In a school which I teach (Shall not mention which), I was required to write lesson plan for my arts & crafts lesson. I could not think of any objectives for my lesson. (Objectives have to start with "at the end of the lesson, children should be able to..." and the assessment has to be linked: "children are assessed on their ability to...") I was at a lost. My objective was to let them just explore and have fun! That's it!!
Then I was told, the objective of an arts and crafts lesson is to let children train their fine motor skills. Through pasting and painting. they train their fine motor skills. I agree that through arts and crafts, children develop their fine motor skills, but shouldn't the MAIN objective be focused on creativity? Do they need to be assessed on creativity?? Hello, children are waaaaaaay more creative than you, and it is these kind of highly structured close ended "ART" that we prepare that is squashing their creativity.
http://www.janetlansbury.com/2010/04/a-childs-creativity-how-i-learned-to-shut-up/
Learn to shut up, adults.
Just venting.
P/S: I have a huge stack of blank paper in class for children to JUST DRAW ANYTHING. They draw little lines and circles and can tell me what they've drawn. I label their artwork. And they love it! :)
Showing posts with label Kindergarten. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kindergarten. Show all posts
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Struggles
I have recently started a new job. I was quite looking forward to it as my friend who introduced me the job is very impressed with the system and everything. I thought it is play-based, but it's not. To be honest, it was a let down. However, I can't just leave the job after two weeks, can I? So I've decided to stay there and learn what I can and just make the best of the situation.
The sad thing is, I've got to conform and do what I've been taught not to do. I've got to accept that this is the kind of kindergartens parents in Malaysia would send their children to. The kind I would send my children to (unless I plan to home-school my children). So that they are prepared for primary school. Especially if they're going to Chinese school. How else can they manage and keep up with the mountain piles of homework?
Let me just describe briefly the center. I am at the 5 year old school. There are 5 classes with around 20 children in each class. Means there are 100+ five-year-olds. The classroom uses an open concept, meaning that there are no walls dividing the classes. So when one teacher teaches, the other teacher can hear. Children have their assigned places and it is very teacher-directed. The teacher will teach and the children will listen. They have homework to bring home everyday, and they will be having their exams next week. Poor children =( The subjects they study are mainly bahasa, chinese, english, maths, with about one or two periods of art & craft, gym, computer, science, innovation each week.
Obviously, the main focus is on language. And its mostly reading and writing. Even in language, they do not have much storytelling. For english its mostly learning blends, vowel sounds etc such as ba be bi bo bu. Lots and lots of drilling and repetition. For mandarin its mostly recognizing words. For bahasa its learning new words and separating suku kata etc. Very Very Dull, in my opinion.
But, thinking back, that is what I went through when I was in kindergarten. I pulled through and I am alright. Is it wrong that children have to go through this? I mean, they can always have their play after school, can't they? I am really confused as it is so hard to practice what I learn in the real world. I am kinda starting to doubt the effectiveness of play based methods in Malaysia. Don't get me wrong - I know that play is good for children, but how far can play help children in terms of discipline? And discipline is greatly required in our schooling systems.
Speaking about discipline - it is actually one thing I admire about the school; but at the same time, one thing I despise. It is admirable that they can get the children to follow instructions and to keep quiet. But sometimes I feel they go too far. In the sense that, I myself can't sit through a college lecture without chatting with my friends, or letting my mind wander all around the world...and u expect a FIVE-YEAR-OLD to?
I'm really really confused right now on what I should do. On what is the best way to combine the two extremes of play and of academic work. I guess I still have a long way to go and a lot of learning to do.
The sad thing is, I've got to conform and do what I've been taught not to do. I've got to accept that this is the kind of kindergartens parents in Malaysia would send their children to. The kind I would send my children to (unless I plan to home-school my children). So that they are prepared for primary school. Especially if they're going to Chinese school. How else can they manage and keep up with the mountain piles of homework?
Let me just describe briefly the center. I am at the 5 year old school. There are 5 classes with around 20 children in each class. Means there are 100+ five-year-olds. The classroom uses an open concept, meaning that there are no walls dividing the classes. So when one teacher teaches, the other teacher can hear. Children have their assigned places and it is very teacher-directed. The teacher will teach and the children will listen. They have homework to bring home everyday, and they will be having their exams next week. Poor children =( The subjects they study are mainly bahasa, chinese, english, maths, with about one or two periods of art & craft, gym, computer, science, innovation each week.
Obviously, the main focus is on language. And its mostly reading and writing. Even in language, they do not have much storytelling. For english its mostly learning blends, vowel sounds etc such as ba be bi bo bu. Lots and lots of drilling and repetition. For mandarin its mostly recognizing words. For bahasa its learning new words and separating suku kata etc. Very Very Dull, in my opinion.
But, thinking back, that is what I went through when I was in kindergarten. I pulled through and I am alright. Is it wrong that children have to go through this? I mean, they can always have their play after school, can't they? I am really confused as it is so hard to practice what I learn in the real world. I am kinda starting to doubt the effectiveness of play based methods in Malaysia. Don't get me wrong - I know that play is good for children, but how far can play help children in terms of discipline? And discipline is greatly required in our schooling systems.
Speaking about discipline - it is actually one thing I admire about the school; but at the same time, one thing I despise. It is admirable that they can get the children to follow instructions and to keep quiet. But sometimes I feel they go too far. In the sense that, I myself can't sit through a college lecture without chatting with my friends, or letting my mind wander all around the world...and u expect a FIVE-YEAR-OLD to?
I'm really really confused right now on what I should do. On what is the best way to combine the two extremes of play and of academic work. I guess I still have a long way to go and a lot of learning to do.
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