Analysis of Pre-school in Three Cultures - Essay Example

?Analysis of Pre-school in Three Cultures This analysis is based on the video produced as the result of a collaborative research effort by Dr. JosephJ. Tobin, along with three other subject specialists. The research is funded by East-West Center, National Institute of Mental Health, University of Hawaii. Dr. Tobin is a human development specialist in Japan and has been working in Department of Family Studies, University of Hampshire. The video is comparative study of pre-school cultures in Japan, China and USA to highlight the differences and similarities in the classroom management, teaching techniques, and human development approaches adopted by each of these child care centers and school. The research is conducted at Komatsudani, a Pre-school, Daycare Center in Japan, Dong-feng Pre-school, Daycare Center and boarding in China and Saint Timothy’s Pre-school and Daycare Center in Honolulu Hawaii. The video also draws a comparison of teaching methodologies and techniques and how they differ among cultures. The constructive and behavioral approach in teaching the children may be termed as superior, average and below average depending on the application of these techniques. The video is reflective because when a Chinese teacher criticizes a Japanese teacher’s dealing with a misbehaving child, the criticism itself gives us an insight into the behavioral aspects of Chinese culture. However, Dr. Tobin has cautioned that individual behaviors in his video do not represent a national culture or behavior rather they only help us to understand the teaching techniques in these distant and diverse cultures. Constructivism is a teaching technique that helps to enrich and build new mental modals through personal and practical experience. The application of this technique is different in all the three culture targeted in this video. At Komatsudani, the thump rule is learning through interaction. In unstructured classes of mixed aged children elders interacts with infants quite frequently. Everyday children clean the school with the help of teacher at a fix time. Exercise and other group activities are good learning tools employed at Komatsudani. The attendance is taken with the help of a daily child monitor who counts the students present in the class. Teacher and students repeat the date, day and whether aloud which gives them knowledge of their surroundings and time. Thus most of the time a child is doing something himself to learn and practice a new idea which helps to mature his mental modals about various real life phenomena. There is a 120 minute academic session with very little explicit academic instructions and children are supposed to learn by practice. The teacher encourages the children involvement in non-academic activities like singing, telling jokes and stories during these academic sessions. After lunch break the children are allowed to play all around the school where they learn through mutual interaction and cooperation. Teacher encourages unattended mutual resolution of disputes among children which instigate problem solving behavior among children. The teachers at Japanese pre-school have strong believe that problem solving and dispute resolutions, and empathy are important skills that a child learns through early childhood fighting and interaction with other children. Thus finding a solution himself is constructive for his learning experience. Origami, a Japanese art of making shapes by folding paper is yet another way of constructive learning at pre-schools. Children learn the persistence when they encounter problems, cooperate with each other. According to teachers origami is an important tool in constructive learning. At Dong-feng pre-school and day care center in China, the principal thinks that it is good for children as they learn to interact with each other. In classrooms there are several activities like children sing songs and match wooden elements with drawing on a page. At Saint Timothy in Honolulu Hawaii children come and have free play before the school formally starts. The school has some animals to let children have some interaction with them. A more practical approach is adopted while teaching children new things. Like a use of similes to introduce similarities and differences between objects and ideas. Teacher introduces themes at the beginning of the day which is followed by children the whole day. The themes are small projects and ideas which are taught and rehearsed the whole day. Children solve simple puzzles and teacher describes them ideas, words and terms while they play. Home area is an easy way of teaching behavior that children may apply at home. Children enjoy playing roles of a father or mother and this can be very helpful in taming their expressions and behaviors. Imaginative plays are also administered to encourage and stimulate imaginative qualities of children. These imaginative and home plays are important to learn how children see their surroundings and how they want it to be. Many other activities like blocks, streaming beads encourage the use of various qualities that children posses and help them to display these qualities and get praised. There are a lot of developmental choices available to children contrary their counterpart pre-schools in China and Japan. The American school tends to use the creativity of children to make new things at their projects in school while Japanese offer some creativity in contrast to Chinese where children have little or no creativity exercises at all. Behaviorism aims to bring measureable positive changes in children behaviors through practice and learning. Behavioral disobedience or rudeness are difficult to control and require a lot more methodical approach to address the actual issue behind any such behavioral problem. You may teach them to obey through self example of doing something good and polite repetition of tasks you designed to inculcate some basic learning outcomes in the children. A disciplined and self controlled behavior may help children to learn the skills of self control and disciple in the process. If child has some dispute with other child at play or learning area the American teacher encourage children to express their grievances instead hitting or entangling with each other. While in Japanese teacher encourages mutual resolution of disputes thus instigate problem solving behavior among children. In Komatsudani teachers’ approach towards children disputes is of indifference which encourages mutual settlements. The teachers at Japanese pre-school have strong believe that problem solving and dispute resolutions, and empathy are important skills that a child learns through early childhood fighting and interaction with other children. Thus finding a solution himself is constructive for his learning experience. Constructive and behavioral techniques and methodologies in three countries best suit to their cultures. The approaches are hard learned and time tested therefore, more often than not any change is resisted strictly. However, in changing environment of modern societies these methods and techniques are required to be reviewed and revisited constantly to bring about the changes that may help to instigate more practical and applicable approaches towards inculcating constructiveness and behavioral upholding of the children. The best approach is to let children learn through personal experience and a display of exemplary behavior. My personal reaction to the study of the research conducted by Dr. Tobin is very healthy and I learnt many good things from various pre-school cultures. Specially, the constructivism of the American pre-schools is relatively superior to the rest of two pre-school cultures. However, the behavioral approach in Japanese pre-schools, particularly in dispute resolution among children is more practical and appealing than the way it is tackled in China and America. Read More