Having been a teacher myself in a semi-progressive, semi-traditional school, I was made aware of the significance of DAP or Developmentally Appropriate Practices- something that most traditional schools seemingly ignore… or probably, (though, I really hope not) haven’t heard of…
Every night, I dread having to witness my Grade 1 nephew’s misery- as he is made to do tons and tons of writing, drawing, coloring, and textbook assignments… Some of the preposterous homework that he was subjected to are the following:

1. Draw the parts of the computer (which his Mom did… worst, 5 points were deducted from his score because he forgot to draw the printer…)
2. Draw the map of the Philippines (which I did because apparently, even the Mom’s drawing skills were not enough to complete the task)
3. Draw several fruits, objects, people, and other things that even me would find challenging to do (which again, the Mom mostly did… )
4. Complete hundreds of lectures (It takes my nephew an awful lot of time to write, the tendency is, he lags in his lectures)
5. Practice cursive writing (and he has not yet even fully mastered the basics of simple hand writing!)
… and etc. etc.
Imagine this little child’s nightly agony! And he is just 7 years old for goodness’ sake!
I am not entirely opposed to the means and ways of traditional schools. (Being a product of one myself, I somehow turned out OK in many respects)  Nor do I conclude that all trad school are like this!  I bet some schools find ways to adapt themselves to the changing times… I am merely pointing out that there are better alternatives, or should I say, more developmentally appropriate practices that are proven to generate more positive results when it comes to teaching kids…
My nephew, who has been in this school since his kindergarten years, was scantily given opportunities to strengthen his fine motor control and dexterity when he was in preschool… how then can he suddenly be expected to draw a computer? Why oblige him to draw the map of the Philippines when he was not given tasks such as copying balls, balloons, and shapes when he was in Kinder or Prep? My goodness… seeing and hearing him whine and complain to his mom every night upset me… I just wished he had better options in his school life… better experiences to live out and remember… better activities that would make him smile and laugh and be eager to go to school again the next day…
Sadder even is that his limitations in the fine motor area are the ones frequently highlighted… never did I hear anybody (except his family of course) marvel in this young boy’s amazing skills in running, jumping, and in several sports. He is also a very inquisitive and imaginative lad… somebody brimming with potentials, waiting to be tapped…
Thankfully, a lot of schools that are now emerging are more aware of DAP. DAP is student-centered and realistic. It promotes feelings of successes and achievements- – – ultimately leading to learners loving learning itself…

Nothing in this world can be likened to teaching children as young as 2 to 3 years old… It is definitely tiring, but also unbelievably gratifying!  10 years ago, I’ve never thought of myself as a teacher… 3 years ago, I would have said no to teaching babies… And about 2 months ago, I would have opted to go back teaching older kids… But now, as fate would have it… I am again trekking the same path as I’ve done in my last year in BWS.

It was not forced upon me… it was just because among the three new Noblesse Early Years teachers, I was the one with the experience.  I stepped into the Toddler classroom with 2 bubbly and easy to handle children… After almost 2 months, the Toddler class population catapulted to a whooping 12 students!  To add to my growing incredulity, the task seems to get more challenging each day.. 12 different children- all egoistic, territorial, and with vague awareness and compliance to classroom rules!  Moreso, being gifted with an enormously sized classroom proved to have its own disadvantages- to them, they have before themselves the crude rendition of a playground where they can run, jump, and play to their hearts’ content!

However, beyond the day-to-day physical exhaustion and endless motivational strategies, I cannot cite any other profession that is as utterly gratifying… The pleasure comes from seeing their faces beam with joy and appreciation after a wonderfully planned activity, laugh like there’s no tomorrow over your clown-like antics, and sing and dance without inhibitions… Wow… dang, I sound like a newbie…

Well, anyways, I am applauding all the noble Preschool Teachers of the world… It takes a great deal of commitment and dedication to engage in this kind of profession.. Regardless of whether the job is a calling or forced upon us (mostly because of the growing unemployment rate)…  the rewards are true and the same for all us… more than the financial and material gains.. we leave indelible traces of ourselves to these children… we make them learn while being happy and secure… we give them moments to appreciate the joys of being young and carefree… Hey, having said this, I just realized that they, too, do the same for us… hmmm….