IL&FS Focus

Learning to learn in pre-schoolNina KanjirathAn almost imperceptible but nevertheless revolutionary lifestyle and demographic shift in favour of two-income nuclear families within India‚s pace-setting middle class has brought pre-school and child care centres into sharp focus in contemporary urban society. With women increasingly reluctant to take long career breaks to mind young children, profess-ionally managed play or pre-schools have become an important base for working parents.In a recent survey of some early learning childhood centres conducted by the Gintara Foundation, Bangalore, several dominant features of these institutions became apparent. Among them:‚ Playschools run in homes might have initially served as adequate learning centres, except that the daily restoration of materials and equipment (if any) creates a conflict of interest due to the contrary demands of a learning and domestic environment‚ A majority of the garage type playschools, severely limited in space, tend to focus on rote teaching the alphabet in capitals, numbers, names of animals, fruits etc; culturally inappropriate nursery rhymes and the writing of painful and unending pages of cursive script. Since reading material is rarely available in the flowery cursive form, it‚s difficult to establish what purpose is served‚ Some pre-schools cater specifically to the admission tests of a particular school which prescribes the pre-school curri-culum on the misguided assumption that sooner is better, leading to superficial learning, parroting children and unhealthy competition between parents‚ Regular schools which incorporate pre-schools within their compound walls also seem to be unable to provide child-friendly environments or curriculums suitable for children in the two-five age group. Their focus is to create a minimum-stimulation feeder-factory for their primary section, so teaching is focussed on academics housed within unexciting and static classroom settings‚ With due respect to Madame Montessori for her intensive research and invaluable contribution to pre-school learning and behaviour, the methodology developed by her would undoubtedly have provided skills for a particular period in the history of the 19th century, viz, the industrial revolution which required labour in factories. But in the changed world of the 21st century, the Montessori methodology as practiced in India is inadequate, especially with its rigid emphasis on fine motor equipment, repetitiveness and work in isolation. Quite clearly it‚s time to look beyond. It is perhaps also a time for Indian educationists to reflect deeply, to begin to design and develop intelligent and pertinent pre-school curriculums that would encourage creative thinking and scientific temper from a very young age.Unfortunately few pre-schools address or empathetically handle the major trauma in an infant‚s life ‚ separation from the mother. Others rarely support parent and child in their transitional period of anxiety and change when the child first ventures into the world outside. Parents are regarded as intruders with nothing to contribute. Indeed, some pre-schools demand that parents wordlessly hand over their infants to complete strangers, making it quite clear that parents have to suffer the consequences, if any. From the time a toddler awakes to a new, unfamiliar world in playschool, she is subject to stress due to unrelenting instructions, neglect or even physical intimidation and mishandling. Some teachers (and even parents) regard talking, playfulness, locomotion and natural curiosity as impertinence, mischief, hyperactivity and disobedience. Few pre-schools pay attention to space, movement, equipment, hygiene or safety considerations. It is easier to herd and oversee children within firmly closed rooms than to take the trouble to prepare a vibrant and stimulating environment for a child.Moreover very few teachers/ practitioners in pre-school possess the skills, knowledge or training to go beyond their own experience of the education system and unsuspectingly use and transfer redundant pedagogy. Teachers and caregivers of this age group are generally ill-equipped to understand the complex task of managing large numbers of very young children from the Indian plethora of diversity which encompasses language, background, experience and culture. International diversity only further compounds the problem. “One size fits all” is the dominant attitude in most pre-schools.After careful observation and analysis of the survey, we have become aware that as pre-school practitioners, research, awareness and training in healthy practices are essential components if we are to share space and ideas with generation next. It is important that young children are not limited or stifled by obsolete and archaic systems of pre-school education, or by fear of failure or change. The world is constantly changing. So is thinking and learning. And if learning means constant change, the question is whether change can become a comfortable constant from the very beginning.The essential conclusions to be derived from the Gintara Foundation survey is that learning how to learn and learning how to think is the foundation for facilitating understanding, and flexible application of knowledge.All learning starts with a question. We need parents to ask questions. We need teachers to ask questions. Most of all, we need children to ask questions. For the rest of their lives. And we know that learning will never stop.(Nina Kanjirath is the founder director of Gintara Pre-school & Child Care Centre, Bangalore)