In a tourism state, education is of the utmost importance, not just for the obvious reasons of being able to communicate effectively and using business acumen well, but for moral reasons as well.
A good education is a well-rounded education that helps to shape character. Morality, fairness, justice and civic sense are concepts that are much needed in the tourism industry to attract tourists and make Goa a repeat destination. And this education must start young.
Dr Celsa Pinto, erstwhile Director of Education and author of books such as Concise History of Goa and many more, has written a new book focusing on pre-primary school education.
The book Building the Base: Preschool Curriculum for Teachers and Parents has been published by Goa 1556, and covers the topics of motor and physical development, sensory development, personal-emotional-social development and the world beyond the school, among others.
The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the true goal of education.Martin Luther King Jr
Dr Pinto recounts what the visionary Martin Luther King Jr once said, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the true goal of education.”
And indeed, her intention with this book is to move away from conditioning young children to be engaged entirely in academics.
She says, “Despite official stipulations, pre-school teachers and even parents feel compelled to burden young minds with formal education – textbooks, homework and examinations. This sense of compulsion comes from a widespread belief that unless the academic training of a child starts early, it would not be able to cope with the competitive ethos of later school years.”
Specific learning experiences and activities will create a thinking and creative young individual, a social well-being that will lay the foundations for a formal school careerDr Celsa Pinto - Author, Historian, Former Director of Education, Goa
With Dr Pinto’s vast background and experience in education, she comprehends the result of this would be restriction to rote learning and natural abilities not being encouraged.
“I support a play-way methodology that will contribute towards a child’s acquisition of knowledge and understanding and, above all, the development of skills, interests and attitudes. Specific learning experiences and activities will create a thinking and creative young individual, a social well-being that will lay the foundations for a formal school career,” she says.
This book is a welcome addition to improving education in Goa. The dearth of education-related books in the State is lamentable.
As a solution, Dr Pinto emphasises the need for developing a culture of reading among teachers and teacher educators and encouraging participation in seminars and conferences, writing of papers and articles, conducting mini researches, and so on.
If it is beyond the capacity of one individual, then multiple people could have their research and significant papers compiled into a book.
The knowledge and data thus acquired could become a book that will aid the advancement of education in Goa. If it is beyond the capacity of one individual, then multiple people could have their research and significant papers compiled into a book.
Dr Pinto goes on to say, “I feel that the teacher education institutes and colleges, together with the university, should hold research-oriented annual seminars on different aspects and fields of education, the proceedings of which could be published to bring out books of worth on education.”
Building the Base: Preschool Curriculum for Teachers and Parents aims at bringing uniformity to the way pre-school level education is approached. At the moment, this level of education does not have a regulatory system and most of the teachers are untrained.
The book would also serve as a guide and aid to both pre-school teachers as well as parents. Aside from paying attention to the developmental growth of learners, they would know of the different activities suitable for each stage of development.
Matters of the heart, which involve values of kindness, generosity, humility, etc, together with those of the hand, which provide skills and a sense of creativity and that of dignity of labour, face neglect.Dr Celsa Pinto - Author, Historian, Former Director of Education, Goa
This curriculum will also be very useful at the teachers’ training colleges for the DEd and DElEd courses.
Dr Pinto says, “Education, in my opinion, should encompass three H’s – the head, the heart and the hand. In India much emphasis is laid on the head and that too, just a segment of it – the cognitive part. Matters of the heart, which involve values of kindness, generosity, humility, etc, together with those of the hand, which provide skills and a sense of creativity and that of dignity of labour, face neglect.”
Goa is doing better than other states in the area of education according to the indicators of MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Development), New Delhi, because of which it receives less funds for centrally-sponsored schemes.
The State has a literacy rate of more than 90 per cent, close to 100 per cent enrolment, relatively good retention rate, good teacher-pupil ratio, a majority of female teachers and reasonably good infrastructure.
Building the Base: Preschool Curriculum for Teachers and Parents will be released on December 4, 2024, at 4.45 pm at Broadway Book Centre, Panjim.
Dr Pinto says, “In a nutshell, we have sheer memorisation and a textbook and examination-oriented system. No wonder that the child has no love for learning and is not being stimulated enough to grow intellectually.”
Building the Base: Preschool Curriculum for Teachers and Parents will be released on December 4, 2024, at 4.45 pm at Broadway Book Centre, Panjim.
DETAILS
WHAT: Book release of Building the Base: Preschool Curriculum for Teachers and Parents
WHERE: Broadway Book Centre, Panjim
WHEN: December 4, 2024, at 4.45 pm
RSVP: +91 9822122436/9822487659