A Day In The History Of Christian Home School

Thursday, July 25, 2019, was a memorable day for everyone who has a connection with Christian Home School at Dansoman in the Ablekuma West Municipality of the Greater Accra Region. The school was marking its 20^th Graduation, Speech and Prize-Giving Day, and as would be expected, parents/guardians, teachers, students (past, out-going and current) and well-wishers from all walks of life converged at the school premises and forecourt to either partake in, or have a feel of the historic event.

Watching from a distance, it looked like a passionate day (a mixture of joy and sadness) as the 98 graduands, who formed the 2018/2019 batch of the out-going students, filed to the podium to receive their passing-out certificates. The most emotional part of the programme was when a parent was invited to present a passing-out certificate to her daughter, Ms Angela Torgbor.

The Prize-Giving segment of the event was simply memorable. Nearly a hundred pupils were recognised and given awards for excelling in various disciplines. To the many guests around, the highpoint of the day was when a female student, Ms Josephine Gyasi, was announced as having swept eight awards (out of eleven) in the JSS 3 category. Without doubt she was also adjudged the Overall Best Student. It was also worthy to note that all the eleven prizes available for the out-going students were grabbed by female students.

In a keynote address, the Accra Metropolitan Director of Education, Mr. Stephen Abanfo, disclosed that two major issues that had dominated discussions in the country’s educational system in recent years were indiscipline and laziness. He lamented that the two problems seemed to have become ‘acceptable norms’ among the youth in the basic and senior high schools in the country, and stressed that character education and character formation are important components of education practice that should not be neglected.

He opined that indiscipline and laziness could have been responsible for the failure of some 193,882 students (over 60%) in the Core Subjects (English Language, Core Mathematics, Integrated Science and Social Studies) in the 2018 West African School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE), and called on parents to take keener interest in what their wards do on the internet and at other places.

“Sadly, in Ghana, emphasis in our educational system is tilted more on the intellectual component or academic achievements through assessments and examinations. My dear parents, it is not that there is anything wrong with this aspect of our educational goal, but if a school concentrates on this dimension of knowledge without regard to the other aspects of knowledge such as discipline, then we will not be able to create a well-balanced or holistic citizens for our dear nation”, he noted.

The director of education further bemoaned: “It is therefore very important for our young men and women to recognize very early in their academic life about the main purpose for their being in school and resist all forms of indiscipline and laziness, which can result in failing their examination. Indiscipline causes sadness, not only to themselves, but to their parents who have invested so much resources in them. Rather interestingly, they have enough time for the social media, and could browse their gadgets all day and all night on items that are not necessary, at the expense of their books”.

According to Mr. Abanfo, indiscipline is prevalent in virtually all spheres of our national life because the system had failed to produce individuals who are disciplined. He, therefore, appealed to parents, students and school authorities to be mindful of the fact that knowledge without character can be very dangerous, not only to the children, but to society in general.

“I will recommend self-discipline to my young friends. It is the ability to monitor and control one’s behaviour, thoughts, emotions and actions. These inner qualities are what our societies are required to develop in each individual child with the support from parents. The duty of the school is to shape and give hope to the child in school. This means the child must be helped not to only learn the content of the curriculum, but to also develop a positive attitude towards life. If the school fails to do this, it will succeed in producing ‘intelligent monsters’, who will cheat their way to the top, steal, malign other people’s hard-won reputation, and even create chaos when they grow up”, he counselled.

He noted that teachers, by their omission and commission, can be catalysts to indiscipline among pupils and students, adding that, while children will always want the freedom to have their way, it behoves on adults to ensure that their growth is not interrupted by indiscipline and laziness.

Concluding, Abanfo cautioned both teachers and parents to remember that children have young minds, and that in the course of disciplining them, nothing must be done to inadvertently alienate them from school.

He advised the pupils of Christian Home School thus: “I am aware that this institution ranks among the best schools within the Accra Metropolis, and has the ideal environment for developing a child holistically. One thing you should know is that your teachers do not hate you. They are ready to develop your innate abilities. Let the motto of your school, Christ, Our Cornerstone, sink deep into your hearts so that the truth shall always be your watchword”.

Earlier in an opening remark, the chairman of the occasion, Rev. Canon Andrew Torgbor, described basic education as the first step in every child’s educational journey, and called for a closer collaboration between school and home to ensure that children get the appropriate orientation about the ethical values of education, upon which their future happiness hinges.

For his part, the headmaster of the school, Mr. Joseph Noble Nkrumah, expressed his appreciation to the parents for showing interest in the academic journey of their children. He said even though the 2017/2018 batch of the students scored 100 per cent in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), he was optimistic that this year’s batch would come out with even more excellent results and also see a greater number of them getting admission into the prestigious Senior High Schools.

The Theme for the historic event was: ‘Indiscipline And Laziness: Reasons For Poor Academic Results In Our Basic Schools’.