Know Your Child, and the people around them

Our children are gifts from the most high…they are the apple of his eyes and his blessings to mankind for continuity and existence. Their upbringing and grooming are very essential and important. This is why adults are chosen by God or by association or mentorship to be custodians and facilitators of their upbringing and mental development. So they can grow gracefully, be useful members of the society and giants in the kingdom of God in their generation on earth.

Their innocent minds are crafted in a way that they learn by imitation and admiration of the adults around them as they grow. The church and school education systems should be well crafted to impact the very necessary values and morals in them.

By taking a deep look at academically challenged children and personally engaging with some that have been tagged not too bright, I have been able to decipher that children have a lot they deal with in their minds. Hence, they are unable to focus, concentrate in class thereby turning out as average or poor students, and if not quickly checked deteriorate into mediocrity.

Each child has his/her own strength and fears. They each have their own issues- psychological and emotional which affect their relationship with others and eventually affect their performance academically.

Children tend to worry a lot. They worry about been accepted by their peers, their performance in school and other co–curricular activities, approval from adults around them and...YES! the relationship between their parents.

Through the years of dealing with the children, I have endeavored to get to know each individual child in my care and deal with the various issues running in their little minds that might one way or the other negatively affect their academic work.

After making conscious effort to listen to them, help them emotionally and build their self-image, most of these children turn a new leaf in class at an almost unbelievable pace and margin. Their academic appraisal grew beautifully.

I realized that what made the most difference was their perception and appreciation of a teacher who went the extra mile to care and love them for them. Who sincerely wants to see them at their best in class. I saw these set of pupils trying their very best to please and impress me by giving their best in class and constantly trying to do extra errands and chores just to be able to have proximity to me.

In their minds, there's a determination not to disappoint their new ADULT friend. Children crave love and acceptance strongly and when they see an adult that gives this, they embrace such relationship and strive to maintain it at all cost. I saw great transformation and testimonies from teachers and parents.

Yes! There is a place for being a good teacher. But I believe when presiding over children, love, patience and obvious approval does the trick and brings the goal home much faster. I saw D's and C's become B's and straight A's.

Since children learn by imitation, the quality and values of adults (who are the form of influence) around them must be right. These influencing adults must be sharpened minds that understand how to handle and shape the feeble and fragile minds of these little ones. We adults have to find time to undergo child training, we need to learn strategies and psychology to continually equip us to know how to deal or approach each child with love, care and effectively bring out the champion in them.

God bless our Children!