MANY say that the October school holidays must be used by pupils to revise for their upcoming exams.
But Cindy Glass, a former teacher and now director and co-founder of Step Up Education Centres, an education franchise, doesn’t think so.
She said that whether your child is in grade 1 or 12, whether he or she is struggling or an achiever, holidays must stay holidays because it’s the time for them to be free from schoolwork.
Glass said children must use the time to relax, have fun and be happy. Taking a complete break over the holidays will have a positive effect on their marks in term four.
She explained pupils needed time to rest because they were under too much pressure.
“Pupils are piled with tasks, assignments, homework, tests and exams without any end in sight.
“On top of this, they have sporting and other activities which often keep them busy until late into the afternoons or early evenings – even on weekends.
“This constant activity is exhausting – even if they feel fine because back in the depths of their brains, they are under pressure to work even harder at this time of the year.
“So, the idea of adding more pressure, more stress and more work to pupils who are already exhausted is completely counterproductive,” she warned.
This constantly increasing pressure can lead to disastrous burnouts in the fourth term.
“Our children are not Duracell bunnies whose batteries can be replaced whenever they run out of energy!
“A burnt-out child cannot learn effectively and functions even less effectively with added school work! Kids need to rest and relax and be kids – they’ll be adults for the rest of their lives after school.
“As South Africans, we are experts at building the perfect fire. We all know that adding too much charcoal or wood without allowing the fire to breathe and grow is bad for the fire – and the same can be said for our children.”