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Bangalore
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Pre-schooling blues
COME APRIL, young parents will be making a beeline for admitting their children to `pre-schools'. The exercise, preparatory to getting the young ones enter the bigger campus, may seem beneficial, as it introduces them to the three R's - reading, writing and arithmetic. But experts at a workshop organised by the Indian Council for Child Welfare in Madurai last week enlightened the teachers on the "dangers" involved in exposing the toddlers to the existing curriculum in pre-schools. Some of the startling revelations were: The introduction of preschoolers to the three R's leads to backbone/postural defects, problems of arms, hands and wrists, weak eyesight, headache, gastro-intestinal problems, irregular bowel movements, asthma/respiratory problems, sleeplessness and lethargy. It adversely affected their skills in concept formation, reasoning autonomous thinking, observation, self-confidence, self-expression, communication, self-esteem and cooperative spirit. It also resulted in frustration and depression. These revelations were based on the findings of a project undertaken by the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. The children, the participants were told, were forced to bear a "dangerous burden" at the kindergarten sections. Though teachers were ready to adapt their strategies in favour of the children, the school managements were not, lamented one of the participants.
From Annamalai S
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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