A school is a place where people go to learn and become knowledgeable. Young children have different perception of a school. Some may see it as a better place to be while others see it as the worst place to be. The children who perceive school as a better place to be may have the following reasons.
They may perceive it as a place to meet and make new friends and learn new games. While they are at home they have meet few friends. Some of the parents are very strict with their children in that they don’t allow them to leave home without their parent’s permission. They are only allowed to leave home in the company of their parents. Some of the parents may not allow their children to dirty themselves by playing certain games such as playing with mud and soil. Going to school will give them independence to learn more.
They perceive school as a place where they will know how to read and write. At home some parents deny children the chance to write since they end up dirtifying the walls of the house by use of charcoal, pens and mud also when they try to read allowed for their parents to hear it may be discouraged because their parents may not be in the mood to give them a chance to do so or they may be attending to their visitors hence school would be a savior to them.
They also perceive school as an opportunity to visit places such as national parks, animal orphanages, and having fun such as swimming. Some parents are too busy for their children in that they don’t take them out to have fun. They may be coming home late in the night and work during the weekends and holidays hence no time is dedicated to the children and school becomes a good place for them.
It is also an opportunity for the children to get new items such as uniforms, shoes, and school bag. Some parents do not pay attention to the children’s needs such as clothing. School may be an opportunity the children to acquire new clothes because the teachers mostly will be monitoring them and making follow-ups to ensure that they are neat.
Children also may have a negative perception about school and these may be the reasons. They perceive it as isolation from their parents. Some parents are very fond of their parents especially those whose mothers are housewives, fathers have their offices in their houses. This leads to strong attachment between parents and their children hence they will no be comfortable to go to school.
They also perceive it as a punishment since they will be required to wake up early when other people are asleep. Some schools may be very far from their homes and so they will be required to wake up very early. It is also a punishment because they will have a new task of doing their home work before they go to bed putting in their minds that failure to do it they will be punished.
It is also perceived as a hindrance to the Childs interests such as visiting relatives, watching favorite programs. Most of the times they will be spending in school and so when their parents are going to visit places when they are in school it may be impossible for them. Some of the programs on the television such as cartoon, music, comedies and movies are normally on when they are in school hence they may prefer to stay at home so that they may watch. As much as school may be an interesting place for a child it may also be the worst place for them but it is the responsibility of the parents and the guardians to be watchful of their children.
Reference
Maxwell Shitiva. Kindergarten and cognitive development: a descriptive approach Longman EA 2001, (1), 34-37.