SXWS

Archive for January, 2010

Storytelling or reading to children is one of the best ways to attract young minds to the world of books. Nowadays, books seem less attractive to a child who can get easily hooked on television, video tapes, video games, and toys that bring out his aggressiveness (toys, guns, super hero games).
Some parents claim that they are too tired from work to read to their preschoolers or that good books are difficult to find. Such a situation leads to a lost opportunity to initiate a love for books in the child. And this, in turn, has led to the creation of a generation of non-readers, far different from their elders in their speaking and reading habits. Recent studies show that children who had early experiences with reading and storytelling, later proved successful in their reading achievements, especially in their latter school years . Storytelling helped the child learn to read with ease and develop a positive attitude towards reading. It also became an effective tool for teaching values and social traditions. One rural study done on Thai children, showed that the motivation to achieve was realized after reading several stories with achievement themes . Our very own “Story told by our grandmother” sessions which used to be quite popular in the ‘50s and ‘60s should be revived to teach our children traits and traditions we value.

Most large businesses today began as very small businesses. Because they supplied products and services desired by the public and because they were well managed, they became larger and larger. An example includes Tandy, which started as a leather shop in 1923 and grew to over 7,000 Radio Shack outlets. Likewise, Procter and Gamble started as a partnership that grew to 58 manufacturing plants in 23 countries. In a similar manner, Sears, Roebuck and Co. got its start by selling watches and later becoming one of the nation’s largest retail businesses.

In a discussion on the state of the Museum, reference with made to select “artefacts relevant to the people” and “getting away from the idea of using dead objects” . Indeed, kids and adults who see jars and stuffed birds behind glass cases will just walk by. Nothing is there to excite one’s curiosity. Like a fine-tuned teacher, a museum must possess elements of curiosity, helpfulness, and humor. The Museo Pambata, a children’s museum located in the historical Elks Club Building in Manila and opened just a year ago, has a lot of these elements. Exhibits that answer and excite children’s curiosity, elicit their laughter, as well as help them understand themselves and the world they live in.
The philosophy behind interactive exhibits is that children learn best when they use their total senses (touch, taste, hear, smell, and see). This is not to say children should be allowed to climb on, touch, or take apart the exhibits at the National Museum since all items are priceless. However, the National Museum can have a room exclusively for interactive exhibits.
Many museums in both Europe and the United States have re-fo’cused the presentation of their exhibits. I was fortunate to visit Amsterdam’s Tropenmuseum and Rotterdam’s Museum of Ethnology Both museums have a children’s section where “antique” or interesting but remote facts come alive.
In a word, our museums can be living places.
Children’s museums of today live by this Chinese saying:
“I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I touch and I understand.”