Tuesday, April 29, 2008

 

Panther trapped near valparai taken to vandalur zoo

Many schools introduce writing exercises in L.K.G Motor skills, eye-hand coordination need Where Do I Get A Silver Claymore On Oblivion develop CHENNAI: Rahul Rajan* turns four next month. I m going to UKG, he declares with an adorable grin on his face. But before he heads to his new classroom in June, he has to practise cursive writing and gain speed. His vacation therefore includes an hour-long writing session at home everyday. He hates it ... I have to plead, scold and shout at him to make him listen. He says I don Bowhunting Pigs In Houston like writing , his mother Sharanya Rajan* says. She knows excuses will not work. Mountain Hardwear Mesa Convertables parents have been warned by his kindergarten teacher of Drunk At Bosses Party popular private school that Rahul goes to. Some schools in the city expect 97 Acura Inegra Side Bumper Part in LKG to be able to write letters so that they can be introduced to phrases and sentences in UKG. Have intense competition and performance-based evaluation made city schools insensitive? To imagine that a child not even two feet high, should be able to write a big A and a small a with tender fingers seems ridiculous to child psychiatrists and education consultants. Child psychiatrist V. Jayanthini says parents come to her, asking why their child is not able to write like four year olds in some other school. Schools should follow a uniform pattern of giving pre-learning skills till the child is five, she says. Some teachers tend to discriminate against children who cannot write. My son s teacher thinks he is lazy and scolds him in class. He is very good in oral exercises, but cannot write as well as some of his classmates, says the parent of a four-year-old. Skills to enhance fine motor movements, gross motor movements, eye-hand coordination and environmental awareness are all that a child below five needs. Proper reading, writing and arithmetic can wait, Dr. Jayanthini adds. Prema Daniel, a member of the Indian Association of Preschool Education (IAPE), says most schools put undue pressure on children and parents. It is not just about the age. It is about allowing children to take their natural course, she points out. The pressure may deny the child the pleasure of writing, educationists feel. Uma Shanker, director of the Centre of Montessori Training in Chennai, says: You don t want children to develop a hearty dislike for writing. They will need the skill all their life. It is very important to make it a pleasurable activity. Many schools say they just make children draw standing lines and sleeping lines in LKG, as part of preparatory modules. There are many other ways of preparing the child. The same three, four fingers could be involved in so many other activities that will be more fun for the children, she says. Forcing children to hold a pencil may result in some of them holding it the wrong way, causing acute wrist and hand pain. They need to be guided on aspects such as positioning of the notebook, distance from the table and posture. Give children time allow them to arrive at their own perfection. They will, Ms. Shanker emphasises. The National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) prescribes a readiness kit for children above three years that includes stories, activities and material for the development of children s language, social, motor, emotional skills. K.K. Vashishtha, who heads NCERT S Department of Elementary Education, says it is vital to look at the child s physical and neuromuscular development. Each child is different and matching progress to age may not be advisable. They may be given crayons first once they are comfortable holding them, pencils may be introduced gradually, depending on their readiness and willingness, he says. Age is, perhaps, not the only factor to be considered. After all, a child does not know he has to write just because his fifth birthday has got over.


This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?