:00p.m. and on Saturdays, too? It was unheard of when the current leaders were young.
Katherine Hines
Missionary and NGO Director
Hines Ugandan Ministries
I have lived in Uganda for 15 years now and I am a permanent resident. I have been a foster mother to many children (I work with 210 children and youth) and I have been watching the changes in schools for some time.
No wonder last week’s, article, How much homework is enough for your child published in Vision Mwalimu touched me. Children in Uganda have too much work to do and very little time to be creative and play.
The children I raised that are now at university had a lot more time to relax and yet they performed better than the ones in primary now. Besides spending 12 hours a day at school, the pupils are also required to go to school on Saturdays and during holidays.
Now they have shortened the holidays due to complaints from the school administration. Is it about educating the children or is it about making money. When I talked to teachers from three different primary schools, they said they do not like teaching in holidays or for long hours but have no choice.
The village schools are hardly teaching. Worse still, many P.7 pupils are failing their tests because they are taught in vernacular rather than English. So, if a parent wants his child to be well educated, he has to send him to expensive private schools which many cannot afford.
Previously, many candidates used to pass in grade one but today, many are failing. The children in private schools are so tired, they have no life but school.
These are the views from someone who reallly cares about this country and the future of these children and youth. Are we raising soldiers or future leaders? There is no sense in forcing children to be at school all the time. This practice is destroying children.
Children should be home by 4:00pm and not start school until 8:00am. Do adults work for as many hours in a week as school going children? Remember parents also need these children to help them with house chores.
Are children becoming slaves to the country’s school system? Most people around the world work between 37 to 40 hours a week. Anything over that is overtime. Why should children go to school from 7:00a.m to 6:00p.m. and on Saturdays, too? It was unheard of when the current leaders were young.
Katherine Hines
Missionary and NGO Director
Hines Ugandan Ministries