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PARENTS ROLE IN PREPARING CHILDREN TO LIFELONG EDUCATION
J. Pragn^ca
Introduction. A learning process is a lifelong process, since childhood, until the end of one’s life. Individuals should enlarge their range of knowledge and skills, so they could keep up with all the changes in the world. A human being has to prevent his/her mental stagnation. At the same time, communication is important and it becomes more global. The knowledge of foreign languages ensures the possibility to live well in the world. It lets people meet new friends, travel, develop their professional career and learn about other cultures. The earlier the language education starts, the easier is to meet an objective that is a good command of a foreign language. Some research shows that parents play a very important role in their children learning process as guides and friends. Some parents play is bigger, and some other is lesser degree.
What is a lifelong education? The lifelong education (permanent) is learning for all human’s life. In report Education in perspective of 2020: distance or close education? Mayer F. writes, that education should be considered not as an education with limited time, but as a process, which lasts whole human’s life, in which school should provide individuals in minimum humanistic and science knowledge. It should prepare individuals to civil, cultural, social and family life as well [1, s. 388]. Permanent education cannot be define as regards to specific life stage, as children, youth or adult education. Learning time include whole life and all kinds of knowledge pervade and enrich mutually [2, s. 99].
Additionally, the human being has unlimited possibilities to learn. This is the most important idea of the report Learning without limits, in which such aspects as social origin, sex, religion, ideology, material state, skin color or age cannot be a problem for the educational process [3, s. 96]. Lifelong education exclude the position, in which individuals collect a knowledge supply in their childhood, so they could use it all the time. Contrary, individuals should update, enrich the basic knowledge and adapt to a changing world. Education should form smart individuals, who can learn in the self-learning process [4, s. 95].
In addition, the permanent education should include, since childhood until the end of one’s life, all the procedures that would allow man to know the dynamics of the world, themselves and other people through educational aspects [1].
According to Jacques Delors, education has a mission to fulfill. That mission are four educational aspects (educational pillars), which complete one another and create whole. The first pillar is learning to know. This kind of learning to know puts more emphasis on mastering the tools of knowledge than to learn a encyclopedic knowledge. Which means that every person should learn to understand the world that surrounds him. In this respect, each individual should discover the pleasure of acquiring and learning. It is important that each child become a "friend of knowledge." [4, s. 87]. Learning to know promotes the general culture, as well as opening up to other languages and other knowledge. Acquiring knowledge is learning to learn by practicing attention, memory and thinking. All of the above
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practices should be implemented from an early age by children parents and continued by teachers in the teaching process. The educational process does not end and it can be enriched by every experience.
Another way of knowledge is learning to act. Students learn how to use acquired knowledge in practice. In addition, it emphasizes the role of practice, which has educational value. Individuals should develop some features, including the “self being skill”, that combines the knowledge and ability to act.
The third pillar is learning to live together and it means to participate and cooperate with others at all levels of human activity. Education at this pillar should take two paths, the first-stage is to discover others (first individuals has to know themselves and then they should empathize with the situations of others and understand their reactions), and a second, lasting whole life- involving in common projects as an effective method of avoiding or resolving conflicts.
The fourth pillar of education, learning to be, combines three previous ones. According to this, education should contribute to the development of each individual -his/her mind and body and develop traits of personality, which are socially desirable. As for children and young people there is need to create them all possible conditions for exploring and experiencing the artistic, sporting, scientific, cultural, social and aesthetic experiences.
Preparing children to lifelong education. Ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates proclaimed the principle that education is a matter of life [1, s. 389]. Now, Delors, in his report writes about the need to prepare and encourage children to learn throughout their lives, to participate in the educational process, which involve the entire human existence. The human in question is a child unformed and interesting about the world. Child's education begins in the family, which provides a link between emotional and cognitive development, but also the transmission of values and norms. There are some people in the family like: parents, siblings, grandparents, relatives who affect the children educationally and cognitively. The child in the socialization process learns social behavior and being a member of society [5, s. 141]. Preparing children to lifelong education involves acquiring their knowledge of the world, but also about the regulations that rule this world, with the formation of personality, knowledge, skills and abilities of judgment and action. It is also the children motor, psychical, social (social role playing), cultural and existential development. Parents should develop in their children a good relationship to some opportunities to learn since early age, because it is a very important period of development, in which children are developing subsequent attitudes, aspirations and features. The process of teaching / learning and raising begins in the family and lasts during the school, study, work term (the man's entire existence).
School, (after family) perform a function of a centre for students. The process of education and socialization still lasts and its aim is to transfer knowledge and citizenship education. School does not isolate themselves from other communities (family, other schools, museums, theaters), contrary, they form a network of relations, open up on the sources of new information and new ways of communication and on forms of conversation. This is also confirmed by Delors, who writes that school shouldn’t isolate from the social environment. Community
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membership is a powerful medium of education, learnt through cooperation, solidarity and citizenship [4, s. 107].
The importance of language learning and the parents role in that process. We live in a global communication age, and the means by which it can be done is language [6, s. 2]. Delors in permanent education mentions to open up to other languages [4, s. 87]. Based on that education, opening up to other languages is learning and acquisitioning languages since childhood until the end of one’s life. This happens due to the dynamics of contemporary societies and the development of civilization. It is commonly believed that children learn languages best, as they have more flexible mind, less inhibited, a lot of time and love to imitate facial expressions. The children's ability to learn good pronunciation makes them sound more convincing. Knowledge of a foreign language has a number of advantages, such as: it affects the children logic thinking development skills and education results. To acquire foreign language by children, it is important to use certain methods in order to make this process enjoyable, but never boring and daunting [6, s. 22]. However, when the subject of language education is child, is not enough to use methods. There is needed someone, who will supervise children in learning a foreign language. In this sense, a person, who supervise children at school is teacher, but at home this should be should parents. If parents perform supervisory role and involve in their children language learning process describes the researches1.
Early start was implemented since the school year 2008/09 and it meant that children must learn the foreign language in the first class of primary school. This duty has emphasized the parents role in children language education process, because they have the greatest impact on children thinking, behavior and motivation [7, s. 5].
Parents were asked, if they involve in their children teaching/ learning foreign language process and what forms of assistance are using.
On this general question about parents involvement, and in fact, of any of its form, the respondents answered in favor (82%), against (16%) and 2% did not answer. In the next question there was some suggested ways, how parents can help their children in learning English. Each proposal has been enhanced with adverbs of frequency: always, often, sometimes, rarely, never. Here's how the tested community helps children with learning English.
Research shows that parents in the highest degree marked forms of assistance, where their relation with English was relative, e.g. parents check whether the child takes books to school (82%), they check if child has a homework and require to do it, and if its needed they help (73%), they reward child’s successes (64%), browse the notes from the English classes (62%), encourage to practice English words together (36%). Parents never use other forms of assistance, which include more advanced English and require translation into their native language. For example, parents never read a fairy tale with children (52%),
1 This are own researches made among parents (125), whose children were in primary school and were learning English. Research was made in November/ December in a school year 2011/2012 and was used in scientific work. To examine the phenomenon was used a diagnostic survey and questionnaire.
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never talk with child in English (50%), create home library, where are English books. (34%), make their own exercises (38 %), help child to lead regularly the picture dictionary (27%).
Conclusion. In conclusion, parents role in preparing children for lifelong education, as language as social, cultural and humanistic is significant, because of the fact of priority in their education to be a member of society. Lifelong learning is great prospect of human development. It is impossible to accumulate as much knowledge, so it could be enough for the rest of human’s life. That is, because the world is changing and evolving and it is not conducive for stagnated individuals. Contrary, it force people to update knowledge. It is very important, that people should educate and use educational resources.
References
1. F. Mayor Edukacja w perspektywie roku 2020: edukacja na odlegtosc, czy w zasiqgu rqki? [w:] F. Mayor, Przysztosc swiata. Warszawa 2001.
2. J. Delors, Edukacja przez cale zycie, [w:] Delors J. (red.) Edukacja: jest w niej ukryty skarb, Warszawa 1998.
3. Z. tomny, Wazne idee w swietle raportow Klubu Rzymskiego, [w:] tomny Z. Cztowiek i edukacja wobec przemian globalnych, Opole 1995.
4. J. Delors, Cztery filary edukacji, [w:] Delors J. (red.) Edukacja: jest w niej ukryty skarb, Warszawa 1998.
5. B. Szacka, Wprowadzenie do socjologii, Warszawa 2008.
6. Jak uczyc siq jqzykow obcych, (raport UE), Luksemburg 2010.
7. Jaroszewska A., Jak nie rozczarowac rodzicow lekcjq jqzyka obcego. „J^zyki Obce w Szkole” 2009, nr 1.
The work was written under the supervision of Ewa Kula, PhD
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