Foundation or furniture?<\/p>\n
Brian Cox, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
My wife and I have four children; all are now adults. Twenty-
\nfive years ago the time came for our eldest son to start school.
\nWe checked out a variety of schools but we couldn't find what we
\nwanted, so we started a school! It soon became obvious that the
\nthings we wanted in a school were also desired by many other
\nfamilies, as the school quickly grew to over 700 students. I
\nrealize that not everyone can start a new school to satisfy the
\nneeds of their children!<\/p>\n
Why was it so important to our family that our son, and
\nsubsequently his brothers and sister, should begin their more
\nformal education in a \"good\" school?<\/p>\n
I believe that the foundations of a child's education are much
\nmore important than the furniture that might be moved into the
\nbuilding after the basic structure has been put in place.<\/p>\n
We need to understand that the foundations of formal education
\nbegin in the home and are reinforced in the early years of
\nschool. What happens after the age of around eight years is a
\nprogressive building on the foundations that have already been
\nestablished; it's fundamentally \"adding the furniture\".<\/p>\n
Many parents are keen to find a good secondary school for
\ntheir sons and daughters so that they might be well prepared for
\nuniversities and careers. Often the quality of junior school
\neducation is not seen to be quite so important, and as for
\nkindergarten, well, they just play don't they?<\/p>\n
Education and human development experts will tell us that a
\nchild's level of trust is formed mainly in the first two years of
\nlife. The chief authority in the life of the young child at this
\nstage is the parent. Children who know that they are loved,
\naccepted and appropriately disciplined will develop trust.<\/p>\n
Children who have their physical needs met, whose lives have
\nclear routines and new experiences that are safe will develop
\ntrust. Trust is related to confidence. A young child who has
\ndeveloped trust and who is consequently developing confidence is
\nin a great position to take on the challenges of learning.<\/p>\n
Before you know it, you're sending your child to kindergarten!
\nHe or she is now three or four years old. Typically they have
\nbecome quite energetic and inquisitive, they display a tendency
\ntoward being self-centered and somewhat selfish. A great time to
\nbe taught how important it is to respect and value others!<\/p>\n
So a good kindergarten will help young people to explore and
\ndiscover new things; there will be lots of opportunities for
\nstorytelling, for singing and expressing thoughts through ever
\nincreasing language ability.<\/p>\n
The opportunity to explore and to question is fundamental to
\nlearning. Kindergarten activities might look like \"playing\" to a
\nsophisticated adult, but consider how many adults have bought a
\nnew computer program put it in, without reading the instructions,
\nexperimented with it and \"worked it out\" ... playing to learn!<\/p>\n
Skills and knowledge that we \"discover\" in these ways add to
\nour learning, but also give the confidence to question and go
\nbeyond narrow boundaries in the future. The foundations laid down
\nin the early years through exploration and interaction help
\nchildren to become confident in who they are and the place they
\nhold it their community.<\/p>\n
Young children are full of questions about the world around
\nthem and their place in it. A good kindergarten teacher
\nencourages this sense of \"wonder\", and deals with these questions
\nwith respect and integrity. Asking questions and questioning
\nanswers helps children to learn. Teaching young people to think
\nand investigate equips them with an essential learning tool.<\/p>\n
Kindergarten needs to be a place of security and safety of
\n\"controlled\" exploration. This is an age where both confidence
\nand competence are foundationally developed. This is the time
\nwhen beliefs and values and attitudes are being formed for a
\nlifetime. Is it important to you as a parent that the development
\nof these important character virtues is in harmony with those
\nheld by your family?<\/p>\n
Is the kindergarten supporting the development of good
\ncharacter attributes in these young children? Are they learning
\nto express gratitude, to recognize that other people have needs
\ntoo and that patience is a requirement for life? Are they
\nlearning how to contribute to the resolution of conflict? Are
\nthey learning to take healthy risks to explore beyond that which
\nis immediately known? Are they developing a healthy respect for
\nappropriate authority? Are they learning to differentiate between
\nappropriate and inappropriate actions?<\/p>\n
Kindergarten is a time when young people will form strong
\nattitudes toward learning, and life, that can be positive or
\nnegative. A good kindergarten should seek to develop a joy in
\nlearning, a love of knowledge, an appreciation of language, an
\nencouragement of creativity and an appreciation of a sense of
\ncommunity.<\/p>\n
Sure, it's important for your child to complete an IB Diploma
\nor to graduate successfully from senior school. But remember that
\ntheir likelihood of success may well be determined by the
\nfoundations laid at home and in the very early years of
\nschooling. The writer is the headmaster of Sekolah Pelita Harapan<\/p>",
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