Poverty and migration are two major factors that also affect a child's education. When children from lower-income families or children who have moved to a new area enroll in a new school, they may have trouble paying attention. The family may not be able to afford the school fees even at a government school; and sometimes, the child doesn't adjust to new surroundings and different kids quickly, or the child becomes friends with others who are a bad influence.All of the above can be reasons for the erosion of attention in class.
Foreign visitors to urban areas in Turkey are usually shocked by the children living on the street. Sadly, many of the street children who only learn from life on the street learn the pickpocket trade rather than a respectable one like they would learn in school.
Another problem involves school-age children in poorer areas where education is not emphasized being forced into underage marriages, writes Gökçe Gündüç in a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report.
The other day, I came across a young boy bagging groceries in the small grocery store near my home. When I asked him if he was ready for school to start, he just shrugged his shoulders and said that he never liked school and was glad at the age of 14 to be working to help support his family. Child labor is also an issue to be dealt with here.
“It is hard work cleaning, stocking shelves and bagging,” he quickly said, adding that he worked eight hours a day and earned nearly TL 300 a month.
Over 15 million children will start school this academic year. Some children will be donning uniforms and filling overcrowded classrooms. Probably a million or so other children will not attend. Instead, they'll be working in factories, fields, shops and the streets.
It is not uncommon for children in less-developed areas in urban settings or in rural areas to leave school after eighth grade. However, it was not too long ago when the requirement was raised from the fifth grade.
On the other hand, you have an increasing number of children whose parents are sending them to private schools, where tuition fees are high. Even though the school facilities are much better than government ones, you'll find children who do not like going to school. Some of the adults reading this may have not liked school when they were children.
Discipline problems influencing the erosion of attention in private schools differ from those of government schools.
Rather than teachers struggling to get students to listen to them because students are talking with each other or daydreaming as they stare out the window, the competition is not another student, etc., but the child texting away his education.
It is an increasing problem for teachers in private schools, where children have cell phones, iPods and other electronic devices.
Many kids in Turkey have cell phones, iPods and the latest gadgets and are no different from kids elsewhere. For that reason, they are no different from adults since most of us have allowed cell phones and Blackberries to almost take control of our lives.
Let's face it; teachers have always had to deal with this problem. There have always been interruptions in the classroom and in our lives, but nowadays it comes often in the form of rings, beeps, lyrics and tweets.
In the United States, some rules are being imposed about electronic toys in the classrooms. Administrators strongly believe that kids texting in the classroom is undermining their unique opportunity to learn and be creative. It can also be disruptive for others around them.
It has become an obsession for many -- young and old.
No matter what the reason is for the interruption, there is always a good excuse.“There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth.” -- Mark Twain (“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”)
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
