Till recently six year was a magic number. At about this age a change takes place in our life when we leave the cozy and safe environment of home and enter the unknown world, of the school, where we are thrown amongst a bunch of kids our age and forced to learn social skills in a practical way. Suddenly we must accept authority of a teacher instead of our parents. This authoritative figure, most of the time, was impersonal, seemingly loveless and more authoritarian and disciplinary. Parents are required to relinquish some of their authority over their children to school- teachers and the staff, which in turn is under control of a higher authority the local, state and the federal government.

The pre-school is defined in the age group from 3 to 5 years. So far, in the industrial societies where both parents become part of the work force, children of this age group were left under the supervision of either in-house grandparents or to privately run Day Care Centers. The regulations under which these centers run are minimal. Thus there are not many expectations from Day Care Centers except that a child’s physical needs are met.

Recent discoveries in child psychology have determined that the years 3 to 5 are most significant in the intellectual development of a person. Some innovative entrepreneurs have devised good programs to cater to this group, such as Montessori System. But the benefits of these advanced methods are available to the children of enlightened parents, and since these come with a stiff price most parents skip this option, particularly when virtually free alternative in the form of live-in grandparents is available (at least in the case of Asian immigrant families).

In advanced Western nations, rapid changes are taking place in the educational system to address the paramount needs of the 3 to 5 year age group. Ahead of the pack is France with Italy as a close second. In France a very extensive and rigorous one-year course followed by a tough examination, for certification as a pre-school teacher, is a must. Since the salary and the respect now being accorded to these pre-school teachers is equivalent or better than high school teachers, these programs have started attracting the best talent available. It certainly is an enviable situation.

In USA many years back, a need base attempt was made in the Head Start program. This program is mainly for a few months before the start of the formal school year and primarily for under privileged families. But now a full-fledged debate is underway on the need for a Universal Pre-School program. Interestingly there are no two opinions about its extreme usefulness and advantages and the only thing that stands in its way from being implemented is the cost.

The first state in the Union to adopt it is Georgia. In Chicago certain school districts have ventured on their own initiative to start this much-needed program. These initiatives have passed its first test with flying colors. Think tanks, like the Brookings Institute that carefully scrutinized and evaluated these programs, are all kudos for it. The tremendous advantages cited are, appreciable fall in drop out rate in later school years, more aspirants and achievers for college education, better citizens, seeds of success get planted, and a life long love for learning.

Another key word in administration of this program is quality. The nationwide program in France gives its highest rank to quality of teachers, their training and their performance. Quality brings reputation for the institution. In Chicago parents are seen lining up overnight at admission times to get their children accepted. Quality and reputation go hand in hand. The Khalsa Montessori School in Phoenix is probably the most loved school in the area and has a long waiting list for admission. Once their child is accepted, parents are willing to drive scores of miles every day to bring their kids to school and to take them back. This century is of the brainpower. The race for a better pre-school education has already started to gain momentum.

Here is an enormous opportunity and challenge to all the community leaders, especially the managements of the Gurdwaras all over the country nay the world. Fortunately, a Sikh has no duality. Even the name “Sikh” means “a student”. A Sikh is a student from birth till death. Further, Guru Angad Dev has ordained, vidya veechaari tan parupkari (pursuit of knowledge is the road to service of humanity). In actuality, Gurdwaras should be our institutes of learning. Gurdwara run programs should be structured to address the educational needs of the entire community. It is admirable that many Gurdwaras have started paying attention to establishing sunday schools. But the performance of most of these sunday schools is much less than desirable. Worst of all these schools and our children are the victims and casualties of fierce, unending and resource draining personal political fights, both in house and in the courts.

Main darbar hall and the langar halls are mostly not used during daytime from Monday to Friday. Of course some additions and minor modifications will be needed to jump start a daily Pre-school Program. Let me also share that already, a new factor is being considered in our national debate. A top agenda item is that Government should encourage, assist and take cost advantages of religious and charitable organization in implementing similar national goals, such as the Universal Pre-School. The time is right for enlightened leadership in Gurdwaras to come forward and accept this challenge, and at the same time reap benefits for our posterity from this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Here is a preliminary rough Action Plan also to get you going.

Get a few , say five, like minded and committed families. Look into the legal and administrative requirements. The best place to contact is the County Department of Human Resources. Survey the community for possible students, their ages, and family profiles. Many parents may find it difficult to drop and pick up kids because of their work hours and traffic situations. You may have to work out assistance by way of arranging car pools or voluntary/paid car pick up services by community elders. Encourage families to entrust their kids to these more conducive systems instead of the current arrangements at home. Enlist support of elders to provide meaningful assistance in running the program.

Teachers and their quality of teaching must not be compromised. The principal of Khalsa Montessori School in Phoenix could provide some guidelines and assistance in teachers’ training. Explore what grants are available at city, county, state or federal levels. Most of all have faith in the Guru, who will lead you to the right contacts and resources.


Copyright©2003 Jasbir Singh Sethi. About the author