Learning through Play
'Animals who need to learn more, play more. Those with fixed
and inherited instincts play not at all.'
This famous quote is the base of our entire philosophy. We
believe in the need for play. Children must play! Children
do not have fixed instincts. In order to learn they need to
play, and so the idea of naming the school Scottish Academy,
came from the gardens of Acadamae where Plato, arguably the
greatest philosopher of all, taught his students. Scottish
Academy's education method is based on Froebel's philosophy.
Frederic Froebel was a German educator who founded the world's
first institution for very young children. He created the
word "Kindergarten".
In Froebel's philosophy, a newborn child is like a ripe piece
of fruit that has just fallen off from a tree and is full
of self-growing ability. Every activity of young children
shows their ability and development as human beings. Their
activities are the process by which they develop themselves
freely driven by their inner impulse.
Healthy children are active beings who always work on the
outer world. They keep making efforts to understand what they
have not yet acquired and what they have not yet recognized.
They are trying to be creators of their own worlds.
Each generation has more to learn than the previous generation.
Older generations are always shocked by the amount that the
younger generations know. Nowadays even small children play
with mobile telephones as well as multi-buttoned business
type telephones.
At Scottish Academy we are prepared to provide opportunities
to encourage knowledge. We have three computers and one toy
computer. This toy computer was specially imported from Scotland
to help the very young children master control of themselves
viz-a-viz computer manners and mouse control. The two-year-olds
use a Macintosh with appropriate software. Reader Rabbit is
currently being used. The three-year-olds and over, not only
use more sophisticated software such as "Become a World
Explorer" and "I Can Be an Animal Doctor,"
but also have the chance to enter, retrieve and save programmes
on a Windows computer. With this carefully thought out plan
teachers know that children are learning but children think
that they are playing. Play is not idle behaviour. Play is
intellectual activity engineered to scientifically explore
the world.
In Japan much mention is made of the Montessori method. This
method is also based on idea that "Children are born
with an ability to grow and develop themselves. Montessori
uses hands on methods. At Scottish Academy the teachers automatically
use the Montessori method but they also follow the Froebel
method of devoting themselves to sensing the children's needs.
Maud Ramsay studied Montessori methods and then took her
studies on to a higher realm whereby she not only studied
the Froebel method but also gained a certificate from the
National Froebel Foundation as indicated the letter NFF after
her name.
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