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Tuesday, 28 April 2015

How To Improve Your Grades: What To Do


In the introductory part of this topic, we specifically pointed out that learning is more important than good grades. A good grade with no mental power which is the real essence of education is nothing.
So, when learning is taken seriously, how can a student make good grades? If a box is filled with so many junks and just a few important things, it will be very hard to retrieve when you what to make use of the important things. Finding will be very hard. The box is your brain. The more junks like Tvs, video games, social medias, music you keep in it, the lesser space for the important things and when it is time to retrieve, its almost impossible. Junks will keep coming out. What you get is Ds, Es and Fs
Students with poor grades blame it on so many things and people but themselves. “the teacher is wicked, I don’t like him, he is boring” “the examination questions are too hard” “oooo! Its luck”  The truth is, Laziness is the major reason behind low grades.
Students with good grades aren’t all geniuses. They only do some things which the low graded students are too lazy or aren’t just doing. Serious students set goals for themselves and work hard to achieve them. They think of knowledge before grades. Thinking of grades before knowledge is academically disastrous. Students with good grades are organized and scheduled. Good students know that making good grades depends solely on them and not the hard questions, Teachers, luck or any other external factor. The lazy wants the good things and they sometimes fake seriousness so that people won’t call them lazy but in their mind, its empty.

How do you study?
An educational psychological journal states that “an increase in time spent on homework has a positive effect on a student’s grades in school” it further said that “with 1 or 3 hours of home work a week, the average low ability student can achieve grades commensurate with an average ability student who does not do homework.”
You need to be hard on yourself if you want to make good grades in school. Discipline yourself when it comes to distractions when studying. Tv, music or anything that can easily distract you must be avoided.

Where do you study?
No doubt a very quiet and spacious environment is the best to have an effective study. If you can’t get it in your home, look for it elsewhere; might be a friend’s place, or even a public library. Your reading table must be spacious, get all you need so as to reduce the numbers of time you need to stand up, it’s a distraction. Make sure the environment is well lighted and ventilated to reduce tiredness.

I am sometimes not in the mood to read
Some psychologists have advised that it’s better not to study if you don’t feel like so as not to stress one thing or the other in your neurological system, bla bla bla. But tell me, is it every day the adults feel like working? NO but they make it a habit. It’s a must for them to work so that they can take care of their responsibilities. Good grade here is your responsibility and you have to make studying a habit. You will get used to it. This might help. Just as workers get used to their office space, you too can maintain same study spot, be it in your home or in the library.

Your study routine
·         Be organized. Arrange what you are going to study.
·         Don’t just jump into it. Try glance through the whole materials you are about to study.
·         As you glance through jot down points you know you might find hard to grasp.
·         Now, as you glance through and jotting, make questions on your own. Put them down.
With all these, you have just prepared your mind for studying, you have also set a goal – what to achieve at the end of the study. Now, as you study, find answers to the questions you have made for yourself. Now go back to the second step, glance through again and you will realize that you are now more familiar with the material. You should try to set questions again and answer them and answer without looking into the material. This will help you to remember what you have studied. Make sure you plan a break in-between if the material to be studied is lengthy. I made mention of a box in the beginning, as you store valuable information in it, you start to feel knowledgeable, you will be self motivated to want to add more to your box (brain/mind)

Ahhhhhh……. I guess I’ve passed my boundary of 500 or 600 words. Lets conclude this topic in our next discussion we will touch test preparation and dealing with failure.

Like I always say, I appreciate your audience and will be happy and motivated to read your comments and feedback. 

Saturday, 25 April 2015

Introduction: How To Improve Your Grades


We have discussed topics that has to do with running a school successfully and we also discussed
parenting. Now we want to give some attention to the students. This topic will meet the needs of all levels of student, from the basic level to the higher institution.

One basic issue that all students worry about is their grades. Grades determine if a student graduates or not. For one to get a good-well-paying job, good grades is involved. Good grades make the parents paying the fees happy, it motivate them and also gives them an idea about their child’s performance in school. So a student cognizant with these wouldn’t want to fail himself or the parents. So it is something worth worrying about.

However, hard pursuit of grades could lead to failure if the student only pursue grades so as to be popular or the ranked high. He would be paying all attention to his grades and not on learning. That is why some students with lower grades outperform those with higher grades when they are placed in real life situations, that is, on-the-job. Pursuing higher grade has lead into what we know as Exam Malpractice, students want to know topics to be on the test before hand, so as to study only those topics. In some areas, these students go as far as wanting to know the exact questions to be set in their tests or examinations.

Education goes farther than making good grades. It means developing a mental power, knowledge or let’s call it Thinking Abilities and Skills. Education teaches a student how to digest raw information and transform it into practical terms. That is what employers are looking out for as they employ. Therefore, we can say that Good grades do not guarantee success in the labour world. When a student has gotten used to cramming, guess works and even cheating in examinations and test, he is only restricting his own thinking ability. Of what use is a first class Honours in Accounting if you can’t even prepare a common cash book? Someone claimed to be a guru in Microsoft Excel and after putting up some figures on a column he was looking for a calculator to sum up.

So it is very wise to see grades as a guide to assess your progress in school not the main goal. Your grades and your abilities should be on the same level.

Now what should be done to improve your grades?
We will discuss the solutions in my next post.

If you have enjoyed this article, do well to tell your friends about it. Share on facebook, Twitter, Blackberry Messenger, Whatsapp etc. You can also drop comments or ask questions. I will be glad to respond promptly.

Thursday, 16 April 2015

Parents as First Teachers (Final Part)


Image Crd: yoursomerset.com
I want to thank you all for following me on the topic from the beginning. I planned just to pick out the salient points but I couldn’t just help but go into details. Thank you for following up. I received some comments and the page views also shows that the topic received a measurable read.

Now to business. We have discussed at length what it takes to know your children but there is this thing you also need to know about them. It is how they learn through their senses. Some learn by seeing, some by hearing and some by touching. Our kids learn best by using any of their senses. Some children learn better when what they read is also followed by visuals, pictures. Some of them will prefer to be instructed on what to do through reading, some will want you to say it, they want to hear you, while some won’t learn if they haven’t touched, that is, hand activities. So, you parents need to study your children to ascertain which they learn best with.

You will have to provide your children with the opportunities to learn with all the senses. Don’t restrict them to learning by vision and memorizing. Don’t tell them they can’t learn better with one sense or the other.
Now you need to start visualizing what your child(ren) should be able to have learnt in a given period of time and you have to provide an enabling environment to help them get there.
Here is a sample of a parent’s vision for her Three-year-old child.
“Before my son is five, he should have known about so many things. He should have a measurable amount of ideas about issues and will be able to express himself on such issues. He will be bold enough to ask questions when he is in doubt. He will be respectful and treat others with care. He will be very comfortable speaking English which is the dominant language in our home”

This is a parent’s vision for his child. You should have yours based on your knowledge about your child’s learning pattern as we have shown from the beginning of this topic. It is very wise to have this because it will be like a set goal that will guide you in your children’s process of learning. Imagine a football game without a goal post, the players will just run and run with no course.
You can start over from the part 1 of this topic to the last part. So that you can learn more about how your children learn. Read more articles, make researches, read books, watch informational TV programs. Grab any opportunity to get involved in your child(ren)’s learning process. Build in them a love for learning and most importantly, provide them an environment/atmosphere conducive for learning.

I am so grateful for your audience. But lastly, there is a questionnaire that I will design to help you assess yourself as to how well you are performing as first teachers.

Here is an opportunity to support jimmyedu101.blogspot.com The questionnaire might not be made public but on request.

Just send me an email and I will forward it to you. jimmy.pelemoh@gmail.com

Thanks.

Saturday, 11 April 2015

Parents As First Teachers (Part 2)

Image: kumc.edu

It’s my pleasure to have you read the continuation of our hot topic, parents as first teachers. It addition to what we discoursed in Part 1, parents need to make their children feel secure so that they can be ready to take risks involved with their learning process and environment. People and environment influences their feelings. Love, commendation and acknowledgement are the key factors that boost their self-esteem. Show them love in action, commend them when they have done something right.
What and/or what they feel can either improve or hinder their learning. Love, commendation and acknowledgement are key factors that enhance their learning. So, it is the parents’ full responsibility to ensure a secured environment for adequate learning, flourished with love, commendation and acknowledgement. This will prepare them to be able to confront any hostile or unfriendly environment.
Therefore, parents should endeavour to show unconditional and equal love to all their children, Identify the uniqueness of all your children. They can never be the same. Appreciate how they see the world, ask of their opinion.
Do not segregate, that is, preferential treatment, do not always criticize or demean them because of their actions. This is your responsibility as the first parent.

Parents are the role models of their children; hence they learn almost all they know from you and whoever they live with. Children have an innate capacity to process and use languages (Strickland, 1990). That is why they can easily speak your language and any other language spoken in their environment. It will normally take a child 12years to be able to formalize a language. You the parent want to be a language model to your children to avoid bad/dirty or wrong usage of the language. Do not prematurely force your child to learn another language, once they have mastered one, they will easily learn another.
Make sure your children are around effective language speakers, discuss and read with them and you will be helping them master the language. Never criticize them for the way they use or converse using the language, correct them. When discussing with them, allow them express themselves also and lastly, don’t expect them to listen attentively to you all the time when you try to start a conversation.

Children are dynamic creatures, you don’t have to teach them before they get to know that they can also communicate in writing. They know that those things written on papers communicate ideas to other people. Before you know it, they will start scribbling on any paper or book they can find around. Please do not stop them or punish them for scribbling on your diaries, files or Bible. When they are in this stage, clear all your important papers and make available blank papers they can scribble on. It aids their better handwriting in the future. When they scribble their jargons, ask them what they are writing, and they will surely explain to you. Do more of reading and writing with them. They write and they draw, why not display one of their work on the wall, they feel so accomplished and encouraged. They will want to write more and get better.

Reading is one activity children can develop from a very tender age. These children who are exposed to written materials tends to be better readers and writers as they grow, they become the best when they eventually start school. They develop the hunger for information and knowledge. You as a parent can get books with few words for them to own. Talk to them about the beauty of reading. Read to them anything around them. Teach them the importance of understanding what is being read. Allow them pick topics to read. Make sure you have print items like books, magazines, newspapers etc at home all the time. Expose them to different literature styles at a very tender age. Do not condemn them because they don’t want to read or compare them other children who can read better. This is very damaging to their morale and learning process. Even you the parent don t want to read sometimes.

I will have to stop here and continue later in the final part. I never knew I will touch so many things as I have done. Let’s digest these and in the final part of this topic, I will touch children learning through different senses, setting a goal for yourself as to helping your children learn and how you can plan a better learning environment for your children.

To comment just click add comment, you will see a space to enter your comment. Now choose what or who you want to comment as by clicking the arrow. If you have a Google account, you can select Google account. If you don’t, just select Name/URL or anonymous.

I will be looking forward to your comments.

You can follow me on twitter @jimmyEdu_blog

Tuesday, 7 April 2015

Parents As First Teachers (Part 1)


Image: sfari.org
Femi got tired of his performance in school and has decided to fake being sick every morning just to avoid going to school. The school teacher and management pointed the accusing finger at Femi and his parent for his below average performance. On the other hand, the parents furiously fired back – accusing the school for gross incompetence and inadequacy in the education they give to Femi. The major fact in this story is that Femi is struggling in school and his future is on the balance.
This is a common phenomenon today. We have failed to well define the roles and responsibilities of both the school and the parents.

Parenting as defined is ”the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, financial, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood” Parenting include taking your responsibilities very seriously, using every opportunity to help develop your intellectual development. Children learn basically from what they see and hear. They also learn by what you make them to feel or perceive. Simply, parents can aid their children’s growth and development by interacting with them. The problem in this part of the world is TIME. Our parents barely spend enough time with their children.
By proxy, many parents provide learning environments without a direction or plan and this could either help or defect the children’s intellectual development. How can this be averted?

1.     Parents, you need to understand how your children learn. This varies though. The learning pattern of Femi may be different to that of Chioma. All children have an inborn capacity to learn (Forman and Kuschrer, 1983) Learning starts from the womb. That is why as soon as they are able to speak, they ask loads of questions. Their zeal to learn can either be nurtured or killed, based on the environment they are in.

      Parents, talk about leaning as a self-decided activity, not a command. Relate your daily experience to them as simple as possible. Teach them something about your life experiences every day. Please don’t wait for them to ask you questions before you talk to them. You say you are busy, right? Face the fact; you are working all because of your children. So interact with them always. You are their servant, at least till they enter into adulthood.

2.     Children will always experiment. “What will happen if I touch this yellow thing from this white stick”? You may have told them that is fire and it burns and causes pain. But can you really explain what pain is? Allow them experiment. When they put their finger in the fire or jump from the chair, you don’t punish them, instead teach with the experiment. They learn well when they are curious of so many things. Take the advantage. Get them toys that can make them think and be creative. Please don’t ever leave them to learn on their own or tell them you are too busy to answer their one thousand and one questions.

3.    Our children learn from whatever they can see in their environment. It may be Mountains, Buildings, Cars, People, Moon, Stars etc. They learn from both the good and the bad things. They grow up with this. But you as the parent must be there to help them. A child that his or her parents enjoy viewing violent movies where people are being killed with gun will grow up seeing killing as nothing serious and will enjoy violence as well. I strongly oppose parents buying toy guns for their kids. You need to know what interests your children because it is with this you will select what to teach them. Allow them to explore and be ready to ask their questions.

Watch out so as not to expose them to too many sets of skills at the same time. They wouldn’t be able to be focus and concentrate.

Let us take this bit by bit so that we can assimilate. I will conclude the topic in my next post. I seriously need your comments. Tell me what you feel about my writing, the blog and the topic. Share your own opinion.

Next: Parents as First Teacher (Security, Communication, Reading, Vision and Goal Establishment and Planning A Complete Learning Environment.

Monday, 30 March 2015

How to Improve Your Handwriting (Adult Edition)


Image: monkeysee.com
Some posts ago, we treated causes, effect of bad handwriting in children and the solution to the problem. But we can’t end the topic without finding a solution to adults who didn't have the opportunity of been properly trained to good handwriting.

If you are not comfortable with your handwriting, take a deep breath, you are going to find solution before the end of this article. If you have read THE EFFECT OF PUPILS’/STUDENTS’ BAD HANDWRITING ON THEIR EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE AND THE LASTING SOLUTION (PART 1)
THE EFFECT OF PUPILS’/STUDENTS’ BAD HANDWRITING ON THEIR EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE AND THE LASTING SOLUTION (PART 2) then, you can see the cause of your bad handwriting from childhood. Follow the link and read the two articles. You can by that help your children and others.
I also want to touch something quickly, some adults when they were kids has good handwriting but as they grow, they start losing the beauty and clarity in their handwriting. We will also talk about the cause of this. But first, let’s find the solution to bad handwriting in adults.

Practice and Patience
You shouldn’t want to copy anyone’s handwriting. Its almost like finger prints. We all have a unique handwriting. Some wealthy people will just write their names as signature, mind you, you can never write it like them. So, the key is practice and patience. Don’t rush and try as much as possible to be consistent.

Use Pens and Notebooks That You Are Comfortable With
While practicing, look for pen with good flow of ink or you can even start practicing with pencil. The rhythms of the sound you hear while writing can help you write better (psychological) make sure you write on a notebook you are comfortable with. Some prefer off-white papers, some love pure white. It depends on your preference. Don’t write on a paper directly on a hard surface.

Roll your wrist – Exercise it
One of the reasons you have a bad handwriting is because your wrist(s) is or are not flexible. Fold you hand to a punch form and roll. Mind you, don’t fold too hard. Now relax your hands, be calm and sit right as you are about to write.
Hold Your Pen Right
Check for yourself how you write better. Hold the pen in the middle and write. Then hold the pen on the edge of the tip and write. Which one is better? The best is the one you should practice with. Do not apply too hard pressure on the pen. You don’t want to tear the paper or make duplicates on the next 5sheets while writing on one.

See What You Are Writing
You have better control over your handwriting when you are able to read what you are writing. Read as you write. Your face shouldn’t be too far or too close to the paper.

Slow Down
People write too fast. What is the essence of writing fast when you won’t be able to read what you’ve written? Can someone else read what you have written? These are the questions you need to ask yourself. Therefore, try to make each letter and word you write to be as beautiful, neat and clear as possible. And again, don’t forget to practice, practice and practice.

Dear reader, if you have learnt something from this article endeavor to drop a comment or ask questions. I will be happy to respond promptly.

Friday, 27 March 2015

Are You a Successful Principal / Head Teacher? (Part2)

Image: Hermiston.k12.or.us

I am welcoming you to the concluding part of this discussion on being a successful and good principal / head teacher.
These are the other things to consider.

Delegate Appropriately
Like we said earlier, you need to know those working under you. Know their capabilities. This will help you in delegating responsibilities. Don’t be a control freak like people have known principals to be. If you are a control freak, it is not a bad thing, it is just that you want things done perfectly and you feel you are the only one that can get it done.
But now you need to free your shoulders off these heavy tasks so that you can be more effective. There’s value in delegating. Since you know your teachers well, you can easily make them responsible for tasks that you are sure they can and will carry out perfectly. You are thereby giving them a sense of responsibility and in another way boosting their confidence.
All these will help you reduce stress so that you can perform optimally.

Create and Enforce Proactive Policies
I won’t say much here. Don’t wait for things to come up before looking for ways of tackling or solving them. Different schools with different needs. You know yours needs. You should know what could come up. Be prepared before they happen. That is what we mean by being proactive. Make policies and enforce them. Put them in writing and make sure all your teachers are familiar with it. Even in your absence, you can be sure that things will work just fine.

Solve Problems Once and for All
It’s easier to find a quick fix to problems but on the long run, it could be disastrous. It’s better to invest more time so as to find a lasting solution to problems. Successful principals are proactive as we said earlier, they are always steps ahead. They don’t solve problems merely looking at the surface cause, they dig to the root and solve once and for all.

Become a Vault of Information
Pardon me to say that you as a successful principal need to be jack of all trades. You must know little or more in so many fields. Stay updated. Make yourself a vault of information. Be vast in research focusing on education, IT and trends. You must be able to teach in all the classes in your school. Be conversant with educational policies of the state you are. Update your teachers, encourage them, give them tips and walk-throughs to best classroom practices. They will appreciate you and enjoy their working with you.
Sometimes you could be inaccessible, its fine but it should never be all the time. Good principals are accessible to all stake holders; Teachers, students, parents and the non-teaching staff. More especially, the students should have easy access to you. Some students are so afraid at the sight of their principal. This shouldn’t be.
Know this, when anything goes wrong, the only person that comes to their mind is you. Therefore, great principals / head teachers know that maintaining a cordial relationship with everyone is the key to their success on their job.

Students are the First Priority
A good principal has a system in place for core values which are centered on the students and it is shared by all the teachers. This means that all the teachers are carried along in the decision made. When the decision is mainly focused on the students, there can hardly be a clash or infighting.
You are there to nurture, counsel, discipline, and educate each and every student. As a principal, you must never forget that students should always be our focal point.

Now you can answer the question. Are you a successful principal?

We appreciate your participation in this discussion. Commenting is now activated. You can now comment as you (your name) or anonymous.

Monday, 23 March 2015

Are You a Successful Principal / Head Teacher? (Part 1)


Image: Hermiston.k12.or.us
There are challenges that come with being a school principal. Majority of the people with this post are not well equipped to handle the pressure. The scope of this principal’s job is wide. They have to deal with almost everything related to the students, parents and teachers. They are the major decision maker in the institution.
Doing things differently makes a successful principal. Just as we have it in other field, there are very successful principals and we have those who don’t have the necessary skills to pull things off. Many of our school principals are in the middle of these two groups. The good principals possess a clear decision making mind and leadership quality that aid their success. They put into use different strategies that make themselves and those working with them successful.

Employ Good Teachers
Employing qualified teachers lessens the stress associated with a principal’s job in almost every way. Good teachers provide the students with quality education and communicate with the parents in the best way and they make sure that the students are well disciplined. These are what reduce the pressure on the principal.
Being a principal, you want to make sure the school is equipped with teachers who know their job. You want to boast of teachers who are fully committed in all aspect of their job. You even want teachers who are willing to go beyond bars to make sure no student is left behind academically. To be candid, having good teachers around you makes you a better principal and allow you concentrate more on more important things on the job.

Be Exemplary
You are the leader on the school; therefore you should act in that capacity. Every other person in the school will look up to you. They should have something to learn from you on a daily basis. When it comes to hard work, you should be in the fore front. Be approachable, never show any sign of weakness and be optimistic. Show respect to everyone; understand that people can never be the same. Be a complete professional. Communication, Organization and Efficiency should always be fundamental. Be the first to resume and the last to leave.

Think Outside the Box
Allow yourself and the teachers to explore, never limit yourselves. You are a problem solver. Therefore, you need to put your resources into best use. Never disregard your teachers’ ideas.


Work With People
You need be a psychologist. As a good principal, you need to read people, know what motivates them. Working with people includes working with your community. Be socially responsible; give something back to the community. This can be achieved based on value you place on feedbacks.

Read on as we conclude this discussion in my next post. Principals, I will be looking forward to your comments.
Thanks.

Wednesday, 18 March 2015

LATE PAYMENT OF SCHOOL FEES BY PARENTS, MANY A TIMES IT IS YOUR FAULT.


Image: Digitalmined
Facing the gospel truth, all of us are in business to earn a living. If your own school is not out to make profit, then this message is not meant for you. Fine, when we are composing our vision and mission statements, making profit is never included but deep down, we know we aren't working for free.
Expenses on expenses, levies upon levies, we want the best teachers, we will have to pay them well. We try hard to make our schools the best with the best facilities. All these cannot be done without money. So where will you get these money from? Even if you secure a loan facility, how will you pay back the loan not to talk of the interest? Without a doubt, the money comes from the parents.
Yes! It is their obligation to pay the tuitions of their kids but you the school owner has a whole lot to do in this aspect.

We have 12 weeks in a term, that is, 3 months, which is approximately 90days out of which 60 are working days.
How often do you contact these parents?
When you contact them, what are the reasons?
Is it to notify them of:
·         Open Days?
·         PTA meetings?
·         Donations?
·         Prompt school fee payment or lateness in payment?
·         Their child/ren’s misconducts or health issues?


The truth is; these are the things the parents are readily expecting when they see a message or note from you. It worries them. Some are even scared to pick when you phone them.
What can you do to change this known trend?
Cultivate a very cordial and personal relationship with the parents. Watch it! They can easily detect if your intention is just to soften the atmosphere so that you can bring to their notice those things we listed above. So, be sincere. Parents don’t want your gifts after any school ceremony. You know why? They know you bought that gift out of money they paid and they will also assume you made profit on the ceremony. Some will compare the gift, what they can see in the event and the money they paid. This is a NO NO. Its far better when they pay a little bit less than what they get as gifts.

Contacting them when they don’t expect, shows that you care about them, their family, and their jobs. Lets them know that you as well know how hard the economy is. Offer health tips, inspirational quotes and financial advice. You can even let them know that they are in your prayers. With these, they feel at ease, they don’t want to owe you; they cherish the relationship you have with them.

I know of a school that took care of a student’s whole family when the father lost his job for more than a year. I am not saying the school is a help for the needy organization but this singular act goes a long way to give the school a good name. This man later got a better job and donated an ICT lab to the school. This doesn’t happen every day but it is what we call LOYALTY.
Be loyal to them, show them you sincerely care about them and they will be loyal to you. They will do all their best not to owe you.
Then this problem of late payments can be prevented, reduced or stopped totally.

If you have been enlightened in a way or the other, kindly drop a comment.

NEXT TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION : Being a Good Head Teacher / Principal. What are the things
involved?

Tuesday, 17 March 2015

THE EFFECT OF PUPILS’/STUDENTS’ BAD HANDWRITING ON THEIR EXAMINATION PERFORMANCE AND THE LASTING SOLUTION (PART 2)

Courtesy: wikihow
You are welcome to the concluding part of this interesting discussion. As we mentioned in part one, the effect of bad handwriting on the general success of our student could be disastrous. What are we to do?


Majority of our schools today have seen the handwriting subject as the remedy. They have gone as far as giving their teachers extra training just to improve the handwriting of their students. But it has not given them the expected result.

Before we go further, we want to know the root cause of this problem.

Children end up with very horrible handwritings because of the following factors.  
  • Heredity: Many children inherited it
  • Laziness:  Some are so lazy that they get tired before getting done with two lines.
  • You: Yes! you. There is something you are not doing right. For a child to grow up with good handwriting, there are stages to pass through which is basically tour responsibility.

When a child scribbles, it is a stage. In this stage, the child is freeing his wrist. If you notice, some students bend or slant their note books before they write. Why? It is because they can’t turn their wrists enough. This is a bad way of writing.  A child should be allowed to scribble well enough so as to help his wrist grow flexibly. Then they should write in a big boxed note books. Writing big helps them to freely move their wrists. Then, the box will be reduced till they can write the letters and numbers neatly. Next is to teach them how to write on lines.


Writing should never be a subject. Why? The pupils will only want to write well in their 2Ds and write roughly in their other notes.

What if from basic 1 to basic 3, they write all their notes in the 2D notebooks? Won’t they be used to writing well? For this to be effective, the teachers too need to write on a 2D magnetic board. It will be a waste of time if the teacher would start to rule the board in 2D and start writing.
We have custom made 2D magnetic boards. 


Now lets see other benefit of having these kids write on their 2D notes for their basic 1-3
They will perform well. They will love to read their notes all the time. Do you know that kids with bad handwriting know they have a bad handwriting, and they hate how they write? They don’t even want to open the note unless someone compels them to. If they can’t read their notes on their own impulse, how can they do well academically? Hence, when their handwritings is neat and beautiful, they are proud of themselves and will always want to open their notes, read and admire their own handwritings.


Again, do you know that at their age, they get tired of reading full pages with many words? YES they do. In our 2D note books, you can write just 10 lines of not too many words. When our kids open their 2D note books with good handwritings, they find it easy reading, because, they read just 10 lines and flip to the next page. The impact - they can easily understand what they have just read because its short and brief, as they flip the pages, they feel a sense of accomplishment. No one will have to beg or force them to read.

If this is the case with 98% of your pupils in a class, what will be the implication? The student will be in each other’s heel.

Pupil A: 98
Pupil B: 97
Pupil C: 95
Pupil D: 93 ……
This is a healthy competition. They will want to overtake one another because the gap is very close.  Pupil D can still aim at the first position. Just with 6marks, he or she can do it.

But in situation where you have:
Pupil A: 98
Pupil B: 86
Pupil C: 65
Pupil D: 40 ……
Is there competition here? Pupil D is ready to give up; 58marks will be too much for him to catch up with pupil A.
These can be achieved with good handwriting.
I will suggest that in the basic 1-3 class room they have 4sets of magnetic boards in their class rooms.
Each will be 4x4feets.
2pcs of the 2D board. 1pc of Ruled board and 1pc of Plain Whiteboard.
If you are worried about space, we have a sliding 4-in-1 magnetic boards.

I hope I’ve been able to bring these things to your attention.

Thanks for reading.

Till I come your way next time with another interesting topic, may the peace of the lord be with you, your loved ones and your students.

Please drop your comments to ask questions or to ask for more information concerning the Magnetic Boards discussed.