An introduction to the Buddhist pedagogical approach

My First Word Book
My Alphabet Book

Author and publisher:

G. K. A. Kumarasiri

gkakumaraseri@yahoo.com.sg

Buddhism is for the living. It is for the life here and now. A person who leads a life in accordance with Buddhist principles leads a happy life here on this earth and in his life hereafter. (Buddhism believes in re-birth.

So, Buddhism lays a great emphasis on the family where anyone's life begins, and parents and children, who are the members of the family unit.

In a number of discourses and Suttas, the Buddha has placed great emphasis on the role of parents in providing proper guidance in educating children.

The Buddha showed that it is the bounden duty of parents to directly involve themselves in the education and self-development of the child. Fulfilling this responsibility is crucial for the development of the child; the child's mental make-up, his personality and character and his inner consciousness.

It is the parents who know best, who understand best about their child; for instance, an intelligent parent with two or more children is aware of their personality traits and character differences. So, sometimes parents have their own distinct methods of caring for them. This applies very much to early childhood learning.

Each child is unique; the method of their early childhood learning the way they are introduced to the larger society outside the family too should be unique to each child.

Here, the Buddha, the greatest teacher the world had, has given the best guideline for an individual's education. This is the method The Buddha himself observed for his own disciples; teaching to suit the needs, interests and the individual capacity of the learner.

Though this may seem a far fetched theory in the context of modern day mass education systems where attention to the child's individually has little or no importance at all, the timeless validity of it can be seen where the parent's role in early childhood education is concerned.

While parents are the first teachers of a child, it is in early childhood that the brain of an individual vibrantly imbibes knowledge. This shows the pivotal role a parent plays in the education of a child.

'My First Word Book' by K. G. A. Kumarasiri discusses this important role of the parent in giving a good citizen to society.

In the guise of a children's educational guide the book gives much valuable food for thought for parents.

Chapters II and III are a vivid discussion on Buddhist ways of teaching - the Buddhist pedagogy.

Part I, the vocabulary book too is purely based on Buddhist learning. It helps the child to learn English words while laying a foundation for Buddhist learning.

The pictures corresponding to the words are associated with the Buddhist way of life.

'My Alphabet Book', which is basically a copy book through which a child can learn good handwriting also introduces the child to the Buddhist atmosphere and good civic manners.

These are only two works from Living Buddhist Series, authored and published by the writer.

- Malini Govinnage