MOTHERS ARE THE SAME TEACHERS

The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world, says an English proverb. And the relevance of this phrase is hard to overestimate, especially today, when the fundamental approaches to the care and education of children are changing. Today the world recognizes that the full and harmonious development of an individual needs a tandem of family and social institutions. And the role of the mother in this case is invaluable and irreplaceable. Many leading experts and psychologists say that healthy and trusting relations between the child and his mother are the key to their future happiness and self-confidence.

And most importantly and best of all, our Azerbaijani moms do not remain aloof from the world experience and their own education in the field of parenting and relations with children. This is proved by a recent meeting of active moms with expert Rufat Aliyev and the pioneer in the field of education and most importantly, child health in Russia, Academician Vladimir Bazarnyy, who was invited by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Education.

The prospect for the future

The organization and the meeting itself did not have an official nature, and maybe that's why the experts of this level discussed not protocol but living and vital themes.

The moms who attended the meeting, which is significant in general, are mostly working, active and successful women. On the one hand, this suggests that a good mother is one satisfied with her life and does not remain aloof from the current trends, and on the other - and this is sometimes noticeable - that education and enlightenment are the driving forces of self-development and the development of their children.

The choice of the experts was no coincidence, because they are not just bearers of regalia, but those who have made the care of children, their health, education and full and harmonious development the business of their lives. Rufat Aliyev has been working in senior positions in the field of education for forty years and is the founder and a Eurolyceum and a lyceum for gifted children in Bilasuvar. Vladimir Bazarnyy is a scientist, doctor, musician, teacher, innovator, doctor of medicine and a member of the Academy of Creative Pedagogy. His main activities at present are to found a new trend - "health-developing" pedagogy.

In general, the meeting was devoted not only to familiarization with the basics of the science of Vladimir Filipovich, but also to awareness of the fact that the Ministry of Education of our country reacted with great reverence to the ideas of the acclaimed academician and intends to introduce them in a number of city schools.

Recently, there is a tendency when it is fashionable to scold official agencies, and the Ministry of Education is having an especially hard time in this regard. It is certainly no coincidence, and there is no need to blame the parents here, because the education system was deliberately destroyed for a long time. Naturally, the new team of promising and talented specialists, "people from the parallel world" by the definition of Rufat Aliyev, is not able to collect and restore overnight the remains of this system, which has become outdated, and there is an urgent need to create a fundamentally new approach. And the main problem in this case - as has been repeatedly written - is the shortage of professional staff. Besides, as is known, the education system is a long-term project, whose effectiveness can be assessed only after five or ten years. On the one hand, there is a natural resentment: "How long do we still have to wait for proper education if there is no appropriate staff yet?" On the other hand, and it is pleasing, work is under way and there is a future effective system in sight.

The theory of Bazarnyy

One of the most important moments is playing up the factor of expectations. And for this reason, the role of active and conscious parents in organizing the educational process and their help and support, physical and financial, are invaluable. "When you send a child to school, you sign an agreement with the institution of education, which defines all of your obligations and rights," says Professor Bazarnyy. "It is your duty as parents to demand a relevant agreement from the school, where the management pledges to provide an adequate educational process and preserve the physical and mental health of the child!" Active cooperation between parents and school administrators should become habitual, and most importantly, effective, the experts say.

As for the agreement, unfortunately, one can hardly expect the school to fulfill its obligations to preserve the health of children. After all, the existing system of education and upbringing of children in families, schools and kindergartens, according to numerous studies and professor Bazarnyy and his fellow scientists, is directed against the nature of the child. According to the concept developed by Vladimir Filipovich, a fundamental role in the learning process of the child in school is played by the position in which he is in the classroom. "To stand, walk and move are natural needs of the child," says the professor. "But unfortunately we often forget about the laws of the psychobiological development of our body."

Since ancient times, people have known that movement is life. Meanwhile, almost all major studies on the analysis of the causes of the diseases of civilization (eyesight, heart, mind, musculoskeletal and immune systems, urological diseases in men and gynecological in women, etc.), attribute the factor of sitting to basic risk factors in the emergence of the most severe somatic pathology.

That is why as the first means of prevention and rehabilitation, the professor recommends establishing body vertical in childhood, i.e. forming a customary and sustainable vertical body and motor-active dynamic stereotype (in other words, a habit) from early childhood through the use of special furniture - bureaus - in the educational process.

The bureau is a vertical counter with a support-desk, which is strictly on a certain level so that the child can comfortably stand behind it without stooping.

 According to Professor Bazarnyy, it is much easier to prevent incorrect posture, which can cause pathology of internal organs in the future than spend a long time getting rid of problems that emerge later.

However, this is not the only thing his concept is famed for. After all, in order to come to it, the professor had to literally sift through many scientific works and the centuries-old experience of generations of parents. 

"We often forget that what is best for our children has already been 'invented' - all this lies in folk wisdom," the professor says. "For example, how do you put today's children to bed? In bed, cradling them in your arms or in a pram. Meanwhile, look at the experience of centuries and see cradles hung in all old houses; the baby spends nine months before his birth in a state of weightlessness. When he is born, the entire globe literally presses him. And in order to cope with this, the child was placed in a cradle - wavelike movements helped him to adapt more quickly to gravity."

Professor Bazarnyy also spoke about the numerous studies that almost proved the benefits of breastfeeding, singing of lullabies, body contact and conversations with the child. Storytelling is of great importance for the formation of a normal child's psyche. Tales determine the dominants of feelings and keep the depth and culture of the pedagogy of the people, Vladimir Filipovich says. The child gets basic moral precepts and the distinction of concepts of good and evil for the first time from fairy tales. As you can see once again, everything ingenious is simple. And precisely because of this "simplicity" we miss precious time for the full development of our children.

Good news

Rufat Aliyev pleased many with the news that the Ministry of Education, taking the works of Vladimir Bazarnyy on board, has already opened pilot classes in a number of city schools on his methodology: classes are equipped with bureaus, and there are no desks. Textbooks are on all the walls and even on the ceiling if pupils want to learn while lying.

Despite the fact that the establishment of such classes, in addition to boldness and originality of thought, and most importantly, care of your charges, also requires certain financial investments from the leadership (first classes were created and supported from the side), in fact there is not too much trouble for creating optimal conditions in the educational process. The main thing, as always, is the desire, and also the lack of bureaucracy and support for the initiative from the official leadership of schools.

At the end of the meeting, both experts were surrounded by moms who peppered them with questions. Here are the most interesting ones.

- In recent years, children have become increasingly interested in gadgets. We did not buy any gadgets for our own children...

- You are absolutely right. The destructive influence of gadgets on the development and psychological state of the child has already been proven. But it is very difficult to avoid the influence of others around you and advertising, which promotes the "charms" of using sophisticated technology. Of course, you should try to gently restrict the child in the use of tablets, smartphones, etc. Given that at school children are influenced by their peers, it is sometimes difficult to do. Of course, those who have these devices will enjoy respect. But how do you raise a child, in whom the gadget of his neighbour at the desk or other classmates will not create an inferiority complex? For the child not to feel deficient, we need to set the right priorities for him. For example, talk about the dangers of gadgets and clearly limit the scope of their use - both in time and space.

- How much time is it acceptable for children to watch TV?

- The amount of time spent watching TV should be minimized. Until two or three years it is better not to turn it on for children. Even the abundance of developing cartoons and programmes will not provide your child with the development that games and live communication can give him. In addition, in one hour of sitting in front of TV a child loses the chance to learn a large number of new words.

- Can we assemble a bureau ourselves?

- Of course, you can. We have developed simple models of bureaus that can be put on the table and full versions that replace the desk. The main thing is to determine the exact height of the bureau, at which the child will not slouch and will feel comfortable. In any case, the presence of the bureau does not mean that the child should always stand. The most optimal mode, as practice shows, is to change the posture every 15 minutes - standing, sitting and lying down.

PROTECT CHILDREN FROM GADGETS 

When Steve Jobs led Apple, he forbade his children to sit with iPads and iPhones for too long. In the family of Steve Jobs, children were allowed to use iPads for a limited time. In the family of Steve Jobs there was even a ban on the use of gadgets at night and on weekends. Other gurus from the world of technology do the same thing. In general, most technology executives and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley do the same. It may seem strange. But, apparently, CEOs of IT giants know something people on the street are unaware of. That's because many of them are aware of the danger of the excessive interest in the Internet. The "dangers" of the Internet mean irrelevant content and the chance for children to become addicted to new technologies like many adults.

Studies show that children under ten years old are particularly susceptible to new technologies and become practically addicted to them. So Steve Jobs was right: children should not be allowed to use tablets more than an hour a day and smartphones - more than two hours a day. For 10-14 year-olds the use of the PC is allowed, but only for homework.

How do you keep your children busy? The author of a book about Steve Jobs, Nick Bilton, says he easily replaced gadgets with which his name was associated with communication with children and discussed books, history and anything else with them. But at the same time, none of them had the desire to get out an iPhone or an iPad during a conversation with their father. As a result, his children grew up independent from the Internet. Are you ready for such restrictions?