Parents must change, not school timings

Dear Sir,

I  disagree with the suggestions put forward in the letters “Need to change school times” and “Reschedule school timings” (Gulf Times, November 16 and 18 respectively). As a student, I’m talking from firsthand experience.
I believe that children need to start their schools early in the day as that is the best time for learning and memorising things.
If children go to bed at 8.30pm and get up at 5.30am, they will get enough sleep. But many parents go to bed late in the night since they watch television programmes or stay out of the house until midnight. This disrupts their children’s sleeping pattern and they also tend to go to bed late. Naturally, children who sleep late will be tired when they get up early in the morning.
So, before asking schools to change their timings, the parents themselves must change their own attitude and behaviour. They must also learn to manage their time in a better way. They should adopt lifestyles that suit the children’s school hours.
I also feel that the current age limit for KG1 admission should be kept at four years as against the idea proposed in the first letter to raise it.  If the children stay in the house without attending schools until they are seven,  they will grow lazy, with the parents pampering them excessively. The child is not a plaything for the parents and nor should he/she be treated as a source of recreation by them.
Children should mingle with their age group early on  to develop their character well. The child grows into an adult and has to be a part of the society.  If the preliminary foundation is not strong, the structure will collapse any time.
Education is an asset to all children and they should be encouraged to concentrate on studies instead of whiling away time on  computer games, etc.

Gaith Abdul Gafoor, Student, Ideal Indian school, Doha

A hydra-headed monster called terror

Dear Sir,

Terrorism is a hydra-headed monster, bulldozing its way across many regions in the world. If left unchecked, it will devour the globe.
Parts of the Middle East are ablaze like a towering inferno. The political map of the Middle East is being redrawn and written in blood. Peace is an illusion because too many nations are involved in fomenting violence.
The events unfolding in Syria  will be felt in the corridors of power across the globe.
Unless sanity prevails,we will witness a massive bloodbath.

Farouk Araie, farouk.araie@telkomsa.net


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