Paheja Siririka
WINDHOEK – The second term for the 2019 school calendar started on Monday with those at the helm of education urging parents to be involved in the education of their children for better results towards the end of the year.
Youth Corner spoke to Kay Hedimbi, the Head of Department of Commercial Sciences at Centaurus High School and Davie Engels, the Principal of Windhoek High School who had advice for parents on investing in the education of their children for this school term.
Hedimbi was disappointed in the attendance of learners on the first day of school. “The problem with some parents and due to issues not known to us is learners come a week or two later after the school has opened,” said Hedimbi. Additionally, some learners also lose or misplace school books, she said.
Hedimbi said the appearance of some learners is worrisome and this happens year in and year out. “Some learners have the wrong uniform and this means they will be sent back home, while others wear the wrong shoes. Appearance is important, boys are not allowed to have a moustache, and girls’ skirts should not be too short – the standard rule still applies, four fingers above the knee,” explained Hedimbi.
She accentuated the fact that it is the parents’ responsibility to go to the school and demand feedback on their children’s performance. “That’s how you track their progress and it gets easier to address key points that need extra attention. Parents should be 100 percent involved in their children’s academic affairs. Check if books are packed every day and keep up with their homework every day,” advised Hedimbi.
Hedimbi said the parent-teacher evening meetings that schools host are not enough. “There are plenty of issues that need attention and focus, especially behavioural issues,” she highlighted. “One thing that bothers me is cellphones. I hope I won’t be extreme by saying this but cellphones are bad influences – my children get their phones during holidays only. Some children are not trustworthy, you might think they are studying but they are not. Make sure or to monitor that, try having question sessions on things you expect them to know,” she said sternly.
Engels believes in a holistic approach when it comes to teaching. “We would like to educate learners holistically and that has to do with body, mind and spirit. The approach has to be value-driven,” said Engels. He said discipline and instilling values in learners is in leading learners to obtain great marks at the end of the academic year.
“We as a school cannot do it without the support of the parents, they are an integral part of the education process, it’s their responsibility to be part of the process,” he highlighted. With the new term in full swing, Engels who shared similar sentiments as Hedimbi urged parents to develop an interest in the education of their children.
“After school, parents should make time and look at their children’s school work; talking in general, many parents are doing this,” remarked Engels. Communication between teachers and parents should be to collectively come up with ways and methods of teaching and making sure learners understand what they are being taught, he added.
“When it comes to academic challenges parent and child communication should be taken seriously,” he said. “The whole community [should] come together and address issues that affect their children in schools, they are with the learners the time when they are not at school,” he said.
Engels further shared that the school has been using different tactics to communicate with the parents on the progress of their children. “Each and every register teacher has a class WhatsApp group where they communicate with the parents, and we have a school communicator. We have adopted an open door policy for parents to freely come and have discussions centered on their children’s performance,” revealed Engels. Preparations are underway for the first parent-teacher meeting to discuss the April results, something that all schools in Namibia should do before starting with the new school term’s lessons, concluded Engels.