Potlako Bogatsu
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has affected the education system of Botswana from university level right down to pre-school level. Lecture halls and classrooms country wide are empty, a number of private schools have ventured into uncharted territories of electronic learning. So does it now mean that for the majority this is wasted time? That this is some form of extended holiday? Parents, guardians and the students themselves can come up with initiatives that will ensure that they keep on learning even in this lockdown period
Organize your time
The first thing that anyone should do is organize their time. In schools lessons are broken down by time tables, and adequate time is given to each subject. Now at home a student should not grab any book when they feel like it but they should rather allocate adequate time each day to their learning. This will make sure that they do not give a subject they love all the time and leave more complicated ones untouched.
Set goals
Goals setting makes one work toward something. It gives one the drive to push towards their aspirations. Students should set themselves goals, like they have been doing at school. One may aim to have a particular score or mark at the end of the term. So set some goals, and have another family member set a test for you which you will use to grade yourself. Remember this will ensure that you stay focused and will give you the fuel to reach further.
Make it fun
Learning should not feel like torture. It should not feel like punishment. Especially for the little ones. When teaching younger children it is important that they do not feel like they are in a hostile environment. Otherwise they will not get anything that you are saying. Use board games, nursery rhymes and be a lively person when imparting knowledge with them.
Use educational sites
If one have access to the internet it does not hurt to check learning material for one’s child. The internet can be a platform to learn and explore so many educational things. Just Google the right sites and off you go. There lies a plethora of information waiting to be tapped into. These sites can make it easier for a parent to understand those complex subjects that their children will be learning and give them possible exam questions.
Physical activity
It is important not only to keep one’s mind sharp and alert but also one’s body. Especially given the fact that we’re in a lockdown where it can be easy for school going children to become couch potatoes, flipping through the various channels looking for a program to save them from boredom. It is important that a learner gets some physical activities each week. This may be through ball sports or a little jogging around the yard each evening.
Get adequate sleep
Unhealthy sleep patterns will definitely affect ones concentration levels. So the best way to go about it would be to get the same amount of sleep one was getting when going to school. This will also make sure that when a learner wakes up they will move into their timetables on time, alert and they would have had time to bath and get some breakfast.
Watch educational programs
In an effort to help learners, Botswana Television has rolled out programs that teach different levels of students their various subjects. A learner can tune into one of these and pick up what they need to know. It is not only Btv that is doing this hence a learner or their parent can look for channels that are offering these and help them.
Above all the family should create a conducive learning environment for students. If a learner is studying for two hours in the morning, other family members should minimize the noise in the house so that the learner is not disturbed. Support from the loved ones will compel a learner to push themselves harder, because one should never stop learning.