According to UNESCO'S director Gwang-Jo Kim, he believes there are three important skills that children must learn while they are young: Culture, Values and Respect, and History. I agree with Kim's selection, and in fact culture is something that is being more dominant in classrooms all around the world. Knowing and learning to have respect is something that should be taught at home. Having respect for all authority figures, which incudes parents, teachers, elders, and other's beliefs and practices. History will always be important regardless who you are or where you come from. History is just that, "story" it tells about where you and your ancestors came from, what they had to go through, beliefs and practices, but more importantly how you can improve the past so your future will be better.
The second insight that I found interesting was that this program focuses on the child's holistic development, and not just the academics which is teaching straight from the book. All children are different and require specific styles, accomodations, and modifications. It is very important to get to know the child and his or her needs early on.
The third insight is that teachers strategically plan their curriculum as a learning tool, way of observing and assessing their students, and also a way to further educate based on the children's individual needs.
Resources
UNESCO (1995-2012)
UNESCO. Bangkok (2013)
UNESCO Policy Brief on Early Childhood: Curriculum in Early Childhood and Care 2004
Hi Sherrell,
ReplyDeleteChildren have to learn about their culture, values and respect at an early age. Your culture teaches who you are and where you come from. Your authority figures have to come from home in the beginning. According to UNESCO'S webpage, parents are a child’s first teacher. In order for a child to respect an authority figure, children will need to have a role model to follow. It’s good to have a foundation such as UNESCO that believes in values as well as children’s education, which are all included in a child’s growth for their future. Good presentation.
Kathleen
I also posted these same skills in m blog and I think that if all teachers believed in these same values then our students would go much further in life.
ReplyDeleteYou don't know how many times I stress to my teachers the importance of learning the children and being able to properly assess them. We assess them in their learning capacity, but we also have to assess them in their behavior patterns to discover what forms of discipline work for them while in school. This saves us from a lot of frustration.
ReplyDelete