If human life must be compared with a tree, childhood would be considered the budding phase, yet to bloom. And it is quite easy to assume what happens when a tree is not being taken care of properly at her blooming stage, isn’t it?
Childhood is the irreversible phase of the human tribe where only once you are given the chance to plant the right nourishment. But the question is, how can you nurture the childhood of a child right and properly to sketch out the ideal human being in the face of this evil society?
The answer is – Early Childhood Education. Just like you cannot save a tree after it’s all grown up by only cutting its leaves pretty, early childhood education works in the very same way.
In the budding phase of human life, the unique tricks and ways of early childhood education is the ultimate nourishment that can gradually heal the rotten carcass, we call society.
Early Childhood Education – The History and Transformation
Since time immemorial, philosophers and intellectuals have upheld the importance of early childhood education throughout numerous literature and Maria Montessori is one such names who had actually invented various methods in the late 1930s for the betterment of the early education vocation amongst children.
After making her observation in Casa Dei Bambini, Maria Montessori wrote her first book in the year 1912 and the book was eventually translated into 20 languages after it gained huge popularity in Italy.
Helen Keller, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell are some of the notable names in favour of the ‘Montessori Method‘. Gradually, the ‘Montessori Method’ of early childhood education spread across the world and every country started adapting to it.
In India, Rabindranath Tagore discarded the age-old traditional and bookish learning by transforming Shantiniketan into an open-ground school for the first time.
The Importance of Early Childhood Education
The importance of early childhood education for the betterment of society cannot ever be overstated enough.
Childhood is the phase in everyone’s life where they are learning; learning to adapt and productive. It is the growing stage where they imitate what they have been shown and learn quite fast.
Children are like water. They take the shape of the bowl they are put in. Whatever you put in a child, the child becomes. And what a child becomes, a society becomes eventually.
Thus, early childhood education has a direct link to the betterment of the society as a whole. If you educate and teach the early generation well, you can expect a healthy society in the next 40 years.
Early childhood education doesn’t only shape us a betterment of society but as a human tribe, to be remembered in history as well.
5 Trends that are Transforming the Early Childhood Education
Although the world has a long way to go in terms of pre-school and early childhood education for the betterment of the society, big changes are already taking place in the child care programs across the Western World and the Developing countries are on their way to catch up as well.
To combat the systematic weakness in the early educational programs, many initiatives have been implemented and adopted which are as follows:
1. Technological Classroom
Technologically sound classrooms are the latest development that you can track for the betterment of the society as a whole.
In this way, we are preparing the youngest generation to be adapted into a more technologically advanced society and also technology helps the teachers in tracking the development in a child as well.
Also, this adaptation to technological classroom has become a saviour during the ongoing pandemic time.
2. The Approach of Reggio Emilia
During the development of the ‘Montessori Method’ in the 1940s’, the Reggio Emilia method took birth as well. In this method, the parents are more involved in the school activity of a child.
More parent and student involvement in school studies formulate a better learning environment that customises itself to meet the specific needs of each and every child.
From very recent research of 2017, it has been seen that the approach of Reggio Emilia is slowly inspiring and influencing many other adult sectors of education in the big cities of the Western World.
3. Universal Preschool
In the USA, an initiative was adapted to provide every student, irrespective of their income or socioeconomic status, with a high-quality preschool environment that will specifically monitor early childhood education.
This program will provide every kid between the age group of 1 to 5 with a definite safe learning ambience with enough scope for their social and emotional development.
4. Early Literacy
Early literacy is encouraged worldwide nowadays. Kids between the age group of 1 to 3 are encouraged to take part in various group activities that make their system of learning easier and fun.
5. Closing the Achievement Gap
With the system of various unit tests throughout the year, initiatives have been taken to close the achievement gap in early childhood education so that kids don’t get tagged with any particular adjective from childhood onwards.
Conclusion
Although all these trends are actively present in the Western Countries, the Eastern and the developing countries are slowly leaning into this and schools are more encouraged to keep the involvement of a child into active participation, group activities and so on and less to only bookish knowledge.
Early childhood education is nowadays all about practical knowledge and hand-to-hand experience. And how does that early childhood education help in the betterment of society?
Well, for a new introduction of technology, we might need another 20 years to see that effect!
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