school, where you are one of the
oldest and (hopefully!) wisest, where
you know the buildings, the teachers
and the routines like the back of
your hand, and then landing in a
much bigger campus, with blocks
and classrooms everywhere, a sea
of unfamiliar, grown-up-looking
faces, a host of new rules and
an unfathomable timetable, can
obviously be daunting. Most of us
can remember our own bewildering
first days at “big school”, trying to
work out what we were supposed to be
doing and where we were supposed to
be doing it.
Blake Harding, head of Year
Seven at West Island School in Pok
Fu Lam, describes the changes,
saying, “The analogy of a big fish in
a small pond (primary) becoming a
small fish in a big pond (secondary)
is very accurate as a description of
the transition between primary and
secondary. Differences and changes
include the school environment,
with the actual size of the school
structure doubling, classrooms being
spread over a larger area, an increase
in subjects that students study, an
increase in opportunities for students
to be involved with extracurricular
activities and the start of a journey to
becoming mature global citizens.”
For parents, one of the main
changes of secondary school is
that the focus shifts from parent to
child – students are expected to be
able to organise and be responsible
for themselves. Blaming Mum for
anything that is late, forgotten or
generally scruffy just doesn’t wash
any more! If your child is late for
school, he will get a detention. If he
doesn’t do his homework, he will get
a report card. If he forgets his games
kit, he will have to take the flack. The
days of dreading the teacher heading
your way across the playground for a
“quick word” are largely over.
Clearly, with the heightened
expectations and increased
independence of secondary school,
plus a whole new system to get to grips
with, the more organised your child
can be, the better. Of course, some
children are naturally more organised
than others, but what if – like most
children – yours is more of a Captain
Chaos than a Perfect Peter?
Order from chaos
The good news is that organisational
skills can be worked on and, like any
skill, will improve with practice. The
bad news is that sometimes children
have to learn from their mistakes.
My own Captain Chaos spent his
first half-term at secondary school
carrying around a heavy-as-lead
rucksack, which was stuffed-to-
bursting with every text book and
exercise book he had been given. He
was so nervous that he might turn up
for a lesson without something vital
that he carried everything around
with him at all times. Despite my
asking, pleading and begging him to
get organised and use his locker, it
wasn’t until he developed a sore back
and a broken strap on his rucksack
that he finally started to go to his
locker every morning, look at his
timetable, and just carry around the
books he needed. Lesson learned.
Eventually.
In those first few weeks of term,
your child might feel overwhelmed
with new information and a heavier
workload, and may despair of ever
being able to be in the right place at
the right time with the right kit and
homework. But according to Blake, it
will all fall into place. He says, “Some
students do need that extra time and
support adapting to these changes
in daily routine, but when they find
themselves practising good habits, it
becomes natural to them.”
To help skip the sore back and
broken rucksack, teachers advise that
you get your child used to organising
himself as much as possible before
secondary school is imminent. For
example, you could gradually let
him take responsibility for packing
his school bag and organising his
homework schedule. At first, you
might be tempted to follow him
around like a shadow, with timely
reminders and occasional (or
constant!) nags to make sure he has
everything covered – after all, who
wants to see their child mess up?
But the reality is that the sooner you
relinquish control and let him (or
make him!) take responsibility, the
sooner he will learn. And the more
he can learn to organise himself at
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