TOPIC: COMPOSITION
CONTENT: Argumentative: Day School is better than Boarding School
Study the article below:
Education is the foremost important aspect of any child’s life. Children who are privileged to have an education tend to be seen as smart and intelligent. Although not everyone attended school, having an education, at least to a certain stage, is key and no one can ever stop learning because we all are students of life.
This brings me to the reason for this piece. Some of us who have kids who are getting prepared for secondary school may be caught up on deciding which school to admit your child. It is no longer a new thing that one can always almost tell the difference between a day student and a boarder. There’s always that difference.
If you are still indecisive or undecided, here are a few benefits of the two types of school. First, the day school:
- CO-EDUCATION
Many day schools offer coeducation facilities and this is an important requirement in terms of today’s world. Interacting with the opposite sex in the early years will enable children to be comfortable in the presence of the opposite sex when they reach a stage where they might have to work alongside them in an official environment. Children who have not had this opportunity might be shy and uncomfortable when they people from the opposite sex in the future. Most day schools encourage children to mingle with the opposite sex from their early years and this builds confidence and helps in exchange of ideas between the sexes over the formative years. This is one of the most important functions performed by a day school. Although there may be a few boarding schools that offer coeducation, day schools clearly outnumber the boarding schools doing this and coeducation in day schools is a much more accepted and existent structure in day schools.
2. COST BENEFITS
Day schools are a preferred option as they are much less expensive than a boarding school. Tuition fees in day schools are affordable. Most good quality day schools are relatively cheaper than boarding schools and this is another reason why parents opt for day schools over boarding schools. Day schools allow parents to admit students in private tuitions of their choice as well, in case their children need extra coaching. Most boarding schools in Nigeria have fees that are a bit exorbitant, and unless parents are willing to fund a new experience and style of education for their children, most average Nigerian parents prefer day schools.
3. SUPERVISION
Day schools are a better option for those parents who wish to have close supervision over their children. Day schools enable constant parent-teacher contact and this enables the parents to be able to monitor the progress of their children in terms of both academics and extracurricular activities. This is also an important aspect of a day school. Parents can provide moral guidance if they are in constant contact with their children and this is possible only if the children at admitted in a day school.
4. HECTIC LIFE AND CONVENIENCE
If children are used to the comforts at home, then they might find it difficult to survive in a boarding school. Day schools enable the children to relax a bit more than boarding schools. In a boarding school, students are required to take part in many events and many students find it difficult to deal with this schedule. Parents will be better served to opt for a day school if their children have been brought up in a relaxed atmosphere.
5. EMERGENCY
In case of any sickness or injury, parents can be with their children immediately if they are admitted in a day school. Some children require parents to be constantly by their side, especially if something untoward happens.
The choice between a boarding school and a day school lies depends on a variety of factors and especially on the maturity level of the child involved. Whatever decision parents make, it is important for them to stick to it- the kind of schooling a child receives and the experiences there eventually define the personality of the child.
Now, the boarding school:
- SMARTNESS
This is probably the best reason to go to boarding school. In a public school the kids who really want to learn frequently end up being social outcasts. Not so in boarding school. It’s cool to be smart in boarding school. It’s also very cool to learn.
2. SMALL CLASSROOMS
If you are in a day school with 30-40 students to a class, chances are that you will just be a number, unless you are very smart or very bad. You will probably get lots of attention either way. In a boarding school, on the other hand, classes typically are 10-15 students. You cannot hide in a class that small. You have to participate. You will get called upon for your response. You will never just be a number in a boarding school. Boarding schools as a rule, are not very large. Yes, some, like Exeter have 1,000 students. But most have a student population in the 350-500 student range.
3. RESPONSIBILITY
Taking a lot of little steps towards maturity is one of the intangibles of going to boarding school. You have to learn to get along with others because it is a community. You learn to be responsible for your actions because you are bound by an honor or discipline code of some kind. The lessons in life learned in boarding school will lay a solid foundation for adulthood. You will see how boarding school has shaped them.
4. WIDE KNOWLEDGE
In a day school, you might read one or two Shakespearean plays in a year if you are lucky and it happens to be relevant to the test. In a boarding school you will read three or four Shakespeare plays and study them in detail. Teaching to the test is virtually unheard of because boarding schools only have to be concerned with getting you into a college. As a result the depth and breadth of the academic courses in most schools is remarkable. This applies to traditional and progressive high schools alike. This short video gives us a glimpse of the academic experience at
5. LIVING ON THEIR OWN
It’s never easy to leave the nest. But, doesn’t it make more sense to make the move a few years before college? Of course it does. You will learn how to cope with life and all its many high and low points within a community of your peers who are going through the same things you are. All of this is happening under the watchful eye of your teachers who are mentors, not babysitters.
6. GREAT TEACHERS
Boarding schools traditionally hire teachers with degrees in their subjects. As well a large number of these experienced teachers have advanced degrees in their field. Typically all are passionate about their subject and love to teach it to young people. Because discipline is rarely a problem in boarding school, these talented teachers get to teach without having to be traffic cops or paper pushers like their public school counterparts.
There you have it. Between a boarding and day school, the former put the child at a more advantageous level and although a day school is more affordable, every child should be given the best education.
Feel free to either oppose or agree.
EVALUATION: Study the article above and map out cogent points as basis for your argument.
LITERATURE: Use the recommended text on drama
TOPIC: Contrasting vowels /e/ and /ᴣ:/
CONTENT:
Word Contrast
/e/ /ᴣ:/
ten turn
germ gem
bed bird
learnt lent
EVALUATION: Give five other examples on each sound.
TOPIC: Comprehension
CONTENT: WHERE THERE IS NO DOCTOR
Aim: to understand an account of home remedies. Unit 14, page 181
EVALUATION: Read the first part of the passage, then do practice 2.
TOPIC: FUTURE TENSE: SIMPLE FUTURE
CONTENT:
No change occurs in the simple form of the verb in the expression of the future, but English has a few ways of indicating futurity.
- By using the modal auxiliary verbs ‘shall’ and ‘will’
e.g I shall travel soon.
You will see me again.
2. By using the form ‘be going’ and ‘to’ infinitive:
Emeka is going to succeed
It is going to rain today
3. By using the present progressive
Adamu is leaving tomorrow
We are travelling next year.
EVALUATION: Write examples on each type of example
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT: Use of prefixes
Prefix Word Formation
il legal illegal
in discipline indiscipline
in formal informal
un fortunate unfortunate
in efficient inefficient
EVALUATION: Give twenty more examples
GENERAL EVALUATION:
- Construct five sentences each to illustrate the various uses of the verbs be, do, and have.
- Construct five sentences each to illustrate the various uses of the verbs shall, will
TOPIC: Guided Composition (Narrative)
CONTENT:
A FESTIVAL IN MY VILLAGE
I was born in Ha Nam, a province in the North of Vietnam. I am always proud of my hometown with hard-working and kind farmers. I feel most proud of my village because of the many traditional festivals that take place every year. One of the most important festivals in my village is the ” Village Festival ” . “Village Festival” takes place every two years to remind people in the village of the god of the village who built the village . People often call the god of the village as ” Thanh Hoang Lang” . This festival takes place on the full-moon day of February. There are three parts in the” Village Festival”.
The first part of the festival that children are most eager for is lifting the palaqueen and lion dances. On the day of the Village Festival, children often get up early , wearing beautiful clothes . Then they go to the communal house of the village to wait for the palaqueen . About 7 o’clock, all of people in the village gather in two sides of the road to see the palaqueen pass . It is believed that children who go under the palaqueen on this day will have good health and will study very well. At 8 a.m., the palaqueen starts being raised from the village to the village . The palaqueen is raised by eight people. Always, the old people in the traditional costume go in front of the palaqueen and they both go and spread things like coins, pink candles. My grandma told me that people who pick the pink candles are very lucky. They often put the candles in front of their children ‘s bed . It is thought that the light of the pink candle will make their children more intelligent and healthier. Therefore, they try to get the pink candles. Lion dances are also followed by the palaqueen. The procession lasts for more than an hour.
After the procession , people in the village : the old, the young and children move to the river in the village quickly to see the next part of the Village Festival called ” traditional games”. Traditional games is the most interesting part in the Village Festival,so villagers always wait for this activity . There are a lot of traditional games that takes place in this part such as boat race , tug of war and wrestling… One of the most interesting games in Village Festival is the racing boat . There are five teams which present the fives villages. It is a very proud thing for any village to win the competition .Therefore , every village chooses the strongest man to join the boat race competition.In this game , competitors sit on an imperial boat , a boat has the form of a dragon decorated with the different colours. The captains who stand at the head of the boat order their team to sail the boat quickly . As soon as the sound of the drum starts , all team begin sailing as fast as they can. Along two sides of the river viewers are shouting for encouragement for their home team .The louder the sound of yelling and shouting of fans is , the more quickly the competitors sail.People who watch at two sides of the river run after the boat to encourage for their team . The team which sails to the finish the most quickly will be the winner of the game . It is a big pride of the village for the team who gets the first prize . Besides the boat race , the traditional games like tug of war , rice- cooking and wrestling are also seen by most people in the village. The activities of the traditional games finish at about 1p.m in the afternoon .
The last part of Village Festival is celebrated in the communal house yard after the traditional games.
When the traditional games finish , villagers gather in front of the communal house yard to eat a traditional meal and to see which teams get prizes in traditional games. From early in the morning, woman in the village prepare necessary materials to cook the meal. Often women in the village who are good at cooking will be chosen to cook for Village festival . About 12 p.m all the food is shown carefully and spectacularly on the tables in the communal house yard . On Village festival day the communal house becomes more crowded.This is a special occasion for people in the village to meet and talk together about their work as well as the harvest . Firstly, the results of the traditional games in the morning are announced by the leader of the village . Most people are awaiting to hear which teams win the first prize . It is the pride for the village that wins the first prize . The winners in the traditional games last year will award the prize for the winners this year.Then people sit on their seats eating the meal. They both eat and talk happily. After the meal ,people gather to hear the women in the village sing folk songs The Village festival lasts untill early in the evening .
Despite the impact of the industrialization , the Village Festival is still celebrated as the cultural and traditional beauty of my village . It reminds the young generation of the tradition and originality.
EVALUATION: Form a group five, study the passage carefully and compare it with the village festival of your villages.
LITERATURE: Review of NECO drama
TOPIC: INTRODUCTION TO DIPHTHONGS
CONTENT: /ᶕu
Diphthongs: The word ‘diphthong’ is from a Greek word, which means double sound. They are also vowels. The difference is that while a pure vowel contains only one sound, a diphthong contains two sounds with a glide from the first vowel.
/ei/ as found in rain
/ᶕu/ as found in spoke
/ai/ as found in high
/au/ as found in how
/ᴐi/ as found in oil
//iᶕ/ as found in hear
//eᶕ/ as found in spear
/uᶕ/ as found in tour
EVALUATION: Diphthongs can be divided into two, namely: centering and closing dipthongs. Classify the diphthongs above into these two.
TOPIC: COMPREHENSION
CONTENT: Home Remedies and Cures
EVALUATION: Read the first part of the passage and then do practice 2
TOPIC: Activities on Future Tense
Content:
CLASS ACTIVITY
- In five sentences, use the modal auxiliary verbs ‘shall’ and ‘will’ to indicate futurity
- In five sentences, use the infinitive form to indicate futurity
- In five sentences, use the present progressive form to indicate futurity
EVALUATION: In a group of five, evaluate the sentences of your teammate.
GENERAL EVALUATION:
- List five instruments used for home remedy/cure
- Give ten examples of diphthongs.
WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT:
- Effective English. Page 210. Grammar, practice 4
- Write an expository essay on your village festival