Life Learning Curriculum For Preschool

How to ensure learning for the child? How to make sure that the child is prepared to take on the challenges of life? And along with that, the child gets to remain a child and have fun. My proposed solution is the life learning curriculum for preschool. You may ask why the heck some silly thing called a life learning curriculum when the preschools abound all around with their own curriculum.

The preschools expose the child to structured and formal teaching, dull and monotonous routine and rote memorization (all harmful to the child). They do so as the NCERT preschool curriculum is a huge letdown. CBSE syllabus is non-existent and a free-for-all. There aren’t any guidelines for preschools in India. As a result, preschools are merely a me-too version of the schools – rote and joyless.

The child is at the best age to explore and learn, be happy and enjoy childhood bliss. The parents want the best possible education and ready the kid for a lifetime of success. However, the learning environment in the preschools and the curriculum used are severely lacking to back up the parents in their intent and the children in their happiness.

And, hence, the life learning curriculum for preschool. Of course, you won’t be convinced. So, we discuss further on why the life learning curriculum for preschool.

3 Years Or 30 Years

What do you think would be more beneficial to the child? Repeating the rhymes, undesired motor-sensory writing practices (reversal of LSRW) and sitting idle in circle time? Or having a fulfilling adult life, equipped to handle difficult situations and be a confident and empathetic decision-maker? The time span varies. One is after 3 years and the second is after 30 years.

The so-called education of the preschool variety teaches a child what he/she will face in 3 years. With the life learning curriculum, a child learns what he/she will face in 30 years – i.e. all through life. Preschool education teaches a child to do well in unit tests/entrance exams. The life learning curriculum facilitates a child to decide on the course of life and yes, do well.

As a parent, what will you choose for your child as an end-deliverable, from the above two scenarios, after 3 years or 30 years? Preschool or life learning?

Indifferent Or Involved

Preschools’ premise is that they help children be school-ready. It doesn’t help the child to keep getting hammered in the anticipation of an event that itself is notorious to rob the childhood joys.  Such a syllabus is bound to be limited to texts, worksheets and four walls of the classroom, as the schools themselves. In other words, inept and indifferent to a child’s childhood needs.

Life learning is a principle – What the child explores, experiences and learns is for a lifetime. It is a learning that gets ingrained and becomes a foundation for right judgment, all through the adult years. Life learning happens with life i.e. real-life interactions as a teaching aid and involves all sensorial organs and the mind, and not just ears, the only body part that the preschool targets.

As a parent, what will you choose for your child as a process, from the above two scenarios, limiting or exploratory? Preschool or life learning?

An Adult Before Age Or Be A Child

Adults have already learnt, or so they presume. Adults are happy with what they know and exploit it to maximize their returns. They are amenable to instructions and comfortable with the top-down approach to take and follow orders. In other words, adults can complete one round of the house successfully in about 5 minutes or less without a break.

Comparatively, the child will never be able to make a round of the house in one shot. He/she will wait at every corner, look at the ceiling, behind the sofa, take out kitchen stuff and not put anything back. The child will never accomplish a task with the efficiency of an adult. Each task has a different meaning to a child vis-a-vis an adult. Left to choose, the child will not consider the task at all.

As a parent, what will you choose for your child as a persona, from the above two scenarios, becoming an adult before age or be a child? Preschool or life learning?

Objective Of Learning

Ultimately, it will come down to the objective of learning to you as a parent for your child. In simple terms, expecting the child to be a replica of you – adults, at the earliest possible? An initiation to the rat race, what life has become for us. Or allowing the child to have a chance to develop his/her thinking and perspective of life and the world? Letting the child be a child for some more time.

As a parent, what will you choose for your child as his/her future? An anxious and restless life with medical/engineering/whatever degree and yes, the preschools as a stepping stone? Or, empowering the child to let him/her choose the course of adult life with unknown consequences and yes, life learning as a hand-holding enabler?

Like every parent, we also want our twin daughters to become good human beings and do well in life. Just that, we have a disconnect with the current process – the utterly child-unfriendly Indian preschools as the first step of learning, which is not at all a learning. We believe life learning is the starting point of the learning journey for our twin daughters and a companion all through their life.

I will also write about how we have put the life learning curriculum for preschool in action for our daughters with a belief that the learning environment for children is everywhere.

What are your thoughts on the subject? Preschool or Life learning?

PS: I am a stay-at-home father to six-year-old twin daughters, neither an educationist nor an expert, just growing up together with my children. The above thoughts are an expression of parenting is having an opinion, getting involved and trying to better.

Stand UP, Speak OUT!!! #IAmAParent.

Why NCERT Does Not Publish A Preschool Syllabus

NCERT published a preschool curriculum in December 2019. That’s pretty strange. The reason being NCERT is a syllabus publishing organization. It has published the syllabus of Class I-XII. Its textbooks are considered a bedrock of India’s beloved entrance exams. CBSE’s board exams are based on NCERT textbooks. Then, why NCERT does not publish a preschool syllabus, meaning textbooks?

I have gone through the NCERT preschool curriculum, a huge letdown for the children of India and also the NCERT syllabus of Class I. Basis these two documents, I feel there could be three reasons why NCERT does not publish a preschool syllabus.

NCERT Does Not Factor Preschool For Class I syllabus

NCERT Class I syllabus was published in 2005 – when the world had not heard of Apple’s iPhone or WhatsApp/Instagram and there was no Amazon/Facebook in India. Yes, it is difficult to believe, but in 2021, the children of India study the same textbooks that the children studied in 2005. This actually makes NCERT class I textbooks a candidate to compete with dinosaurs.

The primordial nature of NCERT Class I textbook has consequences for the NCERT preschool syllabus. Let me explain in detail. When do kids learn alphabets A-Z and numbers 1-10 today? In preschools. At the age of 3-5 years. Rather, the private preschools can even go on to teach 4-5 letter words and numbers up to 500 to 3-5 year olds.

However, as per NCERT, the children are to be taught alphabets A-Z and numbers 1-10 in class I syllabus textbooks. Now, in that case, what to put in the preschool syllabus? NCERT can’t include the alphabets and the numbers. If it does, the class I syllabus needs to be changed. And if NCERT does change the class I syllabus, then it will have to change the class II syllabus too.

So, what’s the solution? Not publish a preschool syllabus, but a preschool curriculum – gibberish and perplexing document, which nobody can comprehend. This is the prime reason that NCERT does not publish a preschool syllabus as the Class I syllabus does not factor in the preschool existence. To cover up that gaffe, NCERT screws up the preschool syllabus.

A meaningful preschool syllabus would mean that all the NCERT syllabus textbooks from I-XII will have to take in a cascading change. It is, of course, anyways due for a course correction. But, NCERT won’t engage in such a large-scale update. So, the preschool syllabus becomes the scapegoat.

Preschools Are A Law Unto Themselves

CBSE conducts board exams – X and XII. It gives affiliations to schools for their students to appear for the board exams. However, it does not get into the preschools’ affiliation. Ditto for State Boards – They too don’t get into preschools. India has numerous preschools dotting nooks and corners of each city/town, but no education board has them in their fold.

So, for all practical purposes, preschools function merrily on their own, independently, with no accountability to anyone – on what/how they treat and teach the kids. Preschools aren’t hung up about syllabus and all such rubbish. Why bother when there is nobody to ask? NCERT is very much aware of this situation.

Even in CBSE-affiliated private schools, how many of them actually follow NCERT textbooks? None. NCERT knows this, as well. A fellow Government organization working in the same domain, which has regulatory powers, can’t make private schools follow NCERT textbooks. What’s the probability that private playschools, whom nobody regulates, will follow the NCERT syllabus? Zilch. Absolute Zero.

So, what does NCERT do? Just publish a curriculum, go around the country claiming that it has successfully guided the preschools, and go back to slumber. Rather than having an egg on the face by preschools not following your textbooks, better not to waste the efforts. So, NCERT does not publish a preschool syllabus.

The Curriculum Development Team

There are 25 subject experts on the curriculum development team – 16 professors and two of them are even retired professors. No doubt, all of them would be distinguished academicians but when in life would have they last dealt with 3-5 year olds directly, hands-on? What would be their memory of seeing kids in action, leave aside today’s kids?

What would you trust professors with? College education, not the preschool variety. But, NCERT does exactly the opposite and the results are for everyone to see. This team can’t comprehend the two generations gap, not even one, with today’s kids and comes up with a lofty document that has no valid reason to exist.

This seems to be the third reason that NCERT does not publish a preschool syllabus because the people NCERT employed can’t bend down to the level of 3-5 year olds, figuratively and literally.

The Self-Designed Syllabus

With the above state of affairs of indifferent NCERT and imperious private preschools, what should/can a parent do? Come up with one’s own preschool syllabus. Sounds exciting and challenging? It surely is.

Here is the preschool syllabus, sort of, that my wife and I came up with for our twin daughters.

PS: I am a stay-at-home father to six-year-old twin daughters, neither an educationist nor an expert, just growing up together with my children. The above thoughts are an expression of parenting is having an opinion, getting involved and trying to better.

Stand UP, Speak OUT!!! #IAmAParent.

NCERT Preschool Curriculum Is A Huge Letdown For The Children Of India

NCERT preschool curriculum was launched in December 2019. Hold your breath – before this, there was no uniform curriculum, rather no curriculum at all, for the preschools in India. Again, hold your breath – even after the launch of the NCERT preschool curriculum in 2019, there is no uniform curriculum, rather no curriculum at all, for the preschools in India.

The Indian preschools have no curriculum/syllabus/governing body/standardization template is a truth stranger than fiction. Let’s limit the current discussion to the NCERT preschool curriculum, how it perpetuates the mess of no curriculum and syllabus for the Indian preschools and is a huge letdown for the children of India.

NCERT Preschool Curriculum Is Not A Syllabus

The curriculum is broad-based and defines the universe of what all should/can be included. The syllabus is focused and defines the sub-set of what is actually included. Curriculum matters to academicians and theory discussions, syllabus matters to teachers and hands-on practitioners. NCERT preschool curriculum, as the name implies is a curriculum and not a syllabus.

This is a bit strange. NCERT’s core function is publishing the syllabus. It has formed the syllabus of Class I-XII, even though pre-historic and aimless. The hallowed entrance exams of JEE and NEET go by the prescribed NCERT textbooks. Surprise, surprise, NCERT does not formulate the preschool syllabus but a preschool curriculum.

Due to the curious anomaly of a curriculum and not a syllabus, there are no textbooks. There are no defined topics and subjects. Rather, there is nothing definitive at all in the curriculum. Apart from scratching one’s head at the use of jargon and lofty objectives, the curriculum serves absolutely no purpose in understanding how and what a child in preschool should be taught.

NCERT Preschool Curriculum Is Not Mandatory

This one is a real bummer. One might think that now, at least we have a curriculum. Maybe, the syllabus will follow or the curriculum will help in arriving at the syllabus. Surprise, surprise, there is an asterisk – conditions apply. The NCERT curriculum is suggestive and directional; it is not binding on the states. It does not refer to being compulsory or even considered by the preschools.

NCERT might argue that this flexible approach will aid innovation and not strait-jacket and stifle on-the-ground initiatives. Well, we are Indians. We do not have a great history of following the required mandates, how are the preschools going to follow the curriculum which is not enforced? The NCERT preschool curriculum has as much probability to succeed as the law against littering.

Fails To Address The Inequity

The NCERT preschool curriculum document rightly identifies that there is a wide variety of preschool services in our country – Anganwadi, private preschools etc, which have a huge disparity in infrastructural facilities, teacher qualifications, curriculum and pedagogies. Brilliant observation. And, then what does the document do? Gloss it over. Move onto the next sermon. Brilliant strategy.

The children, basis the family they are born in, start their preschool journey with an advantage or a drawback. This would then become a recurrent theme of their lives. NCERT could have tried to address this inequity of learning opportunities for the country’s future. Maybe, it thought that it is the responsibility of the Government. NCERT forgot that NCERT itself is the Government.

Teachers??

Throughout the NCERT preschool curriculum, it keeps referring to teachers. This is what teachers should do/plan/execute, roles and responsibilities etc. Presumably, nothing wrong with it. Just that, how much actual scope do the teachers have in a preschool set-up? Be it in Anganwadi or private preschools, the so-called teachers are mere fillers with suspect qualifications and motivations.

The real decision-makers are the owners/management of the private preschools and the higher-up Government officials. They control the purse strings and are responsible for making the resources available or off limits for the children’s learning. What does the NCERT preschool curriculum have to say about them? Silence.

What’s going to be achieved in preschool learning by letting the sharks devour the fees and grants without any concurrent deliverables? NCERT is awesome in sermonizing and also dragging its feet.

NCERT Preschool Curriculum’s Aim

The above downsides and other equally dreadful measures are made further insufferable by the stated aim of the NCERT preschool curriculum: Preparing the child for school.

There is no more disservice and letting down of children of India than this. Are the schools not enough to snatch away the childhood from the child that another three years are added to the ordeal? That too, when the child is just about getting to know and experience the fun and joy of being a child.

NCERT could have put the aim of the preschool curriculum as letting a child be and enjoying childhood. It could have imparted more learning to children than the current redundant version.

What are your thoughts on the NCERT preschool curriculum?

PS: I am a stay-at-home father to six-year-old twin daughters, neither an educationist nor an expert, just growing up together with my children. The above thoughts are an expression of parenting is having an opinion, getting involved and trying to better.

Stand UP, Speak OUT!!! #IAmAParent.

My daughters do not go to preschool

The first conversation with anybody and everybody, be it relatives, friends, cashier at the departmental store, security guard at the park etc entails one question for sure – which school do they go to? Twins get confused when the question, at times, gets aimed at them directly. After the answer from either of us the parents, we are given the ceremonial advice that maybe they are a bit young for this year, but next year surely they have to be at school, and we are let off the hook temporarily.

To be honest, we did sort of primary research about the preschools and we ended up with the following statements:

A high-quality preschool designed to set up young scholars for future academic, emotional, and social success.

Preschool provides a foundation for learning both socially and academically that will help your child succeed in the primary school.

Preschool is an opportunity for growth. One of the best things about preschool is that your children learn to learn.

Seemingly, there is nothing wrong at all in the above statements. They are all full of great purpose and intention. Along with these, there would also be preschools that would allow children to be children and not focus on learning, as such. We as parents are not totally convinced about the need for a formal environment for our three and a half-year-olds. We understand that not putting our daughters in the preschool/nursery, which seems to be the norm nowadays, will have consequences – mostly negative, as we are being told, and maybe some positive, just maybe.

Twins began identifying numbers around a year ago and they were doing it pretty well. After a couple of months, their mother got back to full-time work and I joined my daughters at home. As on date, the twins are still learning to count. I am sure that going to a preschool would have guaranteed the continuity of what they had already learnt and there wouldn’t have been any moving back in time.

We have melt-downs by any one of the girls or both of them quite frequently. I feel that if they were attending a preschool they would have learnt to keep their temper tantrums under control, as their environment would not have entertained their whims beyond a point.

Girls are free to get up at any time and hence, to sleep at any time; with no particular schedule for food and sleep. Is this a part of accepted parenting norms?

Whenever they get a chance to play with kids either of their age or any age for that matter, they fall head over heels as they do not get such chances often. They really enjoy playing with companions. Are we taking away their enjoyment by not sending them to preschool?

As and when they ever go to school, they may not be equipped with the requisite social or school etiquette. Their foundation may not be in sync with the requirements of the formal education system.

When we get to interact with parents of other children of the similar age-group, they proudly announce that their prodigies have mastered the alphabets and numbers, not just reciting but writing as well and moving on to two letter to three letter words and our daughters’ are nowhere near their achievements.

B +ve and O +ve are able to comprehend instructions and guidelines. But their will to follow them is all over the place. They are wild and untamed. So far, they have not been required to fall in line, to remain silent, to hush up their emotions,

My wife and I have no training or background in working with kids. We simply follow our instincts and our emotions, as well.

Most importantly, are we obsessive parents that we cannot let go of our children for the limited hours of the preschool?

With all of the above, still, our daughters do not go to preschool/nursery till now.

Why? Will present the other side of the story in the next blog.