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Educare - Playing Is Childs' Work
Educare Defined Educare can be defined as the combination of education and care. It is the process through which adults help small children to begin to understand the world around them. Instilling basic knowledge in children such as the names of objects that they commonly encounter, colours, and number and letter recognition equips them with the tools they need to get an educational head-start, to learn how to learn and to make sense of their environment through communication. The Importance of Educare Experts argue that the importance of educare in any child's development lies in its role in moulding children into adults that have the tools to be well integrated in their communities socially, economically and culturally. Educare, traditionally a practice undertaken by parents in the home, has been dramatically impacted by a number of social factors. These include urbanisation and industrialisation which have been cited as key factors in the demise of the family unit. Off-shoots of this include the degeneration of traditional child care practices, the increase in the number of single parent families and the ever-growing number of women in the workforce. The Case of the Disadvantaged Communities This is particularly true in disadvantaged communities where even in families where both parents are present, both parents need to work leaving little time for the education and stimulation that is integral to their child's development. In these communities educare has an even greater role to play because children need to be compensated for what they are lacking in terms of their home lives. Grass Roots Initiatives with a Lot of Passion but No Capacity Sadly however, while educare is often prioritised by the communities, they often lack the resources to stay afloat. In addition, educare centres face a number of formidable challenges that seem to render their plight a hopeless one. With the little that they have, educare centres confront malnutrition, a lack of basic services and support, as well as the ongoing onslaught of HIV/AIDS, on a daily basis. Many of these centres are grass-roots initiatives that are indicative of the commitment being shown by parents and educators within these communities. However, despite their best intentions, many are doomed to fail because of the degree to which they are resource deprived. Were this not the case, these initiatives would have the potential to make a significant difference in their communities at the level at which it is most necessary. The long term benefits of this, both for the individual children benefiting from this and for the communities as a whole are innumerable. The difficulty then lies in finding the financial and material resources to assist the more active educare centres in such a way as to make their continuance viable. Through donors and the charities that they support, this is possible. With financial backing, educare centres can invest in proper teachers, proper equipment and resources and all the implements necessary to make a child's early education successful, so as to equip them adequately for formal schooling, and render them productive members of the societies from which they come. Acknowledgement, Eric Atmore: "A Community Development Approach to Early Childhood Educare Intervention in Disadvantaged Communities" (1993) Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Breadline Africa is a charity organisation that acts as a non-profit middleman between donors and organisations that require aid. With a number of projects and areas, Breadline Africa supports all aspects of community development in South and Southern Africa. Donate now to do your bit for children needing better educare facilities to prepare them for a better life. |
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