First Steps : ‘University’ Nursery

16 Dec, 2016 - 00:12 0 Views
First Steps : ‘University’ Nursery

The ManicaPost

Morris Mtisi Education columnist —
LIKE most towns and cities in Zimbabwe, Mutare has ECD centres dotted all over. Every other home or big building has been converted into a pre-school. ‘Why is this so?’ every searching mind asks.

Is the answer because many Zimbabweans have overnight become very conscious of the critical importance of early childhood learning? Well, maybe. Or are these mushrooming ECD centres sheer money-making projects? That too maybe another answer.

Sheer shrewd entrepreneurship, and nothing of the love or understanding of early learning education! There is nothing wrong with both answers and indeed many of these are a result of a bit of both.

An unfortunate scenario, call it a disaster, is where a shrewd money-maker makes his or her money at a so-called pre-school at the expense of useful and quality early learning development.

Typical abuse of children! Yes, it becomes indeed a disaster if those running an ECD centre have no idea what children must learn, how they learn, how they must be guided and taught how to learn and above all how government through its Ministry of Primary  and Secondary Education has set to develop 21st century skills development right from pre-school.

Which simply means some ECD centres are best-practice models and others are perfect active disasters! And parents must know the difference before they dump their child at a pre-school.

FIRST STEPS NURSERY located at Number 17 Hawker Street, Yeovil in Mutare, is a nursery indeed; where little human seeds are planted, not buried. Planted to germinate and produce desired crop or fruit.

A good nursery is prepared to be a source of the desired tree for useful purpose in the later life of the nursery keeper and those who have the plan of starting huge orchards and tree plantations for economic advantage.

FIRST STEPS NURSERY (FSN) is a perfect model show-casing a perfect understanding of early childhood development. In a recent children’s graduation ceremony of the little graduates ready to proceed to ECD-B and Grade One next year held at the Courthauld Theatre in Mutare, there was no doubt that FSN provides a perfect environment for children’s total growth and unfolding; a nursery where knowledge and skills visibly determine direction and purpose of learning. FSN is literally a little university. The picture combo on this page is undisputable testimony to that honourable claim.

GRADUATION HIGHLIGHTS:
DRAMA:  Children acted children’s stories illustrating amazing talent of recitation and acting.

LANGUAGES: An amazing mastery of indigenous languages English and Shona and foreign languages, Portuguese and French.

STEM: Perfect displays of an appreciation of Science, use of Technology, a high understanding of Engineering skills and the inevitability of mastery of numerical configuration-Mathematics. Jah Prayza’s famous Ngazvienderere Mberi-musical STEM promo erupted into a joyous celebratory jingle. And children danced and loved every second of it.

PE.(Physical Education): The little children displayed highly sophisticated musically directed exercises and routines clearly demonstrating how mental development is nourished by physical exercises. Perfect displays!

Well, some can say every ECD centre knows the above and all strive to do the same.

True to an extent, though the levels and quality of the exhibitions at FSN were awesome. But what about the following?

1.Serious early learning of foreign languages French and Portuguese. The French teacher Abigail Mataranyika and her shining French ‘student’, Selma Muchena were amazing food for thought for parents and educationists present.

2.The Demonstration of giving: Each child brought a grocery item to give to a blind mother who every day sits at a city street corner begging. What a gesture of thought about the poor and suffering and an amazing display of a touching Merry Christmas spirit of giving and sharing with the less privileged!

Thank you FIRST STEPS NURSERY! Indeed you are the first, at least for this reporter, to publicly display such a touching lesson of thinking of the poor and less privileged in the community. And what a lesson for the children! Also what a lesson the nursery itself is! Shaping patriots, scientists for the country joyously STEMATIZING on their way to personal and national development, and above all children who do not only have a head full of brain, but active hands and body,  and of course a heart as well to feel for self and others! If that is not the curriculum and the Zimbabwe we want in education, I have no idea what we want for our children and our country.

The guest of honour at the FSN was Mrs Mademutsa. She was literally stunned by the exhibition of appropriate and quality ECD teaching and learning.

“I was highly impressed by the STEM consciousness and understanding developed at this tender stage of education, the poetic recitations, the rhymes and song, but above all the joyful display of infant patriotism illustrated through beautiful singing of the National Anthem and recitation of the National Pledge,” remarked the district schools inspector.

“I am pleasantly surprised at the perfect grasp and incorporation of the aim and direction of the new curriculum displayed here by the teachers and children.

‘‘Is it not wonderful that while higher levels of education still struggle to get to grips with the scope and gist of the new curriculum, an ECD centre is already right there at the centre of it all demonstrating what it endeavours to tap and achieve in our learners?” asked Mrs Mademutsa visibly stunned with the children’s displays.

Owned and run by Mrs Miriam Mataranyika, FIRST STEPS NURSERY offers everything good for the child, the parent, the government and country. This we did not hear. We saw, marvelled and enjoyed.

The Manica Post, especially this -your education materials guest columnist, congratulates FIRST STEPS NURSERY for a wonderful display of an ideal pre-school.

May I kindly invite you to come to DiamondFM Radio for an opportunity to share your ECD wisdom and secret of success with the public on HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH MM.

Finally, I must take this opportunity to let parents, education authorities and officers, schools and colleges know how both The Manica Post and DiamondFM Radio take education seriously.

And how both support the two ministries of education in their effort to shape the destiny of this beautiful country through 21st education skills! It is part of their business, indeed our business, to be not just reporters and writers of educational material or indeed mere broadcasters of educational programmes, but serious partners in the business of national development through education.

Share This:

Sponsored Links

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds