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When my mom finally decided to take
that plum posting as a Divisional Head, I knew I was in trouble. Her office
hours stretched way beyond my school hours. And anyway, I was privy to the many
discussions my parents had about 'Honey, what do we do with the kids?' Well,
finally they struck gold - an educational after school program. Won't that be
just grand? Kids are learning new things while parents are happily minting
greenbacks! And so, we went directly to another class after our school. The
brochure said that they would be 'using fun activities and innovative teaching
methods to fill the gap in your child's understanding'. I suppose they meant
that the teacher would write down the homework and we were to copy it. At
least, this is what happened most of the time. Of course, we didn't tell our
parents. How would that help? They'd simply get smart and shift us to a class
that would actually make us solve our homework.
I hated the classes. Mostly, I was
bored to tears or falling asleep. After so many hours at school who'd want to
spend the entire afternoon with the same books? But, as a child, one had little
choice in these
matters. Especially when one's
parents were cleverly telling one that mommy's salary will help get us that
spanking new TV or that video game. Lose some, win some! Then, one day, my
sister decided to rock the proverbial boat. She decidedshe had enough of
studying and refused to go to the after school program. That's when my parents
began to smell something stale. Shortly after that, they put us in a better
program (o, yes, another educational one). This was bigger, brighter and
somehow more fun. We had some interesting games, and a COMPUTER too. Each of us
got a chance to do something on the PC (this, when PCs were just beginning to
make their presence felt). We somehow managed to blaze through our homework,
most of which had to be done by us. Then it was time to have fun. We had a
little bit of everything. Acting classes, speech, games and of course painting.
Those hours we spent splashing color on pages and laughing at silly jokes were
really the highlight of an otherwise boring day. Ironically, I began looking
forward to my after school program.
Now, so many years afterward, when I
need to take up a job and leave my own child alone till I get back, I know how
important these after school programs have become. Talk about history repeating
itself! I just hope I'd get her into a good one, and yes, it's going to be
educational too. The Learning environment There is often a trap in the words 'after
school activities'. One may easily believe that since these activities are
after school, they are not of much importance. But, one couldn't be more wrong.
Research suggests that children pick up some of their most important skills
from after school programs. That is why children who do not participate in any
extra curricular activities are generally slow and less vibrant.
The learning environment that one fosters in after school activities must be as
disciplined and as functional as that found in the school. This is especially
true of educational after school programs. This is the best place to teach the
child important skills like time-management and goal setting. Time-management
is a vital skill, but it is not achieved easily. Children need to feel the
discipline that is needed to finish a task and the happiness of finishing the
allotted work in a specific time frame. Children look for different things in
an after class program. The learning environment should be attractive, colorful
and informative. Use charts, pictures, posters and drawings to liven up a
class. Additional resources resources that are not easily available in the
school) will make the classes interesting. For instance, when teaching a
biology lesson, alloWhe child to see through a microscope or see slides of
bacteria. This will add to his knowledge and also make him more enthusiastic
about his after school program.
s a must in after
school activities. In fun or sport-based activities, it is easy for children to
step out of line and wreck havoc. While children should be allowed to have fun,
they should be curtailed from unacceptable behavior. The best way to enforce
discipline is to lay down the rules at the very beginning. Let the children
know what is unacceptable, right at the beginning. Rewards are an important
part of any learning process. The reward can be a simple pat on the back or a
token of appreciation. Motivate your children to aspire for higher things by
rewarding their achievements. Holding competitions or sport activities where
the children can show their proficiency is a reward in itself. Children can get
bored easily, especially in the case of an educational program. The main thrust
of an academic program is to repeat what has been taught in class and to allow
the child to learn it quickly. It is difficult to pique the child's interest a
second time, especially when the child is already tired of one dose of the same
lesson. It is best to thwart boredom by using creative techniques like an
impromptu extempore on ny topic, a quiz program or a slideshow. After school
activities are becoming more popular by the day. Parents want their kids to
learn more. Children too have an insatiable quest for knowledge. In an after
school program, it is possible to pay individual attention and quench this
thirst using various effective techniques.