The schools that will groom the best pupils are those that appreciate the importance of teacher-training and adopting best practices in education, says Ms Abiola Lamikanra, Head of School, City of Knowledge Academy (CKA).
Ms Lamikanra said during an open house programme for parents that school administrators that want to compete with the best worldwide must also be ready to adopt globally-accepted pedagogy in teaching and learning and implement a curriculum that has a global orientation.
She added that regular teacher-training is important because teachers are the ones that will implement the global curriculum.
Ms Lamikanra said that educating for global relevance has become necessary because of the interconnectivity of the world.
“Teaching children about global issues is very imperative and raising a child in a 21st century requires a common sense; one century is not different from another, the only thing that happens now is that we are more global in perspective; we are all very connected; whatever happens in Australia in one minute, the whole world knows the next minute, so to be able to get our children participate globally we have to be very active in the use of technology and this should be the target of all education managers,” she said.
One of such necessities is the use of ICT in teaching and learning, urging schools to key into it.
Apart from making use of interactive boards in the classroom to make learning come alive, Ms Lamikanra said at CKA, there is also a virtual learning platform, accessible via tablets, for teachers to interact with the pupils. She said parents also have access to this platform.
“In CKA, technology is used as a tool; not for decoration. When the children are in class they make effective use of the interactive board. They have their netbook with them and as the teacher is interacting with them, they are exploring the Internet together,” she said.
Ms Lamikanra said this global perspective to education embraces not only teaching what is relevant academically but also socially, like they try to do at CKA.
She said: “While grooming our students with our ethical pillars which are culture, character and confidence, we also explore other avenues. There is a programme we call Physical, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education, where they discuss personal responsibilities and other life skills.
“We pay a lot of attention to the acquisition of life and organisational skills like time management and interpersonal relationships. There are other programmes they take in conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, and fixed mindset versus growth mindset. All these are designed to ensure our students are well equipped to cope with future academic requirement. They are not examination subjects; we are simply teaching them the ABC’s of this life.
“On the aspect of confidence, our children have confidence in themselves, they can go anywhere in the world and participate actively in any programme. We build their self-esteem and that is important in educating a child in today’s world.”
Speaking more about the ethical orientation of the school, the Head of School said CKA seeks to ensure that the pupils grow into useful members of the society.
“Our emphasis is also on culture, character and confidence. We have explored the dimensions of character in today’s world, in terms of accountability, honesty, responsibility and leadership. Having good character is important to us all in maintaining a good position in a society,” she said.
Despite the emphasis on global relevance at CKA, Ms Lamikanra said pupils of the school must appreciate the Nigerian culture.
“We do not want to produce children who do not have a trace of their culture – not just their culture – but to also have respect for other people’s culture,” she said.
The parents toured the school’s academic and boarding facilities available on the expansive premises located along the Ore-Sagamu expresswayhe schools that will groom the best pupils are those that appreciate the importance of teacher-training and adopting best practices in education, says Ms Abiola Lamikanra, Head of School, City of Knowledge Academy (CKA).
Ms Lamikanra said during an open house programme for parents that school administrators that want to compete with the best worldwide must also be ready to adopt globally-accepted pedagogy in teaching and learning and implement a curriculum that has a global orientation.
She added that regular teacher-training is important because teachers are the ones that will implement the global curriculum.
Ms Lamikanra said that educating for global relevance has become necessary because of the interconnectivity of the world.
“Teaching children about global issues is very imperative and raising a child in a 21st century requires a common sense; one century is not different from another, the only thing that happens now is that we are more global in perspective; we are all very connected; whatever happens in Australia in one minute, the whole world knows the next minute, so to be able to get our children participate globally we have to be very active in the use of technology and this should be the target of all education managers,” she said.
One of such necessities is the use of ICT in teaching and learning, urging schools to key into it.
Apart from making use of interactive boards in the classroom to make learning come alive, Ms Lamikanra said at CKA, there is also a virtual learning platform, accessible via tablets, for teachers to interact with the pupils. She said parents also have access to this platform.
“In CKA, technology is used as a tool; not for decoration. When the children are in class they make effective use of the interactive board. They have their netbook with them and as the teacher is interacting with them, they are exploring the Internet together,” she said.
Ms Lamikanra said this global perspective to education embraces not only teaching what is relevant academically but also socially, like they try to do at CKA.
She said: “While grooming our students with our ethical pillars which are culture, character and confidence, we also explore other avenues. There is a programme we call Physical, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education, where they discuss personal responsibilities and other life skills.
“We pay a lot of attention to the acquisition of life and organisational skills like time management and interpersonal relationships. There are other programmes they take in conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, and fixed mindset versus growth mindset. All these are designed to ensure our students are well equipped to cope with future academic requirement. They are not examination subjects; we are simply teaching them the ABC’s of this life.
“On the aspect of confidence, our children have confidence in themselves, they can go anywhere in the world and participate actively in any programme. We build their self-esteem and that is important in educating a child in today’s world.”
Speaking more about the ethical orientation of the school, the Head of School said CKA seeks to ensure that the pupils grow into useful members of the society.
“Our emphasis is also on culture, character and confidence. We have explored the dimensions of character in today’s world, in terms of accountability, honesty, responsibility and leadership. Having good character is important to us all in maintaining a good position in a society,” she said.
Despite the emphasis on global relevance at CKA, Ms Lamikanra said pupils of the school must appreciate the Nigerian culture.
“We do not want to produce children who do not have a trace of their culture – not just their culture – but to also have respect for other people’s culture,” she said.
The parents toured the school’s academic and boarding facilities available on the expansive premises located along the Ore-Sagamu expressway.
