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                                        SEA 2008: OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

We take this opportunity to highlight the successes of the El Dorado South Hindu School at this year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) Examination. We, the principal and staff, are extremely proud of the results of this year’s examination and take this opportunity to express our sincerest congratulations to all students.

This year, a total of fifty-nine students wrote the examination. Thirty two (32) have secured (first choice) places at the ‘top’ secondary schools. The school boasts of having students placed in schools such as: Lakshmi Girls’ Hindu College, St. Augustine Girls’ High School, St. Joseph’s Convent, St. Joseph, Hillview College, St. Mary’s College, St. George’s College and Holy Cross College. A total of twenty four (24) students have secured places at other five and seven year schools with one child having to re-sit the examination.

It must be noted that over the years the school has taken steps to reduce the number of children having to re-sit the examination and is happy to say that these programs are indeed successful. While we consider the results to be impressive, the school had prided itself in receiving similar results over the years (1992 to present). This is an accomplishment of which we are truly proud.

This year, as we continue on the road to excellence, one of our students, Tanuja Maharaj, has placed second in the country. We are extremely proud of this and express special congratulations to Tanuja on this remarkable achievement. Every year since 1997, the Ministry of Education in conjunction with bpTT has been honouring the ‘Top 100’ students in the country. We have had the honour of having students on this list in ten of the twelve years.

Recently, the Ministry has been honouring the ‘Top 95%’ and the results have been the same. Last year, we had three students in the ‘Top 100’ and this year it is the same. We congratulate Tanuja Maharaj, Chelvi Ramkissoon and Ravish Ragoonanan in securing places in this years ‘Top 100” listing. This shows the consistency of the results over the years. We have committed ourselves to achieving the highest standards in education and as such hope to enjoy similar successes in the future.

We recognize the hard work and long hours the students have devoted to this success and would also like to recognize the support of the parents to this end. Once again, we congratulate all students (Class of 2008) in their achievements and take this opportunity to remind them that ‘the journey has just begun’.

WAYS TO MOTIVATE YOUR CHILD
Vishma Sookdeo

Many parents complain that their children simply aren’t motivated to learn. I don’t believe this. I feel every child is motivated to learn, we just have to find the key to that motivation. One of the best ways to discover that key is to simply observe your children when they’re having fun. What kinds of things do they like to do? These are the things that motivate them. The trick is taking the excitement and vitality you see when they’re having a good time and transplanting it into academic learning. It may not be as difficult as you think.

Say, for example, your child loves doing wheelies on his bike all day. You can take his love of bicycles and help him learn to read by providing him with books about bikes, or you can awaken an interest in mathematics by taking him to the bike store the next time he needs a part and look at the importance of metric measurements in a bike’s instructions. You can take anything your child loves to do and show him how academic skills can help him learn more about it. Make sure not to impose your ideas on your child or he’ll resist. Instead, allow yourself to be led by your child’s own interests.

Parental Involvement

Parental involvement is essential and imperative for the development of a child. However a parent who becomes “too involved” or who worries too much can result in the undermining of the child’s sense of “autonomy and motivation”. With a child who has a grade point average of a B or higher, it may be best to occasionally ask that child if they need assistance. Children who know that their parent finds their schoolwork important and interesting are more likely to feel more motivated to strive to do better in school. Some extra attention from a parent could make a difference between a child staying a low-achiever and becoming an average-achiever.

A few extra hours a day with a low-achieving child might make a world of difference in years to come. Making a plan or a “to do” list with the low- achiever, as well as addressing those harder problems in homework together as a team could be helpful. It’s important to let your children know that they have your support.

Reward and Punishment: Helpful or Hurtful?

A conception among some, parents and teachers alike, is that rewards and punishment can be useful and effective when trying to motivate a child to do a desired task, such as homework. However, research shows that children who are lured into doing something for a reward are less likely to do it again if no reward is given. Similarly, punishment or “consequences” often evokes in a child feelings of “anger, defiance and a desire for revenge”. This means that reward and punishment, even if it seems minor, could produce the opposite of the desired effect.

It is suggests that the most effective type of reward is giving praise. Giving contingent praise, or “praise that is effective because it refers directly to specific task performances”, is most effective because it emphasizes that success depends upon the amount of effort one puts in. Receiving praise and good feedback assists children in evaluating themselves, helping them to create reachable goals. Once your child has established goals for homework or studying, they have already begun the process of becoming a self-regulated learner, or a child who has “knowledge of effective learning strategies and how and when to use them”. A parent’s goal should be to help their child become a self-regulated learner.

Overall, I would say that rewards and punishments should be avoided if at all possible. They are quick fixes for parents who want to motivate their children to do well in school. In the long run, children will be more motivated and eager to learn if their motivation is not determined by conditional extrinsic factors, but intrinsic ones. Using “praise” only when the child has done well or improved, is a mild form of reward that can teach that the amount of effort exerted and success are positively correlated.

Helpful Hints

Get involved! - and support your child’s studies. Make sure they know that they have your support.

Help your child get organized - Sit down with your child and go over their schedule with them, as needed. Encourage setting priorities and talk about rearranging certain activities in order to get their work done.

Encourage curiosity - If an example is made by the parents that learning is fun, interesting and not just something that occurs during school hours, a child could feel more motivated to learn for pleasure.

Give motivating feedback - When your child has done well on a test or on an assignment, do not hesitate to let them know that their hard work has paid off.

Discuss why they were successful in order to demonstrate good study strategies.

Emphasize effort, not ability - Children need to learn to attribute success with the amount of effort that they put into their work, not how smart they are. Parents who emphasize that success is due to amount of effort are more likely to motivate their child to do their best than parents who focus on ability alone.

Be patient - Follow these few guidelines, but do not expect miracles to happen over night. Children are still developing and many just need a little time “to develop the maturity that allows them to complete homework assignments and chore with a minimum of supervision.”

Ways to motivate kids to do homework

Establish a regular system. Having children do homework in “the same place, the same time with the same routine is critical.” Children thrive on routine.

Set up a dedicated workspace. Just as a bed promotes sleeping, a place designed for homework will promote studying. Stock the space with a few cool tools, such as colorful pencils, fun folders or a playful computer mouse. The novelty might wear off, but sitting down to a cheerful space will set the tone.

Remember that learning styles differ for every person.


A CHILD TO LOVE

You can have your wealth and riches
All the things so many seek
Position, power and success
The fame you love to keep

You can earn as much as you wish
Reach a status high above
But none of these can equal
Having one sweet child to love

T'is the greatest gift from heaven
Little arms that hold you tight,
And a kiss so soft and gentle
When you tuck them in at night

A million precious questions
And each story often read
Two eyes so bright and smiling
And a darling tousled head

God has never matched the goodness of a trusting little face
or a heart so full of laughter
Spreading sunshine every place
A child to hold and cuddle and the world is so much brighter

T'is a gift from God above . . . when you have a child to love.