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…
For the first time, in my 10 years of professional experience, I am finally liberated from the daily hassles of wearing a company uniform… Though I am still bounded by the ’smart-looking’ requirement that my new work imposes, I get super excited by the prospect of mixing and matching clothes, and of course, scouting for great buys in malls and on-line stores!
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.
Nobody gives me the loudest and most pervasive motivation to blog than my husband. His all-out support and encouragement inspire me to write down my thoughts and share them to the world. And, as an expression of his growing fanaticism to keep me writing, he bought me a true blogger’s bestfriend- my very first netbook, an HP Mini 2140. Now, I can write virtually everywhere! This, coupled with my Sony Ericsson cameraphone, are essentially everything I need in this part-time blogging career of mine! Thank you Paulo!
One of the perks of my current employment is that I get to go home early (Yipee!!). Because of this, I have had the opportunity of discovering Boys Over Flowers in Channel 2… As I was a certified Meteor Garden fanatic before, it was not difficult to take interest (and eventually, an addiction) to this famed Koreanovela. In comparison, this series is in many respects, better than the Taiwanese version. The lead stars are more glamourous looking and the story line is better written. However, regardless of which version is better or not, I still commend the genius behind Hana Yori Dango for effortlessly catapulting actors and actresses into stardom!