Audley Phillip
BY AUDLEY PHILLIP
Prior to the start of my Secondary School journey, all public schools, both Primary and Secondary used to dismiss at 3pm. I spent 7 years at Secondary School from form 1 thru 6 at which time the change was already implemented which saw school dismissing at 1:30pm daily. To this day I am still unsure why the change was necessary..
Children today have far too much free time on their hands.. . Dismissing school at 130pm. provides children with literally one and a half hours of unsupervised idle time and many children use this time to roam and do all manner of evil. On a regular school day it is quite normal to see children parading all over St.John’s and elsewhere, way past the 130 hour.
As we grapple with the scourge of youth crime and violence, we need to ensure that our children are given the maximum tools in order to make them better students and ultimately better adults later in life.
I think that it is an opportune time to have a good conversation about school hours and the times given to academic lessons and what if anything ought to be changed. Lets not underestimate the impact of teachers on students. Beyond imparting knowledge, teachers serve as mentors, role models and sources of inspiration. A teacher’s impact on a student ‘s life extends way beyond the classroom walls, shaping their character, aspirations and future success.
I therefore recommend extending the school hours to 3pm in order to give the students more face time with their teachers. This will also give teachers and students more time for instruction and this is also more inline with the modern world standards today. Incidentally, this would also be much easier on parents. Right now, schools are dismissed at 130pm, just after the midday hour and before most adults (parents and guardians) leave work.
This provides ample opportunities for time wasting and loitering by the children and is prime time for mischief making and we have seen so much of that recently
I know that parents are tired and teachers are also tired.from all the recent happenings. Everyone is working from a deficit. If the common good is the same, that is, to provide the best educational experience possible for each student, then it shouldn’t be difficult to bridge the gap between the best and most practical school times and home times.
We have to know how and when to change programs and policies in the best interest of our students, parents and even the teachers. Tough times call for changes.
I hope that the Educational policy makers will seriously consider this option. going forward.
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