Literacy initiative enhances teaching skills for early childhood sector
Published:Tuesday | August 27, 2024 | 12:07 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
Early childhood educator Missie Gloria Pennant found that the Read Right from the Start literacy intervention programme offered by United Way of Jamaica (UWJ) has changed her life.
Pennant was one of 100 teachers across six parishes who completed an eight-month training programme that was freely offered in collaboration with the United Way of Greater Atlanta and language and literacy experts from the Rollins Centre.
The Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund also partnered in this project.
Speaking last Friday at the graduation for the programme’s second cohort at The University of the West Indies (UWI) Regional Headquarters, Pennant stated that this “excellent” programme taught her a great deal that could “far transcend the classroom”.
She said the training will allow her to see the classroom differently and transform it into “a better, richer and a more friendly environment”, adding that the range of online platforms she was introduced to can broaden her expertise.
The programme, which was open to early childhood educators and Early Childhood Commission (ECC) representatives, allowed participants to improve their ability to teach, motivate and inspire children from birth to age six to develop strong language and literacy skills.
Twenty-one early childhood practitioners, including ECC managers and supervisors, development officers, principals, and senior teachers, were also trained and coached as master trainers of the Read Right from the Start strategy.
Through the Read Right from the Start, high-quality, inclusive classroom spaces to infant schools that serve children with special needs are being built. The UWJ reports that three inclusive classrooms are 90 per cent complete and a handover ceremony will be held soon. The beneficiary schools are Alley Infant in Clarendon, St Michael’s Primary and Infant in Kingston, and Martin’s Primary and Infant in St Mary.
In a testimonial, Sasha-Ann Robinson said she had used the knowledge she had gained in the programme to guide her own daughter and she has observed improvements in her literacy.
“Definitely, September coming, I’ll be using it,” she added.
INVESTING IN EARLY YEARS
Hilary Coulton, public relations and administrative manager of CHASE Fund, emphasised the value of investing in children’s early years as this is a crucial developmental stage that will shape their academic future as well as their lifetime capacity for thinking critically, interpersonal relationships, and engagement with the world.
“It is our collective responsibility, all of us, all the project partners, to ensure that every child, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to develop strong literacy skills from an early age,” she added.
Coulton noted that to truly bridge the literacy gap, the broader systemic inequities that contribute to disparities in education must be addressed.
Taneshia Stoney Dryden, the CEO of UWJ and keynote speaker, acknowledged that teaching young children was a “herculean task” and commended the teachers for their commitment.
Stoney Dryden shared her personal experience, recounting that upon enrolling at The UWI, she was invited by a community member who had started a basic school to teach there. She expressed humorously that she “only survived” one term of the school year.
“I understood that that wasn’t an easy feat. It wasn’t just reading, writing and arithmetic. You’re teaching babies how to be human, how to be kind, how to see the world from the eyes of possibilities and hope, how to be empathetic, how to be creative, and how to think critically. This is a specialised area; it’s an art,” she marvelled.
Given this understanding, Stoney Dryden encouraged educators to prioritise self-care so they can “generously pour” into their students’ lives.