Pre-school operators receive training
News of the less-than-impressive performance on this year’s P.S.E. has authorities searching hard for answers. One place they may find some comfort is in the continued improvement of standards on the first rung on Belize’s educational ladder–our pre-schools. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods reports.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
It’s not the first time that the pre-school unit has held basic early childhood training for teachers. Each year the Ministry of Education conducts the sessions to ensure that children are receiving the foundation that will benefit them later when they enter primary school.
Margaret Williams, Resource Co-ordinator, Pre-school Unit
“We’ve sat down and discussed and we’ve come to the conclusion the because early childhood education is the most important part of the whole education process, we’ve decided that we need to put as much emphasis in this area as we can. And so this is why we’re doing this.”
The classes are attended by persons who will be opening their own pre-school in September and teachers already in the system.
Maria Howie, Tutor, Funducation
“At the moment, I have a couple of pre-schoolers at my school and I had little knowledge on how to work with them. So when this course was offered, I decided to take. So I have a deeper knowledge now of how to work with pre-schoolers.”
“I love every moment of it. I learnt new ways to teach children, which is completely different from teaching children from primary school. It’s true you have to get very involved with them, but on the whole I really like it, it’s motivating and they taught us a lot of things on how to work with pre-schoolers.”
Today, pre-schoolers were invited to the training to help the participants demonstrate just how much they’ve learnt in the past three weeks.
Michelle Stockman, Pre-school teacher, Las Flores
“It just helps us to get a good idea how to best work with them, how to influence them as best as we can and even just ready them for the next school years to come. We’re giving them a base, and it’s a big responsibility, but thanks to the training it’s good.”
Jacqueline Woods
“What’s the situation at Las Flores, do they have a pre-school there?”
Michelle Stockman
“There’s a pre-school there right now, yes. Right now they’re actually finished right now, but I was there for the whole year. But now, I have training so I have even more of an impact and more of an understanding of these children so that I can teach them better, enjoy songs, games, doing centres like this, like you see.”
Elizabeth Trapp, Participant
“It’s been something that I have been looking forward to do for a long time. But having children of my own, I didn’t get out to do it. Now that I have the opportunity to do so, I’m trying to do my best in the getting out in the field, in working with children.”
Jacqueline Woods
“So do you plan open you own pre-school or you plan to work with someone?”
Elizabeth Trapp
“Well for the mean time I’ll try to work with someone until I can do my own. If I could get someone to help me finance a pre-school, I would be able to do it.”
A total of twenty-three participants attended this year’s training. Reporting for News 5, Jacqueline Woods.
Today, at the conclusion of the training, all the participants received certificates.
