Covid -19 pandemic has turned the world upside down. We have been pushed to adapt to new circumstances and get creative with our life and work. It has not only disrupted every sector in the last eight months but has also uncovered some critical insights pertaining to parental mindsets about how they perceive a school’s contribution to their child’s development and growth, their expectations from schools, importance of teachers as critical resource for their child’s growth and most importantly significance of early childhood education in their child’s journey of learning.
Education sector has created history by making a paradigm shift and embracing technology quite successfully . It has been heartening to see educators demonstrate heroic commitment, passion and immense grit to minimise disruption in students’ learning by stretching themselves beyond hours, learning new skills, exploring alternate tools and innovating strategies to ensure learning happens uninterrupted, remotely. Likewise, every parent out there has been trying their best to be superheroes for their children, juggling work, home and multiple chores to ensure the learning continuum for their children. However, in the last few months, it has been realised that there is an apparant gap between what parents believe is right for their little ones and what scientific research says. As the new normal takes learning to digital spaces, there is an increased fear and dilemma amongst parents regarding children’s screen time, resulting in their lack of faith in virtual learning which has in turn made parents struggle with decisions related to their child’s education in the last six months. Many parents have been pushed to make uninformed choices, especially in the most critical Early Childhood Segment of learners (3 years to 6 years), who are quite conspicuous by their absence from all virtual learning platforms being offered by schools. It is quite evident that most parents await schools to reopen and conservatively, it would be another six months or even one year for that wish to actually become a reality.
This pandemic has clearly highlighted some widely held misconceptions and beliefs by parents against the contrasting views of the education experts, which are based on evolving theories in education. Cognitive research, on how children learn and how their brains are wired reflect majorly on the importance of early childhood education and uninterrupted learning. In an endeavor to bridge the gap and help parents make better choices for their little ones, here is some insight on your child’s early childhood education and what’s best for them.
Top 3 Misconceptions of Parents about Early Childhood Education
Well, all said and done, Parents hold the ultimate responsibility for their child’s success since they are the sole decision makers for their child’s trajectory of growth and learning. It is their decision that will determine whether their child will get engaged to learn or get busy in the process without actually learning, especially under these new circumstances . It is their decision that will help their child get exposed to funfilled ways of learning through structured programs , painstakingly curated by their teachers or taught mechanically by unaware and untrained tutors and most importantly it is their decision whether their child will hone the most critical skill to learn which will determine their child’s success in life.
Parents hold the magic key to their child’s future and all parents are urged to take a step back and spend some time to analyze their own decisions to deal with this pandemic and evaluate opportunities being offered to their child currently. The new circumstances, while daunting at first glance, do offer a window for parents to revisit many misconceptions and old principles in all areas of life, including parenting. It’s human nature to feel comfortable with old ways even if they are not working for us. Sometimes it takes a crisis such as the one to examine incorrect responses and decisions that may be disrupting our children’s growth and development. We have to listen closely to our children’s brain story and do what’s crucial for their heart and mind. Foundational bricks for all our children must be set up in early childhood to make them happy and successful young adults.
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