In our quest to achieve better outcomes in our schools, the focus is usually on teaching methods, text books, teaching aids and qualified teachers. However there are other factors that are very important but usually overlooked, especially here in Ghana. In this post I will talk about three of them.
FOOD
We all love to eat good food especially when it's our favorite. Food is eaten to satisfy hunger and our personal cravings. Am not sure many people will take in specific foods for academic reasons. Am not a medical doctor or dietician but my little research on the internet has shown that the food we eat can actually affect our cognitive abilities and hence academic work. Nutritional psychiatrist, Drew Ramsey suggests there are foods that can actually improve the functioning of the human brain. This is no rocket science because every organ in the human body requires some essential nutrients to function well. Certainly the brain also require certain nutrients to function well. It's quite clear that we all need to speak to an expert to educate us on the kind of food our kids need to booste their brain performance. This will go a long way to improve their academic work.
HEALTH
The World Health Organization describe health as the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
A physically sick student will obviously find it difficult to learn so am not going to talk about the effects of diseases here. The point of interest to me is the mental and social well-being aspect of the definition as stated by the World Health Organization. For students to learn well, they should be doing well mentally and socially. Students can be mentally affected by family issues, issues with peers and natural factors. For instance, a little girl who is always active in my class was very quiet on a particular day. I tried to find out what was the problem but she said, "sir am ok". She obviously didn't look ok. I later find out it was her time of the month. She might have been experiencing some cramps down there. I don't think this girl Will ever enjoy any lesson during that time of the month. To solve that problem I decided to give her one on one tutoring at a later date anytime she is dormant in class.
On another occasion I noticed a girl in my class was reluctant in answering questions I posed. When the lesson ended I called her to the office and asked to know why she was hesitant in answering my questions. She held back initially but eventually told me her grandmother insulted her and her deceased parents because of a trivial issue. I Immediately felt her pain because at age 19 I became an orphan. I just could not imagine how I would react if I hear any body insult any of my dead parents whom I loved so much.
These two examples clearly shows how learning can be difficult if we are not emotionally and mentally sound. Teachers who are even matured can easily succum to depression and stress at any point in time. Isn't it time stakeholders of education make concious effort to manage the mental and social well-being of students and teachers? Your guess is as good as mine.
COMMUNICATION
Communication is another important aspect of the teaching and learning process often overlooked. How a teacher communicates with learners in the classroom is very vital for students to learn better. I wasn't too good in mathematics growing up and all along I thought I was a bad math student until I got to the university. At the university, I met a math teacher who made math very simple and easy to solve by how he communicated mathematics to students. It was there that I realised my basic school teachers lacked the communication skills needed to effectively transmit the knowledge they have to students. A lot of students are innocently paying the prize of teachers' inability to communicate well. Sometimes, I ask myself, how many students have failed and are failing examinations because their teachers could not communicate a particular subject to them well? I was very fortunate to have met a good math teacher along the line who reversed my problems with math due to poor communication but how many students will be fortunate as I was.
I personally think teachers should not be rushed into the classrooms if they have problems with communication. Such teachers should be given some kind of training in communication skills.
By: Edinam Ahiably-kumordjie
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