Morning assembly is one of the most common routines in school. It is a time set aside by the school where prayers, announcements, and instructions for the week are carried out. However, if you are assigned a debate topic on why morning assembly is a waste of time for students, then keep reading this article.
Traditionally, it is seen as a way to bring the students together and prepare them for the day’s activities. However, students and teachers have begun to question the importance of morning assemblies. In this article, we shall be showing you why morning assemblies are a waste of time.
Read Also: Debate: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Brings More Harm Than Good
Why Morning Assembly Is A Waste Of Time
1. Routine Repetition
One of the major reasons why morning assembly is considered a waste of time is because it is all about repetition. Every day, students come to school, and they attend morning assembly; they are already aware that it is the same pattern.
The same routine of prayers, announcements, and instructions. Some people might even engage in warm-up exercises or something extra, but it still boils down to the same routine.
And over time, this routine becomes boring, and students lose interest in participating in activities like this. So instead of students feeling inspired, they just feel bored and disengaged.
2. Time Consumption
Another issue is time consumption. Most of these morning assemblies take up to 30 to 40 minutes, and some could even last longer, depending on the type of announcement or instruction that is supposed to be passed across.
There are even cases where time is taken up when students are to be punished for doing something wrong. This could take extra time, which interferes with the normal school academic timetable.
3. Affects Academic Performance
Another issue with morning assembly is that it affects student academic performance. There are different types of learners. You have slow learners and fast learners. You also have learners who use the morning time to understand and grasp knowledge.
While some can understand better later in the day, when morning assemblies take more time than they are supposed to, they eat into the morning period, and students who fall into this category are affected.
That is because the child’s brain is still active and ready to grasp things then. But when the morning assembly extends for too long, it reduces the period for the child to understand what he or she is supposed to learn, and this ends up affecting the academic performance of the child.
4. Physical Discomfort
Another reason is that morning assemblies can cause discomfort. We are aware that morning assemblies are characterised by standing, and students are expected to stand for about 30 to 40 minutes.
This can cause a lot of discomfort, especially around the legs, the waist, and even the ankle region. Some students who have one or two health issues are still being forced to stand on the assembly ground.
This can really be discomforting for the learners, and it can also cause distraction and lack of concentration during the announcements or any other activities.
5. Lack Of Concentration
Lack of concentration during announcements is another reason why morning assemblies can be a waste of time. Many times, when the routine becomes too common, students no longer find it engaging.
They lose concentration and participation. Instead of paying attention, they may start playing or begin a conversation with their friends, which also affects their friends’ concentration.
6. Poor Organisation
Another point is poor organisation of assemblies. When an assembly is not properly organised or planned, it can cause disruptions. It can also make the assembly unnecessarily long and unproductive.
7. Ineffective Communication
Lastly, not all information is useful to every student. For example, some information might tickle the interest of certain students, while other information may not really appeal to others. As a result, not every student benefits from what is being shared during the assembly.
8. Reduced Effective Teaching Time
Another reason why morning assembly is considered a problem is that it reduces the amount of effective teaching time due to time mismanagement.
For example, if a teacher is given 40 minutes to teach and an assembly stretches or extends for about 20 minutes, that already takes away a large part of the lesson time, leaving the teacher with only about 20 minutes to teach.
In 20 minutes, it becomes very difficult for the teacher to deliver effective teaching or fully explain the lesson. As a result, both teaching and learning are affected because the available time is no longer sufficient for proper understanding.
9. Attendance Issues and Absenteeism
Another reason why morning assembly is considered a waste of time is because of attendance issues. A lot of students, in trying to avoid attending the morning assembly, come late to school.
Meanwhile, in some schools where coming late to school automatically means you cannot enter the school compound, these students end up missing school entirely.
In the process, this encourages absenteeism and truancy among students. So instead of promoting discipline, morning assembly in some cases indirectly leads to students staying away from school, which affects their overall learning and academic progress.
Conclusion
Morning assemblies were originally designed to benefit students; however, they are increasingly seen as a waste of time. For assemblies to remain relevant, schools need to strategise on how to make assemblies more engaging and purposeful.
