We have lived, shared, played and prayed with them this holiday. And, just as day follows night, the new term has started to continue with that graceful journey of acquiring knowledge that will eventually translate into skills to be used in nation building.  

Usually, as school opens, the excitement that springs from reunion of students is almost met with the same quantum of home-sickness that hover over the learners’ belonging and feeling. 

The combination and aggregate of school and home environments are responsible for the shaping of children and students’ character, personality and behaviour. This responsibility of both parents and teachers contributes to the academic success of these children and therefore making it possible to nurture noble citizens of the world.

The behaviour, character and personality of children at home is shaped by the parent’s guidance, which build from the power of example that is derived from parents. Children grow up seeing the character of their parents and this will always command their personality and behaviour. For example, a child who grows up seeing a drunken, or quarrelsome parent will tend to imitate this kind of behaviour.

Through inspiration, a parent can provide guidance during the process of shaping the good conduct of a child. Constant counselling, encouragement and comfort received from a parent is good enough to shape the character and personality of a child and builds up that kind of citizen that the world is short of.

At home, parents teach children work values. A child who frequently sees his parents go to work, grows up with that inner passion for work. It is good for parents to make sure their children are out of bed as they go to office in order to avoid lazy citizens in the future. Children need to be allocated daily duties during the time when they are at home.

Personality building through behavioural correction is also done at home. This involves morality and behavioural checks to polish their character(s) and personality, supplementing what will have been imparted into them by the school system.

Back at school, things might change in building character and personality of students, but parents still play the most pivotal role.

‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’, is a popular saying in Africa that emphasises the need to punish a child who has done wrong in order not to ruin their future. The question is whether it works out or it damages the African child more. It is for this matter that school authorities do examine measures to curb the rate of behaviour deviation occurring among children in schools. Teachers are always alert about the discipline of students, since this student is away from the strict monitoring of the parent.

Symptoms of indiscipline may be focused differently among people. An act of indiscipline by one student to a particular teacher may seem normal and therefore be ignored. However there are common signs like laziness, disrespect, immorality, drug abuse, obscenity and selfishness etc which, if left unchecked, can lead to great suffering of the child in the future. That’s why most schools are doing much to control these situations.

Sometimes we may debate who is to blame for the bust child of Africa. The professional ethics have it that a teacher is to always be exemplary and since children spend most of the time of the year at school than at home, it is important to appreciate the work done by school teachers in shaping the people of the world. 

There are so many causes of disruptive behaviour exposed by children today. Peer group pressure is one factor. Many children discover awful manners from their friends. An English saying goes that ‘Birds of the same feathers flock together’. It is easy to know the conduct of one child if you know the behaviours of the other children he or she associates with. Teachers are so close to their students and they can easily notice this.

Another point that must not be forgotten is that the living environment has also contributed to the spoilt child of Africa. A child that has been brought up from a slum is bound to deviate morally than one who has not been brought up there. Life in slums is so permissive and destroys morals. The work of a teacher does not end in classes and laboratories but goes beyond. Teachers find time to monitor the behaviour of their students as they do to their academic progress, since the two move hand in hand. As you do this, please remember that sparing the rod and spoiling the child does not mean being harsh and forgetting the children’s rights.

Schools shape the behaviour of students at primary, secondary, and university level and what is basic here is socialisation plus exercising good conduct in society which makes them decent citizens in the future. Teachers provide inspiration to their students and this is why many moral citizens have been inspired by their teachers.

At the primary level, students learn to live and tolerate other people’s behaviour. Much as this begins at home, in school students meet a bigger challenge of associating with a bigger number of people from different societies and with different character and behaviour. To a young primary student, character development is possible at school.

In secondary, students learn to accommodate different views and accept to live in harmony with others despite the diversities of origin. This develops a character of togetherness and brotherhood. Schools also teach critical thinking through reading, research, tests, examinations and grading. Lastly, universities provide a platform for shaping debate and creating professional links for future networking for employment and working with others in society.

Shaping and building of personality, character and behaviour of children is done concurrently by parents at home and teachers in school. They both do this through the correctional or rewarding system. In order to nurture the citizens that the world needs, give sanctions to bad performances and deeds and reward the good ones.

The writer is a teacher