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More Than a Decade in Character Building
In today’s digital age, it has become even harder for parents
to prepare their children for the pressures of school and
adult life. We take a look at the Character Montessori
programme, a specially-designed approach that purportedly
offers your child one of the best possible starts.
What are your most memorable success stories of children who are part of the
Character Montessori programme?
Grace: We once had a boy named Ian who was very unhappy in his previous
school and had always complained that he had no friends there. His parents also
witnessed first-hand how his classmates did not want to sit next to him, so they
approached us and enrolled him in our school instead. I was pleased to hear
that after nine months, Ian had transformed into a confident and socially adept
child. The best part: all of his
classmates were his friends!
His parents’ close friends
and relatives also noticed the
tremendous improvement
in Ian’s character and social
skills.
At home, Ian’s mother noticed
that her little boy had become
very independent and confident,
finding ways to keep
himself busy instead
of demanding for his
mother’s attention, which
he was previously fond
of. When Ian went to
Primary One, he was
even given leadership
positions in class!
How does the CM
programme help to
prepare a child for
school and subsequently,
adult life?
Grace: Well, the onset of the digital age has shrunk the world and changed the
skills necessary for Singaporeans to compete on the global stage. Our country’s
education system is now trying to help our children to develop skills such as
teamwork, creative thinking, etc. Unfortunately, the focus is still on written exams;
to do well in such exams, there is still a lot of pen and paper work. Thus, to be
successful in navigating school, we inculcate in children the traits of confidence,
resilience, boldness, attentiveness, patience and more as a foundation to meet
these shifting demands of life.
When we train children to wait for their turn, they develop the ability to delay
gratification and gain self-control. Professor Walter Mischel’s famous Stanford
University marshmallow test showed a striking correlation: pre-schoolers who
could wait 15 minutes for their treat had significantly higher SAT scores and had
less substance abuse later in life compared to those who could not wait.
In Character Montessori, character traits such as
independence, boldness and creativity are taught, caught
and practised daily.
Grace Yong is the founder and current principal of Character
Montessori, and is the first certified Singaporean Character
Education Practitioner, accredited by The Abraham Lincoln
Centre for Character Development (USA). Grace also holds a
Master in Education from James Cook University.
Call
65070 444
[email protected]
www.cm-preschool.com
Join our facebook group
parents4character
A Beautiful Transformation Counts
Ang Mo Kio
Punggol
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420 Punggol Rd
New
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Yishun
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Mar 2014 • Family & Life
19