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…
anyway,...
i agree. i’ve got a question though, doesn’t DepEd have a regulation on the curriculum being taught to students? generally speaking, this is to include all schools, both traditional and progressive ones, haven’t the curriculum been revised enough to incorporate developmental changes that were brought on by the changing times nowadays? because if this is the case, then the way how these students in traditional schools are taught should have been different already right?
hello Kate… well, local schools’ curricula are essentially DepEd based. However, in the event of the current trends in education, the so-called progressive or semi-progressive schools try to differentiate themselves with regard to how instruction is delivered and how each student’s learning needs are addressed… For example, given the same and pre-determined objectives for all, a semi-progressive or not so traditional school would provide learning experiences that are more hands-on and multi-sensorial in approach. Lesser emphasis is given on lecture type discussions and teacher directed activities…
I found an interesting site that summarizes the essential differences between these two approaches… Check it out- http://mom.exchange.ph/2007/03/20/traditional-vs-progressive-schools
I hope this answers your query… Do visit often…. Tnx!