By Victor Ochieng’
vochieng.90@gmail.com.
April holiday is here with us. Both students and pupils are breaking for the holiday. In case there is no plausible plan, this stasis from school can be used poorly. So, in this write-up, I want to address Forms 1, 2 and 3 Students. Also STD 6 and 7 pupils. More so, Form 3 students and STD 7 pupils who should be conscious of climes and times. They are going to have a very short time as candidates, before they sit for KCSE and KCPE respectively. Therefore, the focus should be on how they can balance three things while holed up at home during this April holiday. The three are: Home chores, personal study time and leisure. That is central plank of this piece penned by Son of the Lake.
- Bond with your parents
Holiday is the time to be close to parents and guardians. First of all, write a thank you note to express gratitude; for the parental support accorded to you. Also, help them to attend to home chores. If you know the way they make moolah, help them generate more money. This may make them do more to you when you will be reporting back to school in May. Being in good terms with your parents also beckons the favour factor. Ephesians 6 admonishes children to honour their parents. It is the first commandment with a promise of long life.
- Complete the assignments
As you break for holiday, teachers issue out shedloads of assignments. Making wise use of the holiday means that you don’t just take it as the break from rigmarole of academic work. Being a learner means that you allot more time to books than any other thing.
- Compare notes with other learners
During the holiday, it is possible to meet and greet peers from other schools. Make it a habit to compare notes with them. Try to find out academic practices inherent in their schools that you can borrow to push your performance to the epic peak. Let there be positive peer influence, with a special focus on learning literate habits and hobbies; routines and rituals.
- Engage in edutainment
Entertainment is quite important. Every lad and lass wants a life full of fun. Things that make people laugh leave them in good mood. I am not writing to condemn such things. Albeit, I think that young people should choose edutainment instead of entertainment. Edutainment are forms of entertainment that are also educative and informative. Young people should choose music and movies that build character and enhance mental might. It is advisable to shun forms of entertainment that encourage lassitude. Watching things like pornography is dangerous. It will fuel and fan sexual urge: Leading to aberrant sexual behaviour.
- Make wise use of media
In the years of yore, Malcolm X, the African-American legendary leader observed, “Media is the greatest entity on earth. It has the power to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent.” Therefore, as a young person, if you can access a phone, use it wisely. The school hiatus caused by Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 proved that children can use phones and tablets to learn. You can receive or read useful materials on WhatsApp. You can attend lessons through zoom and Google meet. Also, you can follow informative programmes aired on educative TV channels like KUtv. Wise use of media also means that you use special sites like YouTube to watch phenomenal speeches and didactic documentaries. You can find time to watch news during prime time. It is the best way to add glamour to your grammar, and build the verbal-linguistic intelligence.
- Find time to read widely
During the holiday, you should create ample time to read your notes, core course books, story books, class readers, KCSE set texts, self-help books, newspapers and magazines. Prodigious reading habits helps you in several ways. Reading avidly will make you grasp the syllabus content and develop massive powers of mastery and memory. Reading will prop up your levels of confidence and communication skills. Again, reading will add heft and weight to your word bank. Through reading, you become a better writer of imaginative compositions. Books also forms good fodder for interesting and intelligent conversations. Books boosts ingenuity and creativity. Reading improves the attention and concentration span. Reading the best book also leaves you with a good mood. It reduces stress, expands the brain, and exposes you to novelty.
- Participate in church activities
During the holiday, purpose-driven churches organise mentorship programmes like workshop, seminars, conferences and camps. It is important to attend such meetings and learn. Attend church services and fellowships to enhance your intimacy with the God of Grace. Participate in church charitable programmes hence learn to be kind and empathetic. Develop your zeal and zest by attending mass and massive missions organised by the church. Tap floods of blessings by volunteering to clean the church compound.
- Learn more about careers
During the holiday, read books and follow programmes that provide useful information about careers and future world of work. Consult career counsellors. Learn about careers through job shadowing. Get exposed. Visit places people are doing what you would want to do in future. Focus on educative trips, tours and excursions.
- Unleash your full potential
In relation to human potential: Talent is innate or in-born ability. Gift is God-given or divine-driven ability. Skill is an acquired ability that enables you to do something. You should use the holiday to discover and nurture your talent. In turn, the talent will be able to grow and glow. In 2 Timothy 1:6, Apostle Paul of Tarsus charged his protégé Timothy to fan his gift into flames. Why? Because gifts are important. In Proverbs 18:16, Solomon in his winsome wit and wisdom wrote: “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.” In addition, alongside hard skills learnt in school, focus on enhancement-cum-development of multiple skills: Generic or soft skills, life skills, 21st century skills, transferable skills and employability skills. Talents, gifts and skills are important because life requires colourful cocktail and conglomeration of plenty of things. A beautiful blend of talent and career is the real deal. Good gifts given by God help people serve both divinity and humanity. Acquisition of skills makes people to be both intelligent and relevant.
- Learn from right role models and mentors
A role model is someone you see out there and you want to be like him or her. A mentor on the other hand, is a trusted person who is more experienced in life that can inspire you to achieve your dreams in life. We read that from a good book titled Unstoppable: Achieving Excellence and Beyond co-authored by Rosemary Kibui and Timothy Kipchumba.
Sometimes, young people mess and miss the mark because of wrong choice of role models and mentors. Life is a journey, not a destination. Therefore, if you want to know the way, ask those who are coming back. Laurent D. Daloz got it right, “Mentors are guides; they lead us along a journey of our lives, we trust them because they have been there before us.”
In the 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, Dr. John C. Maxwell briefly writes about something quite preponderant. In the distant past, mentorship was akin to apprenticeship. An apprentice was someone that selected a trade. Then found a master in his village to teach him stupendous skills in his chosen vocation. After learning all he could from the local master, apprentice would then travel far and wide; to broaden the scope of knowledge.
The writer runs mentorship, coaching and counselling programmes for teens and youths at his leadership and training centre in Nairobi-Satellite. The programmes focus on English lessons, career choices and life skills.
