From The Guardian – October 27, 2008
The Early Childhood Development Association of P.E.I. has developed a new vision to allow Islanders and decision-makers to see more clearly why proper early learning is so important for children.
Last week, the association launched a five-year plan to promote affordable access to sustainable, high quality early childhood education.
“We believe it is critical that community and government and partners realize that learning begins at birth and we need to consider the full spectrum of education, and not just be looking at the public school system,” said Sonya Corrigan, executive director for the Early Childhood Development Association.
She said early childhood educators have been feeling as though government and the public don’t really understand what they do and why the training they have received is important to children’s early learning experiences.
The curriculum offered in the Island’s early learning centres is play-based. Getting people to understand what this means and why it is important has been a huge challenge, Corrigan said.
“The greatest misconception is around the value of play and how that is foundational in building the success of the later years academically and socially.
“Play is fun, but play is children’s work. It’s not a formal ‘sit down at a desk and have the teacher take a lesson’ but it is a learning environment.”
A number of early childhood educators (ECEs) and operators attended the official launch of the new vision and marketing campaign.
The association has a new, interactive website and will run advertisements in The Guardian and on radio and TV to promote early childhood education.
Doreen Baird, an ECE and association board member, said she hopes the attention to the sector will help parents know what to look for in their early learning centres.
“There are high-quality centres available for our children and with this marketing campaign, we’re going to help everybody to understand that they are out there and help them to know what to look for in those centres,” Baird said.
Fellow ECE and board member Tracy Craig agreed, saying it will help children to have more information available to parents about what Island centres are offering and what the value is of ECEs on P.E.I.
“Having that out there and having people understand what that means will in turn help our children because they’re going to reap the benefits of having those professionals being in that licensed environment with those educators every day,” she said.
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