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Aim: To improve the standard of education and increase the village involment in the local school, by creating a pre-school program taught by local village women.
Assistance: Would you like to donate
skills and time to train the pre-school "ammas",
or funds to pay their salaries?
The need
The creation of a pre-school progam aims to overcome some typical educational
shortcomings which commonly occur in village Nepal. Often there is a high rate of teacher
absenteeism and poor teacher performance, as the teachers are often Hindu, and the
students are Tibetan or Sherpas. Culturally distanced, there appears little active
engagement in the outcome or welfare of the students.
Students and teachers quickly become bored as traditional teaching in Nepal often involves rote learning with little effort placed on understanding the basic concepts. In addition, there is generally a complete lack of any teaching materials, or absence of teacher training opportunities. Whilst the Kangchenjunga School Project had constructed school buildings in the villages of Folay and Ghunsa, which provided much needed facilities, it was realised there was still room for improvement in the education process. Reports filed to the Education Officer in Taplejung documented the widespread dissatisfaction with the teachers provided by the Nepalese Government to the Schools built by KSP.
Due to these shortcomings, a pre-school program for children aged 3 to 5, using local village women as teachers, was initiated in 1997. One of the Kangchenjunga School Project's long term goals is to train teachers who hail from the area, share more in common with their students, and are more likely to stay in the region on a long term basis. The pre-school program is an important part of this goal.
Montessori Teaching Method
The pre-school program being introduced involves the use of the "Montessori" teaching
method. This approach allows a child to discover the joy of learning through
hands-on manipulation of objects and detailed observation of the natural environment.
This occurs with the help of a guide/teacher who spends most of his/her time as an observer,
allowing the child to follow their own particular interest at any given time, then acting
as a guide or counsel to insert educational comments at key points.
By using the Montessori method of learning, it is not unusual for a child of six years to be ready to enter first grade already having mastered introductory reading skills in their mother tongue, and having established a sound foundation of mathematical concepts.
The first day of the Folay school was a complete success! We began by introducing ourselves, "Mero nam Susan ho", and progressing around the circle so that each child and mother stated their name. Then we would point to a child and ask what their name was. The children caught onto this game very quickly. Then one of the mothers brought out the box containing the farm animals. She pulled out each animal individually asking "Yo ke ho?" The children were thrilled with the small animals and would call out their names in Tibetan. The two mothers as well as the children seemed to enjoy this game very much.
After playing with the animals we asked the mothers which game they thought would be best to
introduce next. The senior "Ama" suggested the colored counting sticks.
We were delighted with this suggestion as she seemed to remember from the previous day our
explanation of introducing the materials from the concrete to the abstract. The younger
mother bought the sticks over and rolled out the corresponding mat.
The children were very excited by this game and the circle closed immediately. The mother held up the 'one' stick and said the number aloud in Tibetan ("chick"). One of the youngest children picked up the one, held it in her hand, and then walked around the room saying "chick, chick, chick". We were thrilled with this behaviour and emphasized to the two mothers that this is exactly how young children learn. One child spontaneously began clapping and repeating "chick, nee, chick, nee" (one,two) and the others followed his lead. The mothers were obviously proud of the little three year old girl who had identified the number two stick independently.
One of the youngest children cried and had difficulty separating from her mother. It was suggested that the mother accompany her until she felt more comfortable. This same young child, two and half years old, was easily engaged in the activities and then easily seperated from her mother in the afternoon session. In fact, this little girl cried when preschool was over and her mother had to carry her out of the classroom.
The pre-school programs in Folay and Ghunsa have started as a great success.
The mothers clearly see the value of the learning tools and the Montessori method
of teaching has aroused their curiosity to explore different approaches
to learning. There is an encouraging shift in attitude away from the rigid rote learning
approach generaly practiced in Nepal.
Six months after starting the program a Californian teacher (Wilana Hamilton) spent six weeks living in Ghunsa to offer more extensive traning. However, the mothers had already completely absorbed and assimilated the role of pre school teacher, and did not feel the need for further training considering themeselves already 'expert'.
Clearly, the mothers had adapted what they had been shown and the villages were obviously delighted and stimulated by the teaching materials and methods. In fact, the mothers requested an extension to the program from half-day to full-day. With an improvement of the pre-school facilities that would include a warm stove and a food preparation capability, this is an appropriate goal.
The Kangchenjunga School Project continues to provide teaching materials and to train and pay the salaries of the mothers who work as the teachers. Special materials have also been introduced into the higher grades. A long term goal is to expand the pre-school program into an adult literacy program, with an emphasis on environmental conservation and preventative health care.
Would you like to donate
skills and time to train the pre-school "ammas",
or funds to pay their salaries?
| Home | Current Projects: - Overview : Lelep - Health - Fridges - History - Education | Past Projects | |
