Chisomo Ngulube Writes

My daughter TK (2nd R) with her teammates I love volleyball and my daughter Takondwa (TK) Apoche Lucia Ngulube, has grown to love it too. Last year, she was the youngest player in the Malawi Under-19 volleyball team that participated in the Region 5 Games, in Lilongwe, Malawi.  Despite having suffered an injury setback, she recovered in time to make the final squad. It was a really proud moment for me, her dad James Nkhwachi Ngulube, her brother Vithero Benjamin Ngulube and our larger family, including my parents Pastor and Mrs Kachapila who watched her fly the Malawi flag in the capital Lilongwe.  This year, 2023, her school St. Patrick's Academy got a call from the Malawi Handball Association that they were looking for players to join the squad that would represent Malawi in South Africa at the Zone VI girls tournament. The school's sports director Mr Mushaninga immediately suggested my daughter.  "Her mother [me Chisomo Kachapila Ngulube] encourages her to mix sports...

 I think the pro for boarding is obviously that you hope the kids will gain independence and be more responsible as most schools instill good values in the students and employ disciplinary measures for breaking rules. It also saves time and allows parents a level of freedom; busy work or business schedules may make it hard for parents to find a good balance between work, school run, helping with homework etc.  But on the flip side, I think having the children home ensures a healthy balance between school and parental guidance and discipline. As the children of today go through school much younger than in years past (you find 10 or 11 year olds in high school), they're in my view still too young to be on their own. They need parental guidance in many aspects and as a parent you want to still have influence in their development socially, spiritually and so on. Sending them to boarding school leaves all that critical responsibility in the hands of school authorities. Besides, the...