Learning largely consists of acquiring skills and knowledge, but not all learning is meaningful. Meaningful learning consists of; having children wanting to come to school, expecting to be motivated to learn and knowing the knowledge and skills they have gained are relevant to them in their day-to-day life. As teachers, this is where we come in as an exceptional profession.

In this case one needs to be a lot more creative with the information they are about to disseminate. Linking curriculum topics you are about to teach to issues happening within your local area should give you a head start. This gives you the freedom to involve students in the learning process by allowing them to bring into class knowledge that they and their parents already have.

Integrating a variety of activities outside of the traditional classroom buildings that help the learners explore and understand their own environment could be helpful. These may include small group works, field trips and many more that a teacher can think of.

Adaptation of both textbooks and film relating to the local environment can be not only exciting but also creates a wide imagination and confidence in understanding the society and area in which the learner lives.

This can be done through choosing textbook examples that students largely identify with, developing character names in the textbooks to those learners are familiar with. For film, it is interesting first to develop it in a language all learners understand, like in the text putting the characters and events closer to what they are familiar with.

Although mathematics, sciences and language provide the core of our school syllabi, their connection to the practical life of the learner still remains a challenge. Normally it is advisable to develop and indulge songs and games while teaching them.

These games can make specific subjects fun and interesting to learn. For mathematics and sciences, practical materials and problems can be found everywhere in our daily life. These may relate to daily measurements, calculations at the market, scientific reactions within home environment say global warming effects etc.

With games assimilating these situations, learners become familiar with introducing and using the learnt concepts within their daily activities.

For language, it is undoubted that its laboratory is in use within society. Because the very first step in learning is being able to understand what is communicated. Learners should be able to speak fluently, listen attentively, read critically and write objectively to be able to put all their skills to higher performance levels.

Therefore as practitioners of education developing language skills should provide the background for further learning since language is the first practical subject for every living individual.  

The writer is a school-based mentor