I look around and see that a lot of parents are worried about kids not reading enough.....Now, frankly I am a proud parent of a girl who reads like crazy....I don't exaggerate...like i say ...if she doesn't get a book in the loo she even reads the labels on the shampoo bottle!!
I try that it is not at the cost of peer interaction....but books are important in early education. Especially in our systems where most classroom education is meant to cater to the lowest common denominator, books are a great tool for self education.
For an avid 5 to 15 year old reader.....http://www.walker.co.uk/ would be a good source................
Read on!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Emotion and Education
My 9 year old daughter is a single child. Currently, that sounds like a double whammy - 9 and single child!. The other day I overheard a conversation (more like a monologue) between her and another older girl. This other child says......I really love my younger brother - you will never know this because you don't have a brother or sister - its so boring to be alone - etc etc.
In response, my daughter was quiet and soon the conversation moved to something else.A disclaimer here - I believe in accepting people as they are........but I believe children have to be gently nudged, prodded towards consideration and politeness.
That apart, I was for once proud of the way my little one handled it (she is not always this adept). Instead of responding in the same manner (play a mental game - if I am not stretching it too far!!), she decided to ignore it. I really appreciated the dignified manner in which she managed.
It also set me thinking about another thing that I was reading somewhere the other day.....that perhaps the largest objective of education is 'emotional maturity'. I might have spoken about this earlier....at the cost of repetition, here I am...
Going back, I believe a lot of education between 8 to 12 years of age can happen through emotions. Its probably is the best time not just to be in touch with your feelings and expressing them - but guiding them to positivism. Children's minds are moving from 'image-based' understanding to abstract understanding - which really means that many more concepts can be learnt by them. It is therefore natural that the conceptual learning wouldn't be restricted to study of science, maths etc, but would also extend to self and society. What an opportunity then!
The best time I would say to instill family values - I look at' inclusion, politeness, being considerate, learning to be firm but never rude' of prime importance. And why am I thinking this - because I see politeness lacking mostly across the board in the city that I live in. Parents - if I may - take pride in their kids being 'street smart' as opposed to 'sensitive or kind'. Am i over reacting? Some would think so, but I stay firm and I wont be bogged down or limited by the the circumstances of this physical space - after all , our children are growing to be world citizens!!
In response, my daughter was quiet and soon the conversation moved to something else.A disclaimer here - I believe in accepting people as they are........but I believe children have to be gently nudged, prodded towards consideration and politeness.
That apart, I was for once proud of the way my little one handled it (she is not always this adept). Instead of responding in the same manner (play a mental game - if I am not stretching it too far!!), she decided to ignore it. I really appreciated the dignified manner in which she managed.
It also set me thinking about another thing that I was reading somewhere the other day.....that perhaps the largest objective of education is 'emotional maturity'. I might have spoken about this earlier....at the cost of repetition, here I am...
Going back, I believe a lot of education between 8 to 12 years of age can happen through emotions. Its probably is the best time not just to be in touch with your feelings and expressing them - but guiding them to positivism. Children's minds are moving from 'image-based' understanding to abstract understanding - which really means that many more concepts can be learnt by them. It is therefore natural that the conceptual learning wouldn't be restricted to study of science, maths etc, but would also extend to self and society. What an opportunity then!
The best time I would say to instill family values - I look at' inclusion, politeness, being considerate, learning to be firm but never rude' of prime importance. And why am I thinking this - because I see politeness lacking mostly across the board in the city that I live in. Parents - if I may - take pride in their kids being 'street smart' as opposed to 'sensitive or kind'. Am i over reacting? Some would think so, but I stay firm and I wont be bogged down or limited by the the circumstances of this physical space - after all , our children are growing to be world citizens!!
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