Here is a truism—the world is increasingly becoming globalized as technology draws people much closer and parents are looking for ways to ensure that their children are the best ever at school.
Some parents therefore buy the latest tech for their kids just to make sure that they are abreast with issues and generally the world around them in the hopes that it will help them become smarter. Interestingly, parents tend to forget that technology is a double edged sword. It is definitely meant to build but it can destroy—in ways you can never imagine.
(This article does not seek to scare you on what your child is doing at school or at home but to give you new ideas on how to get involved in your child’s education more profitably.)
Queenly’s biscuits class: About two years ago my biggest sister, Emerald, gave birth to a bouncing baby girl—her name is Queenly.
When Queenly turned four, she was enrolled in kindergarten. Since then, we don’t take ‘normal’ cookies at home. By normal, I’m talking about round cookies.
Emerald only bought biscuits made in the form of alphabets, numerals and shapes.
I never understood why she was doing that until I noticed how fast and easy Queenly was learning and reciting alphabets and numerals. The trick was that anytime, she picked one item from the biscuit pack, she will show it to her mother and both of them will pronounce the letter, number, or shape together. As time went by, she became conversant with alphabets, numbers and shapes faster than normal kids would. My sister succeeded in connecting what Queenly learns at school to everyday life.
As a parent, I have come to learn from my sister’s experience that if you want to help in your kids’ education, you have to start from the “streets”. Anytime you are in a car with him or her, allow them to count the number of license plates they see without shushing them. In the kitchen, let her count all the red tomatoes she wants to count before you blend them for your stew or soup. It is quiet annoying and mundane sometimes but kids tend to learn better when they connect with what they learn on a personal level.
Meteo in the making: My uncle Atta’s fifteen year old son says he wants to be a meteorologist in future. Well, Uncle Atta being the teacher that he is, does not know much about the weather or how to forecast rain or shine but guess what; he used his natural science knowledge and Google to appraise his knowledge of the weather to help him sustain his son’s long-term interest. He helped sustain his child’s interest by being a part of the learning process. Anytime the skies turned cloudy or the weather stayed sunny for a long time, he will tell his son “It will rain soon” and sometimes it did.
This helped sustained the little man’s interest and made him want to learn more to know why his father’s forecast were mostly true—even though that was not the case. So here is the thing, if your child tells you that he or she wants to be an engineer, explore physics with them.
Dream with them and before long, they will own the dream even without you being there to urge them on.
Auntie Mansa’s home school: We have a neighbor, Auntie Mansa, who has become more of a nursery teacher in her own home. Each time I pass by their house, you should see her singing nursery rhymes with her kids, reciting poems, multiplication tables and biblical verses. She is like this ancient magician whose performance you would never want to miss.
She will go over her daughters’ multiplication tables with them so much so even Cindy, her three year old daughter knows the product of two and one—how interesting!
Once I had a chance to interview her and she said she is “practicing together with her children what they learn at school so that what they learn will become a much more interesting chore for them”.
Jack must be Jack: Finally, never forget that “all work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy’. Allow ‘Jack’ some space; do not over-schedule. Let your kids engage in informal education, play and stick around with friends.
Research by Harvard University over an 80 year period has shown that the key to a long and happy life is meaning relationships. Your children’s ultimate success and happiness in life depends on you making the best out of your relationship with them as well as encouraging them to build healthy relationships outside your home. But don’t be a laissez faire mom or dad. Keep your eyes on the people who influence them.
My goal here is to make you realize that you must be a part of your child’s education and that technology is just that, tech. It will help but that help is limited. The next time you are thinking of buying the latest laptop or iPhone for your ‘Jack’, think about how you are going to help him use it in a positive way and not the other way round.
This article has been edited.
