How to bring out the Genius in your Child

 

FEATURE STORY

What support do children need from teachers and parents to develop the cognitive skills, values, attitudes and attributes needed for lifetime ­success? Here are some ideas from Great Minds and How to Grow Them, based on Prof Deborah Eyre’s approach, to help your child become a high performer.

Think right
• If children get stuck at something, don’t sort it out. Ask “How could you do this?” “Have you done anything similar before?” “What did you do then?” This helps them develop their own learning ideas and makes them much less likely to say they can’t do things.
• Build big picture thinking. Ask “What would happen if … it never got dark/the rivers ran dry/ everyone ignored the law?” A key characteristic of students labelled as gifted is their ability to see how learning connects to the wider world.
• Build imagination. Ask “How would you weigh a giraffe/rhinoceros/bridge/house/star?” Creativity builds learning capability and is vital for high performance.
• Develop critical or logical thinking. Ask ‘Why do you think … bread goes mouldy if you don’t freeze it/babies cry/ leaves fall when autumn comes?” The ability to deduct, hypothesise, reason and seek evidence is probably the characteristic most ­associated with academic success.
• Help them monitor their own ­progress. Ask: “What do you need to be able to do this? How can you check you’re on track? How can you tell whether you are doing it right?” This one is the key to maximising thinking skills.

Behave right 
• Intellectual confidence. This is a “can do” approach to learning, even when it’s hard. If a child says they are no good at something, say: “I know you can. I know it’s hard to do now but I know you can learn how to do this in time if you work at it.”
• Open mindedness. Being open to new ideas is the hallmark of an advanced learner. Start with being open minded yourself so you model what it’s like to be receptive to ideas that differ from your own.
• Curiosity. Children ask lots of questions if you answer them, though the number falls dramatically once they get to school and only the class teacher is there to answer. The desire to know more – curiosity – is at the heart of all learning. High performance is fuelled by it. The more curious children are, the more whys and hows they ask, the better they do at school and in life.
• Practice. It’s the only way to get good at something. Make sure it is regular, deliberate and planned, working towards achievable incremental goals, and that you practise what you can’t do well.
• Perseverance. To keep going when it’s tough is the most important behaviour in high performance. Model it yourself. With younger children you can talk about what would happen if no one persevered – the farmer who didn’t bother to harvest his crops, the builder to finish the house, the ­surgeon to complete the operation. With older ones, encourage a sense of pride in what they do so that they are motivated to persevere.

See more at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jul/25/how-to-bring-out-the-genius-in-your-child

 

 

How Lagos kidnapped students were released

The Lagos State Government on Friday expressed excitement over the release of six students of Igbonla-Epe Model College who were abducted on May 25, 2017 in their school premises.

In a press statement, the State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde congratulated the parents of the students and all concerned stakeholders over the development, just as he said the students would undergo series of medical tests and trauma therapy before they are reunited with their families. “This is a welcome development and the State Government has always believed that the students would be released unhurt.

The news of their release is therefore a confirmation of that belief and we are glad that they would be reuniting with their families,” Ayorinde said. He said the State Government remains resolute in its commitment to ensure the safety of lives and property of residents in the State and has already beefed up security in schools to prevent a re-occurrence.
“It is on record that the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration has invested massively on equipment and welfare of security personnel so as to ensure that the State remains safe for residents and investors. “This Government has already taken giant steps to secure all our schools especially those in the suburbs and riverine areas and we are confident that the steps taken so far will go a long way in nipping a repeat of such in the bud,” Ayorinde said.

The Commissioner also quoted Governor Ambode as commending the efforts of security agencies who worked tirelessly to ensure the safe release and return of the students.

However, fresh facts have emerged on how the release of the six Igbonla Model College students was secured on Friday at Ajamkpa in Ese-Odo Local Government of Ondo State.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the governments of Ondo, Ogun, Delta and Lagos states began negotiations with the kidnappers 10 days ago when information came out that the students were kept at the creeks in the riverine communities of Ondo State.

The students, Peter Jonah, Isiaq Rahmon, Adebayo George, Judah Agbausi, Pelumi Philips and Farouq Yusuf, were kidnapped from their state-owned school on May 25.

The Ondo State Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi, who is also from the area, was said to have led the negotiations with the militants, on behalf of the Lagos State Government.

“I know the Ondo State Deputy Governor, Mr. Agboola Ajayi who is from the waterside area met with some leaders in the area and a negotiation was made,” a source at the Ondo State Government House, said.

He said Mr. Agboola made several contacts with the militants before they were released on Friday at Ajamkpa community.

The source said the Ondo State Government also relied on the cooperation of the Nigerian Navy and the Joint Military Task Force to secure the release of the children.

“The release of the six students followed the intervention of the government of the Ondo State after days of pressure and negotiations,” the source said.

“Prominent people tried all they could to intervene.

“The Delta State deputy governor was even in the creeks personally to ensure the negotiations, but without success.

“All of a sudden, I think the kidnappers changed their minds and released the students to the Ondo State Government alone after some talks.

“Eventually, the students were released by their abductors and the Navy and the marine police were contacted to transport the students outside the creeks.

“Some of the students told us that they had been living comfortably with their abductors in the last 64 days. One of them said they were being fed with bread and sardines while they also sleep comfortably” the source explained.”

The Chief Press Secretary to Mr. Agboola, Leke Akeredolu, confirmed that his principal led the negotiations with the kidnappers.

He, however, failed to give further details on how the kids were rescued.

PREMIUM TIMES further learnt that the students are already on their way to Lagos to be reunited with their parents.

A mother of one of the kidnapped students earlier confirmed the release to PREMIUM TIMES.

“They have been released. The deputy governor of Ondo state called me and I spoke with my son,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government on Friday expressed excitement over the release of the students.

In a press statement, the State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, congratulated the parents of the students and all concerned stakeholders over the development, just as he said the students would undergo series of medical tests and trauma therapy before they are reunited with their families.

“This is a welcome development and the state government has always believed that the students would be released unhurt. The news of their release is, therefore, a confirmation of that belief and we are glad that they would be reuniting with their families,” Mr. Ayorinde said.

The commissioner said the state government remained resolute in its commitment to ensure the safety of lives and property of residents in the state and has already beefed up security in schools to prevent a re-occurrence.

Reacting to the release of the students, the Safe Schools and Communities Advocacy Group while congratulating the parents and Lagosians noted that they were “released, not rescued.’’

“This means that for all of the 64 days, the police and security agencies did little or nothing,” said Hassan Soweto, the group’s coordinator.

“It also means that in the given situation, parents of the victims, who are majorly civil servants and self-employed people, were left with no option but to sell their properties in order to raise the ransom money.

“This situation, of course, means that all of the critical questions we raised in the course of the kidnap are very relevant and must be addressed in the wake of the kidnapped children otherwise it is only a matter of time before another kidnap case occurs.”

SOURCE: INTERNET

 

Celebrating our exceptional girls at 14th Mike Okonkwo essay contest

By

Dayo Adesulu

(From Left: Alexandra Nwigwe, Jesudunta Mercy and Akingbade Gbenga, winners of the 2017 essay contest)

Two female students have emerged first and second in the 14th Mike Okonkwo National Essay competition.  While Miss Alexandra Nwigwe of Vivian Fowler Memorial College Lagos, emerged the overall best, scoring 90 per cent in the first round of the competition and 80 per cent in the second round, Miss Jesudunta Mercy Ipinmoye of Corona Secondary School Agbara, came second scoring 80 per cent in the first round and 72 per cent in the second round. The third position went to Master Akingbade Gbenga of Emerald High School Lagos who scored 80 per cent in the first round and 70 per cent in the second round.

Recall that in 2016 essay contest, Miss Fadilah Saliu-Ahmed of Zamani College, Kaduna emerged overall best. Just as the second position went to Miss Barakat Adebayo of Roshallom International School Egbeda, Lagos, and the third position went to Miss Wuraola Adeoye of Fountain Height Secondary School, Lagos.

(Above picture shows the winners of the 2016 essay contest)

The feat from the female folk speaks volume of their academic performance in essay competition. Other winners  in the 2017 essay contest include: Chinedu Chimezie of Cedar Collage, Ipaja, Adedeji Aderemi of Grange School, G.R.A Ikeja, Atoyebi Israel of Kings College, Lagos, Olalere Victor of Deeper Life High School, Akure, Okadigbo Juliet of State Senior Grammar School, Surulere and Kolawole Oladunni of Reagan Memorial Baptist Girls Secondary School, Yaba.

In her reaction, the chief examiner of the essay competition, Professor Hope Eghagha, Head, Department of English, University of Lagos, Akoka, said that the Mike Okonkwo Essay Competition for Secondary School students received a total of seven hundred and ninety six (796) entries.

She said, “This is after the organizers used their internal control mechanism to ensure that only qualified persons applied.  “After applying standard criteria in the assessment, we concluded that 27 entries were not original because they were plagiarized. ‘’This was after cross-checking each entry carefully with internet sources to determine their originality. This is one of the problems confronting us in the education sector currently. Some students simply download material from the internet and submit same as their original work.”

Speaking further, she said: “After the first round of assessment in which we judged mechanical accuracy, the use of language, originality of thought, and thematic focus, 10 participants were selected and eventually invited for the second stage of the competition. The second stage was mainly a confirmatory procedure, meant to ensure that the first stage winners were indeed the authentic writers of the short-listed essays.”

Time to bring out Chibok Girls

By

Anthony Bosco Ororho

I read with interest, the visit of Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousafzai recently, to the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yomi Osinbajo, at the Aso Rock Villa. During that visit, Malala called for “state of emergency for education” in Nigeria.

I recall that Malala Yousafzai, was shot and nearly killed by the Taliban in her native Pakistan in 2012 for insisting that girls go to school. The parallel that I find here, is that the Chibok girls were abducted by gunmen from their hostels, in a Government owned school.

However, as is always the case with Nigeria, the identity, location and condition of the Chibok gilrs, is shrouded in secrecy. While the Acting President of Nigeria granted Malala audience, and the Press was allowed to cover the event, thus giving the Nobel Laureate global acclaim, none of our girls from Chibok is known even by Nigerians. The other time, we were told that there were “protected” from their parents and relatives.

As usual, we hide talents in this country by creating a myth around their circumstances. Warri people will call it ‘witchcraft,’ in high places, International Bad Belle and what have you?

The Chibok girls sure have stories to tell from award winning points of view. But if we continue to hide them, their story will never be heard and there will be no lessons learnt.

I believe that there could be a Chimamanda Adichie among the Chibok girls. All she needs is exposure, empowerment and the opportunity to show the world her hidden treasures. Call to mind, the humbling and staggering beginnings of Oprah Winfrey. Today, she is about the biggest female talk show hostess in the world.

#BringOuttheChibokGirls

Why Nigeria’s Education System can’t Work

By Anthony Bosco Ororho

I thought of the consequences of building a house without a foundation. The house stood on its roof and when the July rains came, the flood waters washed away my house. I woke up sweating profusely, only to discover that I have just had a bad dream.

We are very good at dreaming in Nigeria, and, more than half the time, our dreams have turned out to be bad dreams.

As an Educator, I dream of education and, the entire beautiful scenario that comes to mind when we get it right ab initio. A university lecturer once told my class, “If you can’t dream, die!

I have equally come to see that “Investment in primary or basic education is considered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a means to foster gender equality and sustained economic growth and reduce poverty.” In line with that argument, in September 2000, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), were developed at meeting the needs of the world’s poorest people (UNDP, 2005).

These eight goals, which are to be met in partnership with the world’s leading development institutions by the target date of 2015, are to:

1. Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty.
2. Achieve universal primary education.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women.
4. Reduce child mortality.
5. Improve maternal health.
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability.
8. Develop a global partnership for development

The inclusion of Universal Basic Education (UBE) emphasizes the importance of primary education in the development process of every nation.

But how well has Nigeria developed its UBE goals and objectives?

Our primary schools are saddled with too many problems.

First is the issue of Population Explosion at the primary school stage. Even with the large number of private primary schools in the country, to support the public schools, the primary schools are not enough to accommodate the influx of applicants year in, year out.

Next is the issue of Teacher Availability. We do not have enough qualified teachers to handle the army of primary school pupils in the country. I wrote in a community newspaper ‘Oriwu Sun,’ in 2008 that a public primary school in Ikorodu, Lagos State has 200 children in a class. How then can one teacher handle 200 children? The teachers there are just overwhelmed with the huge task at hand.

The Federal and State Governments need to invest more in teacher education, by providing scholarship for student teachers, graduate teachers to do research and better funding of research with regard to educational advancement.

In addition, we did not take into recognition the needs of the 21^st Century. This is the age of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Every schooling child should have access to computers and the guided use of the internet, as regards academic work. One may argue that computers are too expensive for primary school children. But many middle class parents know what their kids in primary schools can do with their smart phones; they even understand the use better than their parents.

Be that as it may, the fight between the various State Governments and their Local Government counterparts over funds meant for primary education, in the early 2000’s cannot be forgotten in a hurry. Today, the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) is a mere decoration on the Basic Education Fabric.

To say that Nigeria needs more schools and classrooms is an understatement. This is because in a proper education setting, every child is entitled to a specific space in the classroom, in order for learning to be a pleasant experience. When we cram them into sardine-like formations, the play method way of learning becomes such a hard drill.

Funding is a vital aspect of educating our children in primary schools. Monies meant for educating our young ones should be guarded jealously. There should be proper legislation and firm measures to deal with public servants who steal money meant for primary education, to serve as deterent.

Finally, it is our collective responsibility to make help the Government achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Therefore, all hands should be on deck in this onerous task of building a self sufficient country that we can call our own, by educating the children right from the primary school stage.

8 helpful tips for getting a study scholarship

Winning a scholarship isn’t as hard as you might think, there are certain tips that can help you maximize the process and achieve your goal of winning a study scholarship. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 8 helpful tips for getting a study scholarship.

Start Your Search As Soon As Possible:

When trying to get a study scholarship, you need to start your search as soon as possible because if you wait till the last minute you will miss half the deadlines. There are many scholarship schemes out there for you to take advantage of, you just need to start your search as soon as possible, even before your final year if possible.

Be sure to consider scholarships from private foundations and government bodies, in addition to those of the universities you intend to apply to. Even company scholarship schemes, should be considered as long as you’re eligible.

Apply To Every Scholarship To Which You Are Eligible:

This is one of the best strategies to ensure you win at least one scholarship. If you work hard and are able to win more than one, you will have options to choose from. In addition, some of these scholarships are in form of monetary grants, and if you are able to win enough of these scholarships, the money can add up into what can sustain you as a full scholarship.

Ensure You Have a Professional Online Profile:

This is more of a precautionary move, in case your online profile is considered during the screening of your application. Ensure you use a professional email address on your applications and clean up the content of your social media accounts, removing inappropriate and immature material.

Be Weary Of Scholarship Scams:

There is nothing like a ‘guaranteed scholarship’ and you don’t pay an application fee for a scholarship. Don’t be too eager or desperate when searching for scholarships, so you don’t fall into the trap of fraudsters. Ensure you confirm the credibility of whatever private foundation or government body you intend to apply to, before going forward with the application. This is because there are some fraudsters out there posing as ‘scholarship companies’ to take your money and disappear. You, therefore, have to be smart about your scholarship search.

Keep A Good Record of All Documents:

You shouldn’t be looking to get the necessary application documents together at the last minute, instead you should ensure that all documents that are likely to be required are ready or you at least have a way to easily get them ready when needed. You shouldn’t try to get needed documents together at the last minute to avoid making mistakes with your application and missing important deadlines.

Consider Scholarships With Smaller Awards:

Scholarships with smaller awards are usually less competitive and easier to win, so you can consider applying for these. To maximize this option, you can apply for as many of such smaller scholarship awards that you’re eligible for, and work hard to win as many of them as you can. Eventually, the awards can add up to something significant enough to help you with most of your study goals, if not all.

Make Sure Your Application is Good:

Try to figure out what is expected of you on the application and be authentic with your delivery of this. Brush up your essay writing skills and refine them to excellence so this can help boost the strength of your application in the essay writing category. Basically, do your research well, and ensure you give all it takes to submit an outstanding application by all standards.

Don’t Be Deterred By Failure:

Yes, you might get a few negative responses on your scholarship applications but it’s not the end of the world. Don’t give up. Even if you don’t win a scholarship on entry into higher institution, you can still continue to apply for some available to you while you’re studying. Eventually, you will get one because like most things in life, the most successful scholarship winners are the ones that keep trying. Don’t let failure stop you, let it be a stepping stone to your success story. Win battle of self to become great

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/07/8-helpful-tips-getting-study-scholarship/

Re-educating Children trained by ISIS

HAMMAM AL-ALIL, Iraq — The UN refugee camp near this small town just south of Mosul is a sun-baked sea of white tents. In one tent, 15-year-old Atallah Saleh swats at flies and looks at the ground shyly. His sweet smile disappears as he describes the three years he spent under ISIS rule.

“When Daesh came, they taught us how to be suicide bombers and make IEDs,” he says, his eyes glistening with tears. “They distributed books about their propaganda. The teachers at school taught us how to hold a Kalashnikov, how to shoot and kill, how to become a suicide bomber and fight the jihad.”

From a military standpoint, ISIS, or Daesh as it is known here, looks like it might be on its way out of Iraq. Some in the media are already calling the fall of Mosul the end of the terror group in the country.

But ISIS came to Iraq not just to conquer, but to settle. In every territory under its control, the group took over schools and mosques, installing radical imams and teachers to inject its ideology into a new generation. As ISIS loses ground militarily, the civilians it spent years indoctrinating are now scattered across the country in refugee camps.

Some camps are reported to have inhumane living conditions. Others are plagued by retaliatory violence against their Sunni Muslim residents. All provide a potential incubator for terror, as youths like Atallah who have already absorbed the radical Islamist mentality of ISIS begin to nurture resentment against their liberators.

ISIS was born from the DNA of a group that was once thought to be defeated, Al Qaeda in Iraq. Local leaders like Qassem Maslah, a brigade commander in a militia that has been fighting ISIS in Iraq, the Hashd al-Shaabi, worry that that ISIS could experience a similar resurgence in a few years via the thousands of youths it has indoctrinated.

“When a chicken lays eggs, and then the chicken dies, the eggs stay and turn into new chickens,” says Maslah. “These groups have different names, but they are all the same.”

“[W]hen Daesh came to this area, to these villages — these are poor people. They herd animals; they are not educated. So Daesh built the Salafist, takfiriideology into them. They were training children from six, seven years old, to hold weapons and kill people. What we need is to reeducate them in schools, and teachers should show them how to get rid of these ideas, because they are children and these things stay in their minds.”

Zaid Adil Sultan, the Hammam al-Alil camp manager, says the ISIS school curriculum was intended to keep the jihadi ideology alive among the young even if the group was defeated.

“They gave them ‘courses’ that encouraged violence and taught them the concept and ideology of jihad,” he says. “In math, instead of teaching them that one plus one equals two, they taught them that one bullet plus one bullet equals two bullets. They opened workshops to prepare [boys] to fight, show them how to build muscle, things like that… they put young boys in mosques and gave them lectures on Islam and how to be a true jihadi.”

Sultan works at the camp’s school, at the center of the sea of bleached tents, where teachers try to undo the influence of ISIS. Sultan says those kids who were forced to attend ISIS schools were deeply traumatized by the experience.

“After we opened [the] camp and children started to come in, we saw that their psychological situation was a disaster,” Sultan explains. “They were afraid of noises, planes — you cannot describe how bad their state of mind was. But we’ve opened workshops to help them repair their psychological problems. We have a psychologist and psychiatrist who specialize in this kind of trauma treatment. We try to teach them that Daesh is gone and they shouldn’t be afraid…we opened courses on true Islam and how they should live as Muslims.”

But according to Sultan, these attempts at reprogramming don’t always stick. “The hardest age to treat is boys from 14 years old to 17,” he says. “People have told me that before their sons went to those schools, they were okay, but after they went, they were coming home, hitting their siblings and threatening to kill them.”

The “mentality,” said Sultan, is “very difficult to eradicate. We are working hard, but the circumstances are not good for making sure Daesh doesn’t come back as a different group.”

Atallah’s father, Saleh Saleh, a regal, elderly sheikh with three wives and many children, holds court in the family tent, which simmers in the midday heat. He was troubled by how his kids behaved after absorbing the ISIS brand of education.

“When the children came home, I would tell them not to listen to anything they heard from Daesh, that what they were telling the kids was all lies,” says Saleh. “But they are children, and they sometimes would repeat things without understanding them. That is what they were seeing and hearing every day.”

Saleh says he knows many boys around Atallah’s age who were unable to let go of the ISIS mentality, even after they were liberated and moved to camps.

“I saw many kids who followed ISIS after they went to these schools and eventually became Daesh,” he says. “Since the NGOs came to work in the camp and reeducate the children, it’s gotten better. But before they came, when the camps were first established, there were many children like that.”

One of Saleh’s wives, a young Bedouin, beckons and points to a tent just across the street. “That woman’s husband was just arrested for being Daesh two days ago,” she says quietly. “They took him away and put him in prison. She has a son Atallah’s age.”

Young Atallah Saleh says the brutal ideology of ISIS doesn’t hold any appeal for him. But it’s clear he won’t be recovering from the group’s education anytime soon.

“I see the men who taught us in school in my dreams,” he says. “I can see their beards and their eyes. Everything about them was frightening.”

 

Source: Internet