Stay home, stay well: Time to teach values, hygiene
The countrywide school shutdown, enforced to curb further spread of the coronavirus, can be an ideal time for parents to teach their children morality, personal hygiene and share various tales, especially folk.
During the shutdown, it is critical to provide help to children at home, for whom confinement can be a reason to become restless. These students cannot meet with their schoolmates and friends, which can aggravate the problem.
"Usually, parents get little time to teach morality to their children. So, this is the right time for parents to give more time to their kids," said Professor Siddiqur Rahman, former Director of the Institute of Education and Research at the University of Dhaka.
He said once kids and parents have identified the subjects they will study, they make a schedule and display it prominently so that everyone in the family knows what is coming and when it is over.
Most kids work off a schedule in their classrooms, so recreating something similar at home can ease the transition to a different learning environment for the foreseeable future, the educationist said.
Parents can also make time for fun with their children and read stories and poetry to them to enrich their minds, he said.
The educationist said as there is plenty of time, parents can help their children with subjects . Some parents can encourage their kids to read and write more during this time.
Renowned curriculum expert Siddiqur said although it is not widely practiced, online schooling or distance schooling is the other option, which many countries have adopted.
"There are many online lessons available on the internet, which parents can choose for their children," he said.
Most importantly, parents need to make sure their children are not bored.
"There should be room for fun and games. Kids can also learn through fun and games."
He made the comments against the backdrop that test transmission of recorded classes for secondary students of Class VI to X through Sangsad Bangladesh Television that started yesterday morning, aiming to minimise academic session loss as all educational institutions are now closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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