The podcast that I listened to was from George Forman. Dr. Forman’s main interest was figuring out what children saw when they played. He talked about teachers teaching about colors and shapes but not about the action taken to make those colors and shapes. Dr. Forman talked about a child that he watched play and the delight that the boy got when he realized that a log could stand up. Dr. Forman couldn’t figure out why this child was so delighted by this until he came to the realization that the child was learning. Dr. Forman said that we need to see the world in terms of change and not change instead of how they are. I think the concepts that Dr. Forman talked about is what teachers learn as they grow professionally.
After listening to the podcast I went to, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/ to learn more about early childhood education. When looking through the site I found a topic that relates to one of my goals. One of my goals was to become an advocate for the children in my area. Right now, the children that I have focused my attention on are the ones that are living at or below the poverty level. UNESCO wants a “policy of universalisation with targeting can minimise inequity where governments aim for universal access among the target age group, but simultaneously prioritise the poor.” (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/access/). What they are saying is that they want every child to receive the benefits from the government but that they must start with the children who are in need the most.
The website also talks about quality. I think that quality is very important for teachers, which is why one of my goals is to become a high-quality teacher. The website mentions, “Early childhood care and education programmes should emphasise the child’s holistic development and extend beyond assisting the child’s transition to formal schooling” (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/quality/). I think that this statement is something that we all believe in. We must not teach towards moving on to the next grade but focus on teaching what the child is interested in.
Finally, I wanted to talk about investment. We need to invest in our children today by giving them the resources that they need to learn. I think that this website says it best by saying that we need to view early childhood education as part of the basic education. By doing this we are helping our children start down the right path of growing academically and socially.
Great Post! Dr. Forman's podcast sounds very interesting! We definately need to view things through children's eyes sometimes to get a true perception about what is truly occuring with their learning.
ReplyDeleteI also couldn't agree more about not teaching toward the next grade but truly teaching what developmental appropriate skills that truly interest the child.
I too have a passion for the families and children in poverty.
ReplyDeleteI think the only way we can be successful is to view the whole child and offer experiences that reflect on all developmental domains. If we do that children will naturally be ready for the next level. Isn't that the basic philosophy of development? As we master one concept we are ready to move to the next one. Children have a natural curiousity to learn, we just need to facilitate their learning in a way that will offer them challenges to grow.
I agree that we need to view early childhood education as part of basic education. There are families that do not choose to send their children to a pre-school, while others do not have access to the pre-school. This is what we so desparately need to change.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your very strong post! First, Dr. Forman sounds very interesting. As general as it may sounds teachers need to remember that a majority of their jobs is to continually learn not just teach their children and their families. Thank you for your final statement about investing in our children. After all isn’t this what we are all seeing these degrees for the investment in our children?
ReplyDeleteThank You,
Schlee