Engage all students this holiday

School holidays come with a myriad of feelings for students, teachers and parents. For teachers and students, on one hand, the holiday break is a big reprieve. It is supposed to be a period of relaxation and replenishment. On the other hand, this is a period when stress levels for parents and guardians go up. The moment children get home, parents and guardians get food for thought. They have to burn midnight oil thinking about how to raise fees for the next term and probably how to constructively engage their children at home. Teenage activities at home can be ruinous if they are not controlled. The fact that many parents and guardians are often too busy with work that they have less time for their children, only complicates the matter. House maids cannot control children at home, I think. When parents leave home, children become small bosses and start commanding house matters. Even parents find it difficult to deal with their own children sometimes. In my primary school days, I remember how my parents looked forward to school opening because we were unbearable. One time someone has broken this and another is fighting with another—this can be a bewildering and painstaking experience for the care takers. The only way to manage your children this holiday is to engage them. Make sure they have little idle time. Don’t let your children stay redundant! Television watching and listening to music are not the only ways of engaging children. These are just pass time activities. I have a model plan for parents and guardians. First, have a plan of activities for your children. Allocate time for as many activities as possible. Relaxation time should be towards the evening when parents are at home. This is precious time for parents to be with their children, see what they did during the day and talk to them. For those who can afford, hiring teachers to coach children in the house or taking them to tuition centres is advisable.Keeping students on books helps because it keeps them focused and reminded that they have a scorching academic journey to cover. The human mind is in such a way that it benumbs if it is not kept active and taxed to think. Research shows that one of the devastating causes of indiscipline in schools is idleness. If students have nothing to do, if their latent and potential energies are not directed to constructive work, then they become riotous. The enormous energies of teenagers should be tapped and directed to activities that are peaceable and ennobling. Therefore, an efficacious holiday must have bundles of work and activities for students. znyamosi@yahoo.com