I recently came a 'funny' article on ThoughtCatalog <http://thoughtcatalog.com/jay-gabler/2013/07/stupid-questions-youre-asked-at-every-age-1-40/> which isn't exactly child-appropriate but the first few questions definitely made me consider how lowly society views children. I am not implying that society despises children or thinks lesser of them, but I do believe that the 'norm' questions posed by older members of the community tend to belittle children and underestimate children's intelligence.
I strongly believe that as an educator, as an adult, our expectations of children can highly determine their potential and their confidence and ability in learning. I have heard not just once but many times that parents disregard reading to their children or investing in books for their children because either a) The books no longer interest children, b) They have no time to read with their children, c) Children can learn to read in schools. In doing so, parents are taking away their child's biggest rights to access educational resources and to learn. Parents themselves are taking away opportunities for new literacy and numeracy experiences to be formed at a young age.
Referring to a link provided in one of our tutorials as well, the Dymocks Online Bookstore <http://www.dymocks.com.au/Booklovers/childrensreading.aspx> had wrongly coded the link to view books for babies. Perhaps this is a sign of ignorance of the community, that they do not value the importance of babies learning to read. Entering a bookstore or library, one may also find that there are few 'baby books' and many are outdated. The low expectations of society clearly destroys the rich literacy and numeracy learning that should take place in the early years.
To enhance young children's literacy and numeracy experiences, parents and the entire community alike must be able to acknowledge the value of early childhood education as a strong foundation for future learning. Parents should take the initiative of reading to children, providing literacy and numeracy-rich environments even at home, participate in activities that promote literacy and numeracy with their children and also remember that it is not just the school's responsibilities to teach children, but learning should begin at home even before children start school. Members of the community must also be willing to provide opportunities for children to engage in a community that is literacy and numeracy rich. For example, the community can have a children's library, encourage children to count money at the markets, organise educational trips to the fire station and many more. If only parents and communities realised their strong responsibilities in exposing children to sufficient literacy and numeracy experiences.
I strongly believe that as an educator, as an adult, our expectations of children can highly determine their potential and their confidence and ability in learning. I have heard not just once but many times that parents disregard reading to their children or investing in books for their children because either a) The books no longer interest children, b) They have no time to read with their children, c) Children can learn to read in schools. In doing so, parents are taking away their child's biggest rights to access educational resources and to learn. Parents themselves are taking away opportunities for new literacy and numeracy experiences to be formed at a young age.
Referring to a link provided in one of our tutorials as well, the Dymocks Online Bookstore <http://www.dymocks.com.au/Booklovers/childrensreading.aspx> had wrongly coded the link to view books for babies. Perhaps this is a sign of ignorance of the community, that they do not value the importance of babies learning to read. Entering a bookstore or library, one may also find that there are few 'baby books' and many are outdated. The low expectations of society clearly destroys the rich literacy and numeracy learning that should take place in the early years.
To enhance young children's literacy and numeracy experiences, parents and the entire community alike must be able to acknowledge the value of early childhood education as a strong foundation for future learning. Parents should take the initiative of reading to children, providing literacy and numeracy-rich environments even at home, participate in activities that promote literacy and numeracy with their children and also remember that it is not just the school's responsibilities to teach children, but learning should begin at home even before children start school. Members of the community must also be willing to provide opportunities for children to engage in a community that is literacy and numeracy rich. For example, the community can have a children's library, encourage children to count money at the markets, organise educational trips to the fire station and many more. If only parents and communities realised their strong responsibilities in exposing children to sufficient literacy and numeracy experiences.
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