Welcome back to school, educators and parents!
The Christmas decorations may still be up in your homes, and the leftovers from the New Year’s Jollof rice sauce might be lingering in your fridge, but it’s time to get serious—the second term is here!
For most pupils and their parents in Nigeria and other parts of Africa that observe the three-semester per academic year cycle, the second term is the easiest to take for granted. In Nigeria, this term falls right after the Christmas celebration and it can come so suddenly that before you know it- it’s already half-term. Yes, for most parents like myself, this has been the experience. The first week of school in Nigeria is usually the first week of January: it feels like the start of something new, but there’s the lingering feeling of Nigerian time—things that should have been done, that haven’t yet been done.
If you are a parent, and you do not feel prepared, and you feel like the term just happened to you, you are not alone. And do not beat yourself up, it’s not entirely your fault even though you could have done better, this is also a note to self. After all, we all took that much-needed break from work and our businesses just to spend time with these same children, maybe travel and just unplug from work and school activities.
For some parents, the mention of school during the festivities reminded them of the early morning routine of getting children prepared and for those of us who have a 9-5, it can be quite a hassle sometimes. It also reminds you of school fees waiting for you right after if your children attend private schools. Remember, for families who depend on salaries as both parents are employees, December’s salary would have come in much earlier than the other months and “Detty December’’ would be taking a big chunk of that money. Tell me, who wants to be thinking about school at that time, if you were, then maybe you’re one of the 1%.
All of that being said, the second term is very crucial for a child’s academic performance especially if they are in a new school-meaning that they are dealing with different factors like making new friends, meeting new teachers, starting with new subjects (for those who transitioned between primary and secondary school) and dealing with an entirely new set of emotions as they are growing older and becoming more self-aware. The term is a time when you can course-correct, make necessary adjustments, and put performance management systems in place to ensure that the child is getting the right outcomes by the time the year ends.
Coincidentally, the second term also heralds the beginning of a new year. While it is the term in the middle of the academic year, who says you can’t use the opportunity to start new habits, routines and practices that can set the tone for the year and ensure the children are set up for success that term and the coming ones that calendar year.
Even if you have not set academic goals for your child or children, the first week of school when the reality has dawned is a good time to get in that space as quickly as possible, this would also put the child on the path to achievement early enough. Use a simple goal-setting technique that outlines a maximum of three goals with broken-down actions of what will lead to that goal. For example, if during your discussion with the child, you both look at last term’s report and their English language score was way below the average, you want to find out what the real issue is, acknowledging that sometimes it is not entirely the fault of the child, then putting down actions you both will take to improve this score in the new term. For example, as the parent, your action step might be to have a conversation with the teacher to find out why this is so and what advice they might have that will help the child improve. Documenting this and letting the child know what you are doing, shows them that you do not just care but are willing to go all the way to see them succeed. You should talk about the goals from time to time as a form of appraisal.
The first week is also the time to set the tone for the term, waking routines must be set even if you struggled to get them up at 10 am during the festive period. School has started and we must get back into the routine. I would personally advise starting the routine testing the week before, but even if school resumed before the realisation dawned on you, you can still master the morning routine by enforcing strict sleep and wake-up times. Usually, after you do it for the first three weeks, it gets somewhat easier.
During the first week, you want to pay attention to the feedback from the child about school on day one. If you pick them up from school, you can start these conversations on the way, using open-ended questions like- ‘’what made you so happy about school today”? ‘’what made you upset in school today’’? From the first week, you can tell how they are feeling about their class, classmates, teachers and school in general. Even if you don’t pick them up from school yourself, whenever you get to see them that day, you can still have this conversation. You should do this all the time but it is important to start as soon as week one so that you can nip any issue that tends to affect their performance or overall wellbeing in the bud. For example, if a child who is short-sighted is moved to another seat in a part of the class where seeing the board becomes an issue, you know it might be worth addressing.
During the first week, you should ensure the children have their timetables printed, or copied out so that they can take only the needed books to school. When children take all of their school notes to school every day, the chance of misplacing them is higher, depending on the kind of school they attend. For children who do not use school bus service or have parents or guardians who pick them up with a car who have to trek to school, they stand the risk of having back pain which can get worse with age.
It is also important to get into the ‘’study routine’’ early. You can use the school timetable to structure a reading calendar for them such that they read what they learnt most recently. This ensures that children can study well ahead of their assessments and examinations. For most Nigerian schools, assessments are taken every two weeks and the first week is a great time to start to prepare. Getting this right also ensures that they are always prepared even for the unplanned assessments that might happen (though this might not be common in primary and secondary schools in Nigeria).
Finally, for families of faith with spiritual practices like morning devotions, prayer and bible reading, it is also important to include it in your daily routine. Having times dedicated to this either in the morning (which looks like the most beneficial to set the tone for the day) or in the evenings will always ensure that even amid all the stress and emotions that accompany the beginning of a new academic term, children stay connected to their creator and can find strength in prayers and talking to Him.
If you feel overwhelmed as this is already mid-week of the first week, you are not alone. Just take it one step at a time. You are raising future leaders and it requires intentionality. Slow but steady, you will get in the rhythm if you commit to it.
All the best in the new term as you support the children in your care and set them up for success!
Writer- Ibironke Olurotimi
She is an education leader who works at the intersection of education and technology. A bathroom singer who hopes to transition to singing professionally,someday.
