By: Jeneth J. Barba
The first year of a child’s life in school is fundamentally important. This is where the Preparatory Department of an educational institution plays its role in providing early childhood education to young boys and girls. What the young kids experience and learn during the early school years concering all facets of life (psychological, emotional, academic, moral, social and spiritual) particularly in a Catholic School serve as the foundation of their learning abilities which can have a major influence on their success later in life.
The Department of Education (DepEd) strongly advocates for pre-school education or kindergarten which is the transition stage between informal literacy and formal literacy (Grade 1 to 12). As a matter of fact, DepEd mandated that only those who have had pre-school or Kindergarten will be allowed to enroll in Grade 1. According to DepEd, the pre-elementary education is the period when walking, talking, self-esteem, vision of the world and moral foundations are established, including the child’s skills in listening, reading and writing.
Being a Pre-Elementary teacher here at the School of Saint John Bosco (SSJB) is both challenging and fulfilling. I recall my co-teachers told me that handling and teaching very young pupils are relatively the hardest as most of them do not know yet how to socialize with other kids and would prefer to be with their parents all the time, which should not be the case. These are the kids who do not know anything about school and on how it is to be in school. In fact, I have kids who never held a pencil or couldn’t write their names. There are some who cry when nature calls. These kind of instances tested my patience and perseverance as a teacher, but I had to accommodate every single of their needs.
Look at them now, and they don’t even realize it, that in their almost 5 months here in SSJB, all of them got to know how to socialize with their class and school mates! They have joined in all the School’s events and programs and almost 90% of them got to learn how to read, count and write, even copying some of my boardworks.
I simply looked at them and thanked God for the blessings, for the privilege of making me an instrument to teach these young kids. All my hardships and sufferings in my short term of teaching paid off; it brought happiness to my heart! Of course, these accomplishments would have not been possible without the kind assistance of the kids’ loving and caring parents.
What I can say now is that, I am” proud of the accomplishments of my pupils” and “grateful for the dedication of their parents” too!