Social Relations And Cultural Activities - Class 8 Social Studies Revision Notes

• The school
  • School management
    • The teacher
    • The Deputy Headteacher
    • The Senior Teacher
    • Head prefects
    • Importance of School Administration
  • The school Motto
• The family
  • Main types of Families
  • Needs of Family Members
    • Types of needs
  • Responsibilities of Family Members
• Marriage
  • Religious Marriage
  • Customary Marriage
  • Civil Marriage
  • Importance of Marriage
  • Rights and Responsibilities of Spouses in Marriage
• Succession and Inheritance
• Resources and Economic Activities

The School

• A school is a centre where learning takes place both formally and informally.
• It is also a place where the learners acquire knowledge.

School Management

• The public schools are run by the government through the ministry of education.
• At the district level, the schools are managed by:

1. the District Education Board. (D.E.B)
2. The chairman of the district education board is the district commissioner.
3. The secretary of the District education board is the district education officer (D.E.O)The D.E.O is in charge of all the education matters in the district. He/She:-
   1. Ensures there are teachers in the school.
   2. Inspects schools to ensure standards are set and maintained.
   3. Organizes co-curriculum activities.
   4. Assigns teachers responsibilities by posting and transferring them.

The Teacher

1. He/She is the secretary to the school committee.
2. He/She signs duties and responsibilities to all the teachers in the school
3. Receive information from the ministry and pass them on to teachers.
4. Ensures that the school is stable and runs smoothly.
5. He supervises the work of teachers, pupils and school workers.
6. He ensures that good academic standards are made and maintained.
7. He writes minutes during school committee meetings.
8. He maintains discipline among pupils.

The Deputy Headteacher

1.  He is the principal assistant of the head teacher.
2. He attends to lessons by planning and teaching.
3. He acts in the absence of head teacher.
4. He is in charge of discipline.

The Senior Teacher

1. Ensures all lessons are attended to.
2. Acts in the absence of head teacher and the Deputy head teacher.
3. Plans and teaches the pupils.

Head Prefects (head boy and head girl)

1. They co-ordinate the activities of other prefects.
2. Ensures the pupils are orderly.
3. Prefects act as the eyes of teachers on other pupils.

Importance of School Administration.

1. It promotes high academic standards.
2. It promotes high standards of discipline.
3. It helps in maintaining school facilities like chairs tables and desks.
4. It co-ordinates the daily academic activities in the school.
5. It maintains proper school records.
6. It organizes and promotes co-curricular activities in the schools e.g. games, music, athletics, drama.
7. It acts as the link between the community in school.
8. It ensures that the school maintains cleanliness.
9. It acts as a link between the school and the government education agents like:
   1. Assistant education officers (AEO)
   2. District Education Officers
   3. Provincial director of education
10. It allocates teachers their teaching subjects and other duties.

The School Motto

• It is a phrase that expresses the beliefs of a school.
• It describes the goals that a school intends the school learners to achieve by the time they leave the school.
• School routine is the program of activities in the school either on daily or weekly basis.
• The school timetable forms a major part of the school routine.

The Family

• Family is a group of people who are related by blood or marriage.

Main Types of Family

1. Nuclear family - father, mother and child/children
2. Extended family - nuclear and other relatives.
3. Single parent family - One parent and child/children

Needs of Family Members

• Needs are requirements that are necessary for people to live.

Types of Needs

1. Basic needs - things we cannot do without.
2. Secondary needs - Things that add comfort to our lives but we can do without them.

Resonsibilities of Family Members

• Roles and duties in a family are well defined.

EXAMPLES:

Responsibilities of Parents

1. Providing basic needs for the family.
2. Providing security in the family.
3. Providing medical care for the family.
4. Installing good morals in the children.
5. Providing financial assistance.
6. Teaching religious values.
7. Providing love for the family members.

Marriage

• Marriage is a permanent union between adults.
• Marriage systems recognized in Kenya are:
  1. Religious marriage.
  2. Customary marriage.
  3. Civil marriage.

Religious Marriage

• It is usually conducted in a church , mosque , or a temple.
• A wedding ceremony is conducted.
• Christians and Asian marriages are monogamous (one man and one wife)while Muslim marriages are polygamous (more than one wife).
• Couple exchange marriage vows.
• A marriage certificate is issued.

Customary Marriage

• Conducted according to the African customs and beliefs.
• Polygamy is allowed.
• Bride wealth is given before the wedding ceremony.
• It is usually conducted by the clan elders.

Civil Marriage

• It is presided over by a magistrate or an authorized government officer.
• A couple intending to marry must issue a 21 day notice to the district commissioner or the district registrar of marriage.
• The marriage partners pay a marriage fee.
• A marriage certificate is issued.
• Divorce or separation is granted by a court of law.

Importance of Marriage

1. It provides companionship.
2. It ensures the continuity of the family name and culture.
3. It unites different families hence promotes unity and harmony in the society.
4. It ensures good upbringing of the children.
5. It provides security and legal rights to the children, wife, and the husband.
6. It helps to regulate social behavior of the couple.
7. It helps to enrich culture especially when man and wife are responsible.

Rights and Responsibilities of Spouses in Marriage

1. To be loyal and faithful to each other.
2. To stand by each other as a source of comfort and strength.
3. To love one another.
4. To give each other emotional and physical security and protection.
5. To earn an income to support the family.
6. To promote the family’s standard of living.
7. To discuss the decisions regarding the family matters.
8. They should be caring to the children.

Succession and Inheritance

• Succession means taking over property after the owner dies or give up ownership.
• Inheritance is receiving property left behind when the owner dies.
• People succeed or inherit the estate (belonging of the deceased ) through:
  1. customary laws
  2. written wills
  3. parliamentary acts (law of succession).
• The property of the diseased is called an estate.
• A written document that shows how the property of the deceased should be shared out is known as the will.
• The person who inherits the estates of the deceased is known as an heir.
• The distribution of the estate of the deceased is done by:
  1. Court of law.
  2. The public trustee.
  3. The bearer of the letter of administration or the grant of probate.
• The authority to manage the estate is granted by a court of law.
• The following are entitled to the estate of the deceased :
  
  1. wife or wives
  2. former wife ( in case of a divorce in a court of law).
  3. sons
  4. daughters
  5. parents
  6. Any other person with proof that they depend on the deceased.
• Where both the parents have died, the adult first born child should apply to get a letter of administration, if the parent did not leave a will or a grant of probate, if the parent left a will.
  NB: daughters of the deceased whether married or not have the right to benefit from the property of the deceased.

Resources and Economic Activities.

1. Resources are the things that are useful to human beings e.g. Soil, water, money, land, forest, mineral, wildlife, domestic animals.
2. Economic activities are the different ways that we use the resources to earn income.
3. The main economic activities in Kenya include:
   1. Transport and communication.
   2. Livestock keeping.
   3. Wildlife and tourism.
   4. Fishing.
   5. Mining.
   6. Crop farming.
   7. Forestry.
   8. Manufacturing.