Winning the big war

The foundation for academic success begins with successful tackling of small things. The one minor skirmish any school worth its salt cannot afford to lose is keeping order and discipline. Discipline is everything in a school setting. It defines the character of a school. Where there is no discipline there is no sense of urgency. And there cannot be any learning in the absence of order and a business like atmosphere.

One can imagine how much precious teaching time is wasted in secondary schools when learners have to switch from one lesson to the other. This could explain why a number of schools are experiencing challenges with syllabi coverage. Of course I would be the first to admit that our curriculum needs to be trimmed because it is too congested. But there is a need to improve on time management. And achieving this end requires discipline. There is evidence of a strong and intimate link between discipline and improved learning outcomes.