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Charles Dube
Enough with general discussions and it’s back to school this week. Need I over emphasise to the O and A-level students that the dreaded examinations are close by? It is a foregone conclusion that they have been studying very hard.
We can only wish them well in their endeavours. However, they should remember what has been continuously repeated in these columns that in as much as they are confident of passing their examinations, those passes should not be just bare passes.
They should be quality passes. This is more so with A-level passes where even an E grade is considered a pass. Somebody gets her or his three E grades goes about with head high among the passed lot. Justified though because the certificate will be issued indicating those grades as passes. The only snag is that we live in a world of high competition where with those three Es one would be competing for a university place with people who have 15 and above points.
That is where the issue of quality passes comes in. Students should aim at cutting the Rubicon. They should strive to get the highest points for their future careers to shape as expected. As the O an A-level students write their examinations obviously they are passing the button to the Form Threes and Lower Sixes who should already be geared for next year. Wise ones among these are almost ready to write examinations as we always see some registering to sit examinations in June.
I will not dwell on the advantages or disadvantages of sitting examinations today but I am merely stating that some have done this to relieve pressure at the end of the year. To write a few, one or two in June and if they pass them they do not write them at the end of the year. The disadvantage of writing the same subject twice and have different passes is that the examination board cancels the high pass or even give you a failing grade you will have acquired. It is more like a game of chance.
Grade Sevens are also facing examinations this term which determines their entry into Form One next term. They should also have worked very hard in order to pass. They are also engaged in extra lessons during the school holidays. Extra lessons are no longer the issue of high school students only. They start at primary school showing the zeal parents have for their children to do well at school. Most primary schools especially in urban areas produce average to very good results.
How is it so? Is it because they drill their students for the examinations? If drilling makes their students pass then well done to them. The bottom line is to make students pass. There are many teaching methods applied by teachers to make students pass. What some of us are against are armchair critics who rest on their laurels and criticise other schools for helping students pass. Some people do not appreciate good things from others.
They peddle fallacies about others with no proof whatsoever. Such and such schools drill their students for them to pass. The best response given to such people is for them to drill their own students if that method works for others. Why the obsession with what other schools are doing if you do not want to learn from it? In modern teaching there is not much drilling done in schools. People divorced from the classroom are bound to make such farfetched statements.
From a mini research I have discovered that students are not performing well in English Language because the culture of reading is dying off. As stated earlier modern trends of technology are keeping students even at primary school level away from reading material. Gone are the days when students would spend the day reading novels and checking unfamiliar words from dictionaries. That this trend is no longer there, we find students with terrible spelling mistakes.
Students have serious weaknesses on tenses and grammar in general. Teachers at secondary schools neglect to teach these areas at their own peril. They should teach spellings and tenses rather than assume that when students come into Form One they should have acquired this knowledge. They should check this assumed knowledge with exercises so as to get the right level of their students. From there they will produce better students.
Many students nowadays have low language levels which surprises teachers who take them at higher levels. Let us not be deceived by the command of spoken language students display but check their written language as well. There are many students who are fluent in spoken language but fall short when it comes to writing. Teachers need to take note of such students.
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