Earth Day (22 April 2013) has come
and gone but it does not mean that our effort shall stop there. In the face of
climate change in recent years, how can we do our part in saving our Mother
Earth? How can we educate our little ones on environment?
An effective environmental
education helps to shape in young children the lifelong attitudes, values and
patterns of behaviour toward natural environments. In fact, the approach used
to instil these values in the young ones shall not be based on classroom
learning only.
In the article “Getting
to know nature”, I.S. Shanmugaraj, head of the Malaysian Nature Society’s
education department, mentioned that “Young children learn about the
environment by interacting with it. So, educators and other adults must attend
to the frequency, nature and quality of child-environment interactions during
their early years. Many young children are at risk of never developing positive
attitudes and feelings towards the natural environment, or being familiar with
their environment.”
Moreover, practice and patience
lead to mastery. It is not about the type of skill the young ones is going to study.
It is about the creative application and practice of that skill itself, like
how Christopher from The
Art of Learning puts it: “Learning isn't mechanistic, it's
creative and organic. Skills and knowledge cannot be transferred, they must be
grown and mastered-- through creative application, imitation, practice and
concentrated effort.”
We are facing a situation, a
situation whereby education is centred on classroom learning and examination. Instead
of focusing on grades, let your child practice and grow. Let them play freely
in the greeneries for them to create a sense of appreciation and attachment
towards the nature. Let them “green n grow”.
The
compound of CECE is in the midst of greens, making it a conducive learning and
practice environment.
At
CECE, both the College students and preschool students are exposed to creative
application and practice for mastery of skills.
