Abdul is an 8-year-old, primary 4 school boy who is usually cheerful and happy. However, he is struggling to cope with the sheer volume of home work they were expected to complete on a daily basis.
On the average, the lessons would end at about 7:30 pm or 8:00 pm. At which time he would have dinner, say his prayers and then retire at 9:00 pm. Abdul’s face brightened immediately and he ran off. As he exited the building, his mother sighed and resolved to discuss this with his father and possibly have a word with the school teachers.A number of schools appear to have no clear understanding of early child development and developmental psychology. Thus, they ignore or may be unaware that the most important task of childhood is to play, socialise and learn at their own pace.
The most important task of early education is simply to teach them to read and write, learn the rudiments of mathematics, while promoting their interest in other subjects as a form of exploration. Sometimes, the unhealthy pressure is from the parents: “My child must graduate from the university by the age of 20 years, so he/she must skip primary 5 and 6 and go straight from primary 4 into secondary school, etc.”