Those lessons are more important than any academic lessons and will produce the type of school-leavers that employers and universities desire.

Right at the outset, let us be clear: we do need schools, no question. Covid has taught us that unequivocally. Covid has given us the opportunity to look at schools differently and it has clearly shown us that we need schools but not for the reason that we always thought.

Yet even his character was confused in the film as he wanted to have a close relationship with sweet Sandy, whom he had met during the summer holidays, yet he did not wish to drop his bad-boy, tough-guy image at school. Did he really know what he wanted?

So we are advised that the best time to weigh yourself is on a Wednesday (as we tend to eat more at weekends and have to burn all of that off); the best time to have a nap is 20 minutes between 2:00pm and 3:00pm (when our blood sugar levels drop and when our night’s sleep will not be affected); the best time to learn something new is before a good night’s sleep (though how do we know if we will have a good night’s sleep?); and the best time to sleep in is never (as we will benefit most if we get up at the same time every day)

In a popular Old Testament picture of the Valley of Dry Bones, the writer is told “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone: we are cut off.”

Be smart, be clever, be bright, be switched on, be witty, and we can get away with any underhand activity or endeavour, is the intended message and one which is also still being promulgated here in our midst today.

Those responsible for education will no doubt point us towards the increased literacy rate, improved examination results, uptake in number of university degrees to show that we can be well pleased with the system in place and the education that we are offering.

Do we come to bury education, or to praise it? Let us not so much think of those who have died but those who are still living here among us — what do we remember of them?

All around us we have drivers who overtake on blind rises, who will not wait their turn to overtake, who will not queue to turn right but will block the lane intended for those going straight, who will double or triple park for their own convenience while blocking the way for through traffic, who drive down the lane of oncoming traffic, who pull out from the side of the road forcing those already there to slow down or stop, who drive slowly in the overtaking lane, who do not use their indicators.

Children view their school, and education as a whole, in different ways. Some are indeed excited and inspired by what is on offer at their school.

By Tim Middleton The ironically-named Great War has had many iconic memoirs written about it, including ‘Goodbye To All That’, ‘A Farewell To Arms’ and ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ but there is another that stands out powerfully — Vera Brittain’s ‘Testament of Youth’ which provides a stirring account of young university students with […]

In more recent times (2015), the film The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, follows the path of a fur trapper who was mauled by a bear and left for dead by an ambitious colleague; here was one who came back from the dead, with the past catching up and affecting the future.

The truth is child after child cannot wait to leave school, to move on in life, to give up on their education. They hate school. So, what is it about school that children hate? Why do children have such negative feelings towards school?

A dessert rounds off a meal in a perfect way. They improve the mood of the recipient and leave a great taste in the mouth.

Have we ever wondered why we have the starter? Often it is very small so why bother? The purpose of the hors d’oeuvres is to whet our appetite for what is to come, to stimulate our taste buds in a particular direction, to get our digestive process going.

There is one other situation where we find the symbol X — the X Factor, that special, noteworthy quality which is deemed to be essential for people to succeed. We all know about the X Factor but what is it and who has it? Do we have it in education? What indeed is the X Factor in education?

Hard as it may seem on first reading, we would hate it if everyone was like us! The parent who pitifully cries out to their child “Why can’t you be like Tatenda?” has not grasped this. Vive la difference!

Many real kings have died down the centuries and there has been great sadness at the passing of many of them.

Here is the thing, though. Dreams, the dreams we have in our sleep, are generally totally unrealistic, impossible, unfinished, confusing, befuddled, and, for the most part, instantly forgettable. They clearly are not part of the real world.

Many people came by and ignored the rock, simply going round it as they walked on; others muttered loudly at the inconvenience and complained about the state of the country before they proceeded with their journey; others still bumped into it and cursed profusely.

The following very old legendary story certainly and vividly speaks volumes to us in the present day about education.

We are called to imagine there is no heaven or hell yet the same people will deem such places as already being figments of people’s imagination.

If a picture really is worth a thousand words, then the constant stream of selfies that people generate must be telling us volumes.

Children do not need to prove they are trying; they need to prove they are learning from those mistakes.

Normally a player is expected to score from a penalty but when it decides the outcome, now that is pressure!

Charles Sykes and Bill Gates are not the only ones to allude to this difference, to the concept of the real world.

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty: that is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know.” Most would say he is declaring that the way we discover truth is through looking at beauty; everything that is beautiful is true and everything that is true is beautiful.

Many parents come out at some stage with the line, “My child would never do that”, even though all the damning evidence shows clearly he just did do that!

When we say we are ‘in’, we mean we are at work or at home, in other words, somewhere safe, comfortable, sure, known, secure.

It is interesting to note that in recent days children have been learning such lessons in logic, courtesy of Covid.

A regular comment made by parents when it has been brought to their attention that their child has misbehaved is a strong, direct, blunt, vehement, defensive, “My child would never do that!” Oh no, my child would never do anything wrong!

We may be encouraged and relieved, however, to realise with a renewed hope in language that some words ending in the suffix “less” do have as their opposite words ending with a related suffix, that being “ful”.

At one stage Prince Harry was third in line to the throne of the UK, behind his father and older brother.

In truth, children are not likely to lose their parents though they are more than likely to lose many other things, as any visit to a school Lost Property station will reveal.

The bottom line is that education must move us; as the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, said thousands of years ago: “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all”. If education does not move the children, they will stay in the same place!

They want their own way; they think they know better; they believe they are impregnable and they do what they want — it is all very simple! The rules, regulations, requirements are all laid out nice and clearly but they will do their own thing.

No-one ever sits down and teaches a child how to do all of the above if he wants to get his own way (though some might argue that older siblings are tempted to do so, with the personal, gleeful and selfish intention of seeing their younger sibling get into a lot of trouble from the parent).

How many parents of talented youngsters actually and actively encourage their child to become a teacher?

Normally this arrangement applies to people who are unable to make their own decisions, yet in this case it appears to have been for other more selfish reasons on the part of her parents.

Normally this arrangement applies to people who are unable to make their own decisions, yet in this case it appears to have been for other more selfish reasons on the part of her parents.

Children: who, indeed, in their right mind would have them? It is a question that many a teacher may well have thought to themselves as they look out at the sea of children in the classroom, many a judge may have pondered as they consider delivering judgment in the courts, many a policeman may have raised as they attend a crime scene.

People often approach even less difficult moments as if they must walk on eggshells.

We do not need to look in the mirror to see others; we only look in the mirror to see ourselves.

Nature teaches us that we reap what we sow; we cannot expect to reap apples when we plant strawberries.

Cancer begins when a particular cell or group of cells in the body begin to multiply and grow without control.

Zimbabwe has also produced a number of world-class authors, most notably perhaps Tsitsi Dangarembga and NoViolet Bulawayo. Zimbabwe has produced some world-class musicians in the persons of Oliver Mtukudzi and Thomas Mapfumo.

Many will see bull-fighting as a remarkable exhibition of technique, style and courage in the face of great danger and threat; they will see it not as a contest between man and beast but between man and himself.

There are many times when former pupils saunter up to their erstwhile teacher, greet them and ask, “Do you know who I am?” though it is usually phrased in terms of, “Do you remember me, ma’am?” Quite often it is 20 years later, when the teacher has had hundreds of other pupils enter her classroom and when the child has changed dramatically (and not surprisingly, especially if the teacher taught the child in Grade 3)! The teacher most likely will not know who the person is. However, in this context it is an innocent, genuine question.

“Today is one of the most significant days for us and the global community as we celebrate the importance of reading and writing in our lives, our society, and our world. That’s why we are inviting everyone to celebrate International Literacy,” said Mayo director Abel Mavura.

Pistorius and athletes like him were banned from competing against able-bodied athletes because it was claimed they had an unfair advantage. people without lower legs were said to have an unfair advantage over those with their bodies intact!