As a teacher I have witnessed
intelligent children not doing well; yes, we have intelligent children who deliver poor exam results. It’s very sad when after a year’s expenses
your child doesn’t do well or is repeated. The worst situation is when you have
to pay bribe; I know of some parents who have paid Ghc 5000, Ghc 2000 and Ghc
1500 just so they could gain university admission or SHS admission for their
wards. Some even take their children to expensive schools and they struggle to
keep their child in school when with simple discretion could elicit every ounce
of the child’s intelligence.
If the child is not doing well,
in my own estimation, it is the parent’s fault, period.
Know the level of your child’s intelligence; be concerned.
Before you begin you have to know
the state of your child’s intelligence. How is the child performing in school? What
was her result in the previous term?
Make arrangements and map out
your own strategies to help your child rise in the class.
Monitor school
It is common practice among
teachers to concentrate on the best students in class and forget the dull ones.
Once they have brilliant students who would pass they know their job is safe.
Go to the school and request for
the child’s exercise books, all the revelations is there. Ask the teacher about
the child’s behavior. The information you’d get would make you know that you don’t
really know your child. The teachers are with the children more that you say
10hrs while you are with your child 2hrs each day.
Tip the teacher
The teacher is paid by the school
alright but if you want extra attention for your child then give the teacher a
tip. The teacher would pay more attention to your child when class work is
given, monitor her assignments, show child more love and would try to make sure
the child performs.
Extra classes / home
Find a teacher to help your child
on weekends; weekdays if the child closes from school early. My mate Duka was
always first because he had a home teacher. He was intelligent alright but the
teacher added more.
If your child has math problem,
that should give you more incentive to find a teacher for your child.
Change teachers
Some schools don’t want other
teachers to teach their students. I think it’s because they don’t want that
teacher from another school to influence the parents to move child from that
school. But, if your child is in a class and her grades keep falling it means
that the teacher is not doing well, or his method of teaching doesn’t fit
child. Different teachers are the best, if one method doesn’t suit child the
other would work. All teachers still use the Ghana education text book and
majority of them attended school in Ghana.
Help with assignments
When you close from work don’t go
for a bath, find some food to eat, watch some television and go to bed. Attend to
your child, help with the assignments. If you don’t understand it make sure the
child finish the home work. I use home work as an extension of the studies to
finish the topic I teach. Furthermore, when I teach a child, I make sure that
child practice via home work else the child would forget.
Go to the school
I spoke to a teacher who said
they grade from 1 o 15 and those who are last in class never get graded. They fear
the parents would be angry or would move the child from the school so they hide
it; it’s nothing personal, just business.
Be friends with child
Be friends with child, listen
when child talks to you so that you can psyche child up to be self confident
and correct misconceptions.
