-even when school’s out

FRIENDSHIPS, fun and facts are said to go hand-in-hand under most circumstances, and educators are hoping that this axiom will hold true for those children participating in specially-designed programmes over the August holidays

Director of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), Mr. Mohandatt Goolsarran, couldn’t help but concur with this concept as he too is of the opinion that the trio at reference is a constant variable in experimental learning.

This volunteer explains to the children the finer points of craft making. (Photo by Sonell Nelson)

“Children’s time at school,” he said, “is mostly spent on engaging in academics, but during the August holidays, they get to practise their theories through experimental learning. There, the children make friends, have fun, and retain important facts,” he said.

Besides noting that getting involved in holiday programmes is essential because they consolidate learning from the past school term while preparing children for the new term, Mr Goolsarran said that holiday programmes teach children how to live and handle relationships, hence the term ‘Friendships’, and help them to apply their knowledge in creative ways, which takes care of the ‘Fun and Facts’ aspect of the concept.

Having said this, it is common knowledge that there is a learning loss during the August holidays, or rather over any extended vacation period for that matter. This was corroborated by research, which has confirmed that both high and low achievers do tend to lose some amount of skills over the holiday months.

Research has also shown that for high achievers, getting involved in educational sessions during the holidays help them to keep their previously learned skills, while learning new or more challenging or advanced ones prepare them better for the upcoming year.

Similarly, for low achievers, the holiday lessons have been found to help with perfecting previously learned skills, and elaborating on that material is extremely important, as they gain more confidence, which ultimately leads to improved performance at the next grade level.

Here in Guyana, it has been found that while other countries have their definition of ‘summer camps’ around their vacation time, we have simple means of stimulating the minds of our youth.

Guyanese children are engaged in various activities where friendships can blossom and where they have fun with learning.

These activities range from:
* The popular Vacation Bible Schools (VBS) that churches organise;

* Activities that other faith-based bodies oversee;

* Extra lessons that are held by teachers trying to get a head-start on a packed syllabus for the new school year; and

* Literary and reading lessons conducted by educators with spare time on their hands, among others.

Mrs. Glynis Accra, house mother at the Joshua House Children’s Centre, says that the majority of the children under her care were involved in holiday programmes.

“Some have lessons, workshops and computer classes along with other things, but they are keeping busy,” she said, adding that to her mind, it is imperative for the children “to stay on top on things,” since a good education would help them have a brighter future.

However, while preparing for a brighter future is often the driving force behind parents, guardians and teachers getting their children involved in some sort of holiday programme, it does help for the process is fun.

A case in point is the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport’s annual taxidermy programme at the Guyana National Museum which targets children aged eight to 12.

In any case, during the different activities and programmes, two essential aspects that are promoted, more often than not, is literacy and reading.

Literacy and reading have been underscored by several educators as fundamentals, since children who do not read over the holidays tend to lose their literacy skills, while children who do read during the said period do actually see an improvement in their reading ability. 

One educator, Mrs. Walterine McLeod, in underscoring this point, said one of the boons to the whole learning process was the informality of the holiday programmes which is what helps foster the friendship- fun- facts scenario.

“The less formal atmosphere, “ she said, “contributes to their learning, and teachers are better able to work with the weaknesses and strengths that the children have.”

McLeod organises a literacy and reading programme at her residence each year, in an effort to reach out to the children in her neighbourhood.

Learning loss during the holiday period can accumulate over the years and significantly contribute to the achievement gap, so programmes like McLeod’s help mitigate this defect.

According to an independent research done by the Iowa State Library, children who read voraciously (which approximates to one million words a year) add at least a thousand words to their vocabulary.

Overall, whether it is called a holiday programme or summer school or, still yet, by another name, the activities during the holiday that combine academics and experimental learning serve to add many good things to a child’s life