Parent Meeting
Introduction
It has been established that for any given nation in the world that has great dreams of attaining high economic standards in the future should invest heavily in the education sector. Education plays a vital role in the realization and attainment of a countries vision and ambition via the process of impacting knowledge and skills to its people. With the current changes being experienced in most facets of life such as economic, political and social, it means that learning institutions should be well equipped with all the necessary resource so that children in this nation can be in a position to cope with today’s and future challenges resulting from advancement in science and technology. The role played by education cannot be undermined at whatever cost. It is one of the greatest things a parent can give to his or her children as an inheritance.
The benefit of education cannot only be realized at personal level but as well as in the global market where qualified personnel can be hired by another state to provide services thus generating national income. Through the process of learning a child is empowered with knowledge and skills that provide a favourable environment to realize the potential and talents a child has which if well harnessed can be of great benefit to the society. It is evident enough that the current problems being experienced in the world today have the main root cause from education.
For instance, the world is facing a problem of lack of enough work forces in the market sector with suitable qualification to be employed in various production areas. This in other words means that soon or later the world is going to face more problems than what is being experienced now if proper measures are not placed in position to curb the situation. We can only resolve this economic crisis though investing in education that would in turn produced adequate work force to work in these areas. Therefore, it is in respect to changes and problems accruing from dynamism that are taking place in every part of the global that we should device a working framework on how to revitalize our society through education sector.
In this paper the discussion would aim at providing a comprehensive analysis of the our school’s position in initiating effective learning through adoptions of programmes that align with standards of early learning, educate parents on the importance of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) in school, role of playing and socialization in learning process as well as effectiveness of assessment strategy of our school curriculum.
For the nation to realize millennium goals and achieve vision 2030 prospects, it means that is a gradual journey that must start with a step. The process starts with proper preparation of children in lower levels of learning with s strong foundation that can withstand waves which results from changes in the environment. Our school has taken into consideration many factors that are in line with the standards set out by the education body before establishing or adopting any of the curriculums. The education programme that is adopted by our school aims at nurturing the fully potential that lies within each individual child and in turn helps in developing these unique attributes to be in line with the market trends in terms of qualified work force. Unless we equip our children with quality education that would enable them to compete effectively in the market sector, then we would be doing a shoddy job.
The school programmes are planned in such a way that all groups of children are given equal given chances irrespective of variance in their upbringing, economic status and physical appearance. This in turn harmonizes children’s differences as well as increase support and bonding among themselves. Through the extra curriculum activities such as sports and games, children are exposed to such arenas so that to help the teacher to be in a position to identify and nurture any talent that a child may have. In class the programme is organized in such a way that it can test various components of life that constitutes the development of a normal functioning person. Not only does the teacher test academic work but also other components that are outside class work.
The Importance of Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) to Parents
For any child to be successful in education life, it calls for collaboration between parents, teachers and the child. Unless the three principals are in harmony and understanding each other to a great extend, there would less to achieve under education development. To shade more light in this concept we would use the developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) which was initiated in 1987 by National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). This body uses an approach which views a child to be a developing human being with long life learning potential. The child has the ability to interact with the natural environment and acquire knowledge and skills from others such as students, parents and teachers via an interactive manner.The main role of the teacher is only to facilitate the process of learning of the child in the environment. Through the guidelines of DAP the teacher is only allowed to make decision in class based on her or his knowledge pertaining to the process of child development either, socially, cognitively and psychological as well as focusing on the individual differences in terms of cognitive capabilities. This has in turn been more effective in deterring teachers from given children learning material that is beyond their level. The association also allows parents to have control over decision pertaining to their children. A parent has an obligation to question or criticize any issue that they feel is not appropriate to their children.
To enhance equal chances to all the children irrespective of their social and economic background, the (NAEYC) enacted and endorsed a federal law which accord any eligible child with disabilities to have a chance to interact with normal children as well as be involved in community based projects without discrimination. The concept of individualization has also been taken into account through formulating of specific intervention measures accorded to a specific child based on the individual difference and age. This means that curriculum would be developed in such a way that it matches the age of the children, individuality and concepts to be learned.
The other issue highlighted in DAP is the implementation of meaningful learning which proposes that a child should be allowed to interact with the natural environment as well as be provided with resources that elicit individual interests. With such strategies in place the child would be in a position to interact more with things that hold much weight to them hence encouraging the realization and nurturing of talents in school. For instance, in our school curriculum programme we have internal competition in various categories that reinforces the process of learning by allowing children to interact effectively with the environment. Similarly, we have tours organized with the aim of reinforcing learning where children are allowed to interact with real life situation rather than theoretical approach.
Assessment Strategies
Evaluation of a learning process helps the teacher to know how much a child has attained in terms of class development as well lay a platform for decision making. The most appropriate mode of assessment that is accepted by international bodies is the use of multidimensional perspective. The use of naturalistic multidimensional perspective allows a teacher to be in a position to evaluate the progress of a child from an individual point of view. In our school we use exams that are both in oral and writing where they are graded according to performance of the class. The exams are moderated in a way that child’s growth and development are taken into account relating to age factor.
The use of authentic assessment is also integrated in our school system and it involves the longitudinal assessment of a child’s performance through a long period of time. The use of multidimensional perspective has in the recent past turned out to be more effective in the sense that it integrates other components outside the classroom environment in evaluation process. It provides the teacher with a humble background where a child’s strengths and weaknesses are established.
Importance of Playing and Socialization in Learning Process
Learning without playing can be a boring thing to children. Through playing children tend to establish strong association among themselves that in turn initiate support from each other in terms of learning. It also helps in growth and development of the child by allowing good circulation of blood to all parts of the body especially the brain. In general playing helps in healthy life to a child.
On the other hand, parents should give permission to their children to go play and interact with other. It has been realized that children tend to learn more faster when they are with their fellow colleges rather than when with their parents.
Conclusion
Finally, we may conclude by saying that learning is crucial process that should be planned in line with standard curriculum guideline which takes into account the changes in the environment as well address the importance of all stakeholders in the education sector as stipulated in DAP approach. Playing and socialization should be incorporated in learning process so as to develop a fully functioning child.