Aftershocks, kindergartens reborn (3)

"A pencil, a notebook and a day in a classroom. That's life for most children in a rural China kindergarten," summarizes Chen.

And the situation contributes to low social and emotional well-being among students, especially those from ethnic-minority, remote communities, warns the education expert.

"We try to introduce the concept of child-friendly kindergartens to these areas, meaning building the kindergarten and carrying out education based on the children's needs," she says.

"Good early childhood education has four characteristics. First, it's inclusive, open to all children, boys and girls, the able and disabled, the rich and the poor. Second, it's safe, healthy and appealing to children. Third, it's scientific. Education should be based on a story-based curriculum and children encouraged to learn knowledge appropriate to their age through games. Fourth, it's participatory. Families and communities should get involved." (more)

TEACHERS' LESSONS

Anchang Kindergarten, the largest of its kind in Beichuan, has become a pioneer for the UNICEF program. It received toys, furniture and books from the organization.

Now, it is home to 754 children and 32 teachers. All the teachers, including Liang Juan, the kindergarten head, have participated in UNICEF training over the past three years.

"It's a whole new experience for us. In the beginning, we didn't even know how to use the toys, let alone the new educational concept they tried to seed," says Liang, 32, who became a kindergarten teacher 13 years ago.

As part of the training, Liang and her colleagues have visited big kindergartens in Chengdu, the provincial capital.

"I saw the gap immediately. It's not all about the building and facilities; more importantly, it's here," Liang points a right index finger at her head.

"The concept of child-friendly kindergartens is to respect the rules of children development. We used to teach children what we believed was good for them, but seldom thought it through if it was really what they needed," she says.