Quality pre-school education makes children future-ready – educators

(Updated 4:28 p.m., May 28, 2015) Two educators stressed the importance of pre-school to prepare children for higher learning and the workforce later in their life.

Dr. Leticia Peñano-Ho and Mary Joy Canon-Abaquin shared their views on the importance of pre-school education during a roundtable discussion on May 26 in Makati City. Photo from Perlas PR Comm., Inc.

Philippine Center for Gifted Education (PCGE) president Dr. Leticia Peñano-Ho and Multiple Intelligence International School (MIIS)  founding directress Mary Joy Canon-Abaquin pointed out during a roundtable discussion on Tuesday that pre-school education should be taken seriously by educators and parents. Proper pre-school education, they said, will give children the necessary skill sets to be future-ready kids who are critical thinkers and problem solvers.

"Para bang seed siya, malayo pa aanihin. Early childhood 'yan," said Abaquin. "So, the seed has to be very strong. The foundation has to be strong so that as they go through the ladder, they have the necessary skills and mindset."

During her presentation, Abaquin also emphasized that the first seven years of life are crucial in terms of brain development, including sensory pathways, language, and higher cognitive functions, making early childhood education more important than ever.

Ho said that pre-school education has to be "the very solid beginning" to a child's continued learning.

"The goal is really to make sure that higher education will be standing on a very stable foundation," she said.

The educators noted that pre-school is not just a gateway for values formation, but also gives children a chance to find their niche. Ho, who has worked with gifted children, said that intelligence without passion is nothing.

"No matter how bright, no matter how talented a person is, if there's no passion for it, it won't come out. We have a lot of intelligent people who are good for nothing," she said.

At an event last November, Ho mentioned that even those born gifted can lose his or her talents if these are not given proper attention.

"Being gifted is an innate potential that you are born with. Now, this does not necessarily develop," she said. Ho explained during the roundtable discussion that attention to a child's strengths should start in pre-school, where brain development is in its crucial stage.@gmanews.tv>

Not just academic smart

Both educators subscribe to the multiple intelligences framework introduced by American developmental psychologist Howard Gardner in the 1980s. It argues that people have different strengths and intelligences.

"We have to be respectful of the different learning styles of the children in the classroom," Abaquin said.

Using the framework, Abaquin introduced eight kinds of strengths that a kid can discover and nurture during pre-school years.

Abaquin argued that a person may not be academically excellent, but he or she may be good in other fields and can be:

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• Word smart
• Number smart
• Picture smart
• Music smart
• Nature smart
• Body smart
• People smart
• Self smart

"No doors closed for kids kasi hindi mo alam eh," she added. — BM, GMA News