Keeping Our Children Safe

These and similar headlines in newspapers have shocked, horrified and shamed us. As a society and as a nation we seem to have failed to guarantee even the most basic right that we owe our children. Following each incident parents register hold demonstrations, politicians talk stringent action and police promise speedy investigation. Yet nothing changes; after a couple of days the news falls off the headlines and the issue is forgotten till next such incident happen.

                                                                                                                  

However we as parents, teachers and stakeholders owe it to our children to ensure that these incidents do not happen in the future. We need norms that schools are mandated to follow so that each child is safe in the school.

The following are few simple, practical suggestions to protect our children 

• All adults working in the preschool should be vetted. Employees need to provide testimonials that schools should validate. All employees- teachers as well as all administrative and support staff- should undergo police verification as well.

• A written child protection policy should be in place listing dos and dont’s; at the time of induction this should be shared with the employees.  They should be required to sign a written statement indicating they have read the policy. This signed acknowledgement should be preserved in employee’s personnel file.

• Children should be supervised at all times. No child should be let out of sight of the teacher-in charge. Class teachers should be present even when children go for co curricular activities or are playing outdoors. 

We invite comments and suggestions to make this list more comprehensive. After all learning and good education can follow only if our children are protected from this most horrific form of abuse. We need to act fast and decisively before another such incident makes it to the news headlines. 

Right to Quality Education

The importance that we as a nation pay to early education is evident from the fact that preschools garner attention only when they are in the news for wrong reasons. An example of this is the recent reports of child abuse in preschools and schools that have elicited all round disgust and horror. Yet after heated television debates and protests for a couple of days these issues quickly recede from public memory till next such horror story hits the headlines.

Rarely are issues related to what happens in classrooms on a daily basis discussed or debated.  We accept schools on second floor in a crowded commercial building, forty children in a classroom or four year olds being made to learn multiplication tables.

We as a nation claim that our children have a right to education. This, however, cannot be limited to right to enrolment and attendance. Our children deserve a Right to Quality Education-education that is interesting, enriching and enabling in institutions that are promise physical safety and emotional security.

Should we as stakeholders-parents, teachers, school promoters- wait for the government to launch a policy or a monitoring authority for this purpose? Or, can we as experts and concerned adults develop a check list for self regulation and monitoring?

Here is a preliminary checklist of what defines a good preschool that has emerged after deliberations with several experts in the domain.

·         Commitment to each child’s safety and security 
·         Adequate physical space to move about and explore
·         Diverse and interesting play material to stimulate all round development
·         Appropriate teacher child ratio
·         Trained and committed teachers
·         Adult child interactions which are nurturing and responsive
·         Intentional and planned curriculum that can be adapted to needs of each child
·         Emphasis on emergent literacy and math skills

·         Balance of Care and Education

EARLY YEARS EDUCATION: THE HYPE AND REALITY

The preschool market’s size is expected to reach US$1.8 billion by 2015. It has a gross enrollment ratio of ~3.5% (witha base of ~130 million children in the age group of 0–4 years). (Source Eduletter August 2012 EY Strategic Consulting Group in Education: Sector update )  Corporates drool over these numbers as it represents a opportunity for creating attractive business models that can be rapidly scaled.

Hence an explosion in the number of companies those provide franchising opportunity for setting up preschool. However, most of these are focused on bottom line and return on investment. So marketing rather than on the quality of curriculum, teacher training or even right infrastructure becomes the focus of such companies. All of us have seen fancy preschools painted in the most lurid colours, decorated with cartoon characters claiming to have curriculum based on Multiple intelligences, experiential learning or Montessori approach. Yet a peek into the classrooms will reveal children sitting on their desk and writing numbers or letters or merely colouring figures. 

On the other hand the Government has launched the ICDS national development program, one of the largest in the world to reach less privileged children aged 0-6 years. The scheme has several lofty objectives including Nutrition and Health Education, Immunization, Early Childhood Care and Pre-school Education. However, on ground realities clearly indicate that it has been reduced to providing supplementary nutrition and immunization. The Early learning component of the scheme is often neglected.  Research studies have shown several interesting findings in this regard. For example more girls than boys attend the AWCs. This finding is not a precursor for some dramatic social change. Delving deeper into the cause it was found that parents preferred to send boys to attend private schools especially in urban areas and towns for PSE because private schools were perceived as doing a better job of teaching them.. – An appraisal by NIPCCD (2006).

We must remember is that preschools are about children and about laying a strong foundation for learning and life.

Experts and decision makers need to bring the focus back on what is right for children   

Early Years Decoded

Research in Brain Development and Child Development reveals that brain is the only organ in humans that is not fully formed at the time of birth. During the early years a child’s brain rapidly increases in size. At the same time a complex network of connections is formed between the neuron cells in the brain.

While the process of forming connections is genetically driven, early child hood experiences have a significant impact on it. Once these connections are formed those that are used regularly and repeatedly become stronger and more complex. Connections not used frequently are pruned – another example of the famous ‘use it or lose it’ adage

All changes in the brain are triggered by stimulation from the environment. The more varied, rich stimulating environment a child encounters the faster is the development of the brain.

But apart from the genetic predisposition and the environmental stimulation children’s ability to learn is mediated by their attitude towards learning. Children who find meaning and joy in early learning experiences are motivated to learn. This helps them evolve into self motivated and independent learners.

This is what research tells us. But the big questions that now arise are- how does this translate into action in our homes and preschools? Which are the right practices that we need to follow while dealing with children? What materials work towards creating a stimulating environment? 

Born Ready to Learn

Children are born ready to learn. Any adult who has spent a few hours with a baby or a toddler knows that children are curious and interested in everything around them. They are forever peering into boxes, putting things together, taking them apart, climbing on or crawling under places. They use their senses to explore, experiment and make sense of the world around themselves. They are forever asking why and parents are often amazed at the rapid pace at which their children learn. That is why parents of young children are forever bragging about new words, knowledge or skill that their child has learnt.

What is also obvious to most adults who interact with children is the fact that they enjoy learning.  The look of concentration on a child’s face while try to put together a new puzzle, the whoop of joy when a child finally makes a tower of blocks stand after repeated attempts all point to the fact that children want to learn, they do not give up easily and they find satisfaction in personal achievement If children in their Early Years are curious, eager to learn and  capable of rapid learning why do so many children find school boring and have difficulty in keeping up with the school curriculum. If learning happens so naturally and spontaneously why do so many children struggle with reading and writing or maths? Why do so many of these bright, smart toddlers metamorphose into ‘children who are not interested in studies and need to work hard’ as per their teachers assessment? 

Let us as parents, teachers, Instructional Design experts and decision makers discuss and debate these questions that are of fundamental importance for the well being of our children and their future.