TWO CYCLE THAT INFLUENCES PUPIL'S BEHAVIOR.

It is through my community participation as a soccer player that I have learnt how community is shaped to become better or worst. It all started at Tigers football club end season event that happen at Tshitereke outside Thohoyandou. Mr Makoale, Tigers football deputy chair has on that day explain how our rural community are becoming worst while urban community are becoming batter more specifically on the youth side. He outline two cycles that greatly impact us in a way.  He believe that that school through sports could be the biggest solution that could prevent pupils from doing drugs and alcohol. However he strongly share a sentiment that our school in rural are not doing their part.

As he explained his idea, he said that pupils from rural attend school every day, at two o’clock after school they go home (SCHOOL AT 6 TILL 2 AND THEN FREE SPACE TILL AROUND 6). The space between two o’clock until six is where the problem starts at the first place. Doing nothing at home is obviously frustrating to them hence they become actively involve themselves to drug and alcohol abuse. On his words, Mr Makoale said this cycle instead differ to school from whites community where pupils goes to school in the morning and at two o’clock when the school is out, they are forced to actively participate in sports based on these pupils interest (SCHOOL TILL 2 AND SPORTS AFTER). Those in football they go for it and those for cricket will do the cricket.  A scenario of finding them doing drugs isn’t valid or simple does not exist to them.

Their social engagement happens on the field rather than outside home where no one can really forecast what they could be doing. Having been a student also I have realised that sports in rural schools isn’t considered important thus few school does sports. When I was in grade 12 in 2012, we had soccer leagues and I happened to be part of a team. My team has had to play final, instead we were denied because the principal of the school had order the teacher responsible of soccer to stop the finals as he claimed he was told we would get injured. It was few weeks before writing final examinations. I was so down that we did not play the final for the reason that we could be injured.

Lack of participation in sports is the biggest problem that fuels these social issues such as drugs and alcohol abuse. On the 29 of September 2017 Citizen reported about a grade two pupil in Gauteng who brought a loaded gun at school. According to report he had brought the weapon to harm a fellow learner. This year September a 24 year old teacher was stabbed to death by a 17 year old at school in North West. All these behaviours are rooted from lack of activities to occupy these young minds. They need to be fully occupied in a more secured space being monitored to avoid thinking, watching and leaning adult’s activities. Sports could solve this deficiency and our basic education needs to take notice of this and begin to initiate a compulsory sporting activity at the basic level.

It is now time to become actively involved to the formulation of our children’s curriculum at school and sports should also be prioritised upon as a compulsory activity for our young people. Not only could sports address the issue to avoiding bad behaviours but also could play part towards healthy, and active lifestyle. The will help bridge the void that exist between after school and early evening.