Does a great education always happen in the classroom? We don’t think so. Building on insights from our initial work in education, we reflect on the importance of both timing and learning methods for children. Read on for some thoughts from our initiatives and how we can think about our children’s learning, not just in school.
In our everyday lives conversation around education often focuses on the ”what” - "What subjects should my children study?" or “What scores did they get on their exams?”. Of course these are meaningful questions, but to make the most of education, it's also important to consider the “when” i.e. “When are the most critical times to invest in our children’s education?”. In our exploratory work touching the sector, we’ve heard many parents in Cambodia believe the most important time to spend on their children’s education is prior to major national exams such as the 9th Grade Diploma or 12th Grade Baccalaureate. For us, that might be too late.
Early moments matter
Decades of research demonstrates that when it comes to education, it's critical to start early. And it’s not just for the sake for learning. Nobel Laureate Professor James Heckman (the Economics of Human Capital), describes how early childhood development sets children up for success in life.
In early childhood, the brain undergoes rapid growth where not only cognitive skills such as reading, math and other academics are built, but also character and aptitudes such as communication, relationship-building and problem-solving. Investments made at this stage yield more rewards not only as learnings compound over time but also set a foundation for self-motivated learning. In parallel, there is a cost to not starting early. While learning takes place throughout life, learning during early childhood is at a speed that will never be matched.
Let’s get serious about playtime
So ‘‘how’’ do we get our children to learn from a young age? Play! (And no, we don’t mean 20 hours a day playing inane illicit mobile games). Children are born naturally curious and excited to explore, we just need to provide the environment for them to do so. That’s why there has been growing momentum towards 'play-based learning' around the world, with some adventurous school models like Anji Play in China, School 21 in the UK, and Fuji Kindergarten in Japan. Venturing beyond the traditional modes of learning like recitation and memorisation, these approaches build on children's innate instinct to explore and experiment that enables them to make sense of the world. This can come in different forms: building a tower of cups that balances, or mixing 7 different sodas together to taste the rainbow! These playful activities give children a sensibility that learning can be fun, interactive and meaningful.
Come play @ Raintree
Play-based learning is still not ubiquitous in Cambodia. While Team Raintree’s work in education is still very much emerging, this is why we are looking to play more. From fairy tales to fancy tech, here are some ways we and our partners have started to engage in early stage play-based education.
Twisted Tales - This whimsical improv show brought together bright young minds aged 7-11 from three schools to reimagine beloved fairy tales and perform them live on stage at our Canopy event space. What if Cinderella was a software engineer? Or Snow White was the villain? What if Red Riding Hood had a car? With confidence, creativity and collaboration, the kids put on an unforgettable show. This programme was pioneered by Brighton Stage from Bright Education, along with ISPP (International School of Phnom Penh) and the Giving Tree School.
Family Fun: Christmas @ Raintree - For big kids and small kids alike, the annual family day of our Christmas weekend festival created a space not only for kids to work with their hands and imagination, but also for parents to actively create with their children. With options ranging from crafts to colouring to cookie decoration, there were no worries about running out of playful options for the day.
Discovery Play by DoyDoy - In partnership with one of our favourite local toy startups DoyDoy, this programme offered children six weekends packed with team and individual activities, as well as plenty of unstructured playtime with a vast array of materials from stackable robots to planter pots plus of course their signature building straws. Look out for more of their programmes coming in 2020.
Tiny Coding Cats - The pilot of this creative coding course for 8 to 12 year-olds in partnership with Saturday Kids from Singapore, culminated in a showcase of their original games and animations for family, friends, and supporters. The key difference is allowing kids to be independent in what they create with their imagination, encouraging curiosity in a non-evaluative setting (our personal favourite was a smashing Avenger game with no losers!). We hope this will lead to further exploration of enabling self-motivated learning outside and inside schools.
This is only the beginning for us. We’re always looking for ways to contribute to our community – be it in education, tech or entrepreneurship, so if you’d like to engage with us in any way, do get in touch with us at hello@raintreecambodia.com. In the meantime, subscribe to our newsletter to receive our latest news about projects and programmes that you (or your little ones) can take part in!
(BONUS: If you liked what you read, watch our co-founder’s favourite Netflix show for more on designing for play)