By

Mrs. Bolanle T. Segilola

Education is at the centre of building human capital. The latest World Bank research projection shows that the productivity of 56 percent of the world’s children will be less than half of what it could be if they enjoyed complete education and full health. The findings implies that if we continue at the rate which education is going, about 56 percent of the world’s children will become less productive at the expiration of their 16 – 18 years basic education programme, which they are expected to have received from the home, school and society as combined efforts. However, recent development shows that of these three (3) entities responsible for the child’s productivity, the school shoulders the highest rates in ensuring that the child turns out as productive citizens to their nation and to the world at large.

The school as an institution of learning sets out basic vision, mission, values and culture aimed at the kind of learning she wishes to project in order to achieve her objectives and in attempt to achieve her goal. Most of the schools if not all school strive to put these values statements on paper and even give them fanciful bold display at the front desk offices.

The questions are:

1. How practicable are these written statements?
2. Are these statements merely acts of basic requirements of government institutions for the approval of running the school?
3. Do school owners endeavour to drive the statements in practice among their members of staff, student/pupils and the external stakeholders?

The school’s statements are not just required for the school’s approval process neither are they given as fancy statements for others to behold. They are focus actions to achieve in the acts of all members (staff, students/pupils and stakeholders) of the school. They are actions to be inculcated in the behaviour and attitudes of the stakeholders, which are tailored to impact;

1. Self – first before any other individual
2. Immediate individuals in the school organization
3. All internal & external stakeholder, who come in contact with the school
4. Their operating environment
5. The state, nation and
6. the world.

The school’s statements are action packed words, which are to be measured, daily, for the progress in the achievement of school’s goal. It should be reflected in all school’s programme and activities, both curricula and co-curricula as well as non-curricula (basic interactions, which are outside school’s programme) activities. The outcome of the driving of these statements must be evidenced in the behaviour of anyone who comes in contact with the beneficiaries.

At Cypress Hillside School, the focus of learning is circumspective, in the sense that the school’s statements not only tutors the pupils as done in most schools, but focus on all those who come in contact with the school, with the basic aim of instilling;

1. A sense of leadership, which is the core of learning programmes
2. Character development, with the sense of sustaining integrity
3. Driven by the urge to achieve excellent results at all times and
4. Having a globally-minded perspective when working to achieve specific tasks.

Bearing these values in mind, Cypress Hillside School strives to ensure that every pupil is responsible for their learning in terms of academic and behavioural expectation. Every pupil is directed by their teaching manager and their contact mentors to accomplish expected tasks in the classroom as well as outside the classroom. The pupils are guided to imbibe the culture of self-worth, self-esteem, self-confidence and responsibility for their actions.

They are taught to understand that, it is divine to make mistakes and correct their errors immediately with a sense of remorse. They are counselled to own up to their errors and face the consequence for their actions boldly, taking positive learning from their actions that will enable them correct others that may want to do the same. In order words, discipline takes a constructive means and approach in Cypress Hillside School.

One big reason for the persistent learning crisis experienced across the world is the failure to incorporate the act and development of individual’s skills in teaching and learning activities. In Cypress Hillside School, the learning procedure takes into account the individual pupil’s skills by ensuring that each pupil sets their targets in line with the lesson targets and work at their pace, using their own initiatives to achieve results, with supervision by the teaching manager to ensure that despite, having the pupil work at their pace, the importance of timely achievement of task is prompted at all times.

Where the school, encourage general learning approach, the managers will have little or no information on which pupil/student is learning and who is not learning. As a result, it is hard for them to do anything about it. More still, with uncertainty about the kinds of skills that the pupil/student’s future jobs will require, schools and teachers must prepare each learner with more than basic reading and writing skills.

The advent of technological devices has made it possible for schools to endow the student/pupil with the individual skill needed to interpret information, form opinions, be creative, communicate well, collaborate, and be resilient in areas of specific setbacks. Cypress Hillside School endeavours to use the approach of allowing the pupils display their initiatives in the application of hands-on/problem creation and problem solving activities, which expose them to their own creations. This is applicable to all subjects taught in the school.

Where the school’s statements are properly driven in practice; the expectation of teaching-learning programs will be met, characters and behaviour, which will result in the consciousness to sustain self-worth, and integrity will be imbibed and a sense of accomplishment as well as being excellently productive will come with determination and the urge to win at all times, which will be evidenced in the results.

Where these measures are put in place and effective practices of all school’s domains of learning are ensured, then the pupil/student will be assured of all-round achievement at the expiration of their approximately 18 years basic educational achievements. However, where the school does not incorporate the evolving changes required to meet the demands of this century, then the purpose of education would be defeated. In this case, education would fail…

Consequently, it was stated by Carl Rogers that the only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn …and change.

At Cypress Hillside School, we offer the finest quality of education through uniquely infused leadership principles to the British and Nigerian Curricula, with the aim of helping children become globally relevant as lifelong learners and exemplary leaders.

We function with small class sizes, and very low pupil- teacher ratio. This gives room for holistically-nourishing the developmental needs of every child.

Cypress Hillside School is the First “Leadership-Based Christ Centered Co-educational” Elementary School in Nigeria, for children ages 0 to 11 years, dedicated to educating leading learners from the cradle. We are the best crèche, preschool and elementary school in Lekki with 21st century teaching methodologies and differentiated learning approach, providing holistic and quality education to children.

For admission enquiries, please call 08028836220, 09078888220 or visit https://cypresshillsideschool.com/apply-now/