By Victor Ochieng’
Teaching only during the time specified by the Ministry of Education (MoE) cannot entice peak performance in KCSE. Schools we lionise as veritable academic giants expand learning time. Teachers who post impressive performance do not subscribe to the silly slogan: ‘Teach and go home.’
Instead, teachers we glorify and magnify as top achievers create more rapport and contact hours with learners. In a larger sense, teachers expand learning time when they avail themselves for remedial lessons and set aside ample time for one-on-one consultation.
Ideally, peerless performance is realised when the three stones in the hearth of the school go the extra mile. These three stones used to support the academic pot are: teachers, students and parents.
For teachers to expand the learning time, it is incumbent upon Principals to explore wonderful ways to implore parents to play their part.
Again, there is the exigent need of stretching beyond elastic limits. In the 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, specifically the Law of the Rubber Band, Dr. John C. Maxwell posits: “Rubber bands are useful because they can stretch. Human beings also become useful only when they can stretch.”
Connected to this is payment of the price which both oriental and occidental sources of knowledge acknowledge: No price, no prize. Greatness is preceded by paying the price.
Consequently, expansion of learning time means that teachers focus on nuts and bolts of remedial lessons, which should come either early in the morning, late in the evening or weekends.
Actually, if parents stand to understand the notion of going the extra mile, they will pay school fees on time. They will also contribute money to act as extrinsic motivation to teachers to do more.
After all, through sheer labour of love, some teachers who stay outside the school compound sacrifice to arrive early and to leave late. I want to stress: If money for remedial is there, Principals should express largesse towards teachers who are the core-cogs in curriculum implementation. For if moolah is misappropriated in their glare, it can cause complacency in those who believe in money as source of motivation.
Again, if the money for motivation is not there, teachers should not hang their harps and stop to sing with symphony and harmony. A teacher who understands the nobility of the teaching profession is not just motivated by some meagre amount of money but s/he understands that no one has ever done something passionately and ended up sleeping in the trenches of paucity.
Somehow, God Almighty has mysterious ways of rewarding work rendered from the depth of the heart. No wonder, it is important to put the head, heart and hands into work.
Colossians 3:23 admonishes us: “Whatever you do, do it with all heart. As if you are doing it to God, and not to man.” The wise man in Ecclesiastes 9:10 put it aptly, “Whatever your hands finds to do, do it. For in the grave where you are going, there is no device, knowledge or wisdom.”
Moreover, in 1 Corinthians 15:58, we read: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.”
Dear reader, teachers are aware that there are individual differences in learners. It means in a typical classroom, students do not grasp content at the same rate. We have those who are above average, average, and below average.
Therefore, in reference to ‘Best Academic Practices’, teachers should explore stupendous strategies of attending to all ilk of learners. With the crash programme in place caused by the re-organisation of the school calendar disrupted by Covid-19 pandemic; Principals are piling a lot of pressure on teachers to meet the target set on when the syllabus should be complete. With this swift rush, most students cannot have a good grasp of the syllabus content without extra teaching.
Basically, remedial lessons enable teachers to polish pale parts. It is when they dot the I’s and cross the T’s. In-depth input in remedial lessons prop up the performance of weak learners. During remedial, preceptors teach forward, and teach backwards. Forward means they race up like sprinters to complete the syllabus. Backwards means, they decide to re-teach some areas.
Finally, when teachers focus on remedial lessons as a way of expanding learning time, they should not only use that extra time to meet syllabus objectives but also use it to: One, focus on areas students have performed poorly in exams. Two, the data from the examination analysis reports should take centre stage. Three, address topics students have requested. Four, conscientious concentration should go to Table of Specification (ToS) or what is called the Test Blueprint, which is basically the ‘a must-come-areas’ in exams. Lastly, use the time to address areas pointed out in the KNEC reports.
The writer rolls out talks and training services in schools.
vochieng.90@gmail.com. 0704420232
