HERITAGE, TRADITION AND CULTURAL AWARENESS: IMPORTANT FOR TEACHER EDUCATION AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT... Mr Oksit Gotom

Mr Gotom Oksit

By Nnabugwu Chizoba 

The importance of traditional and cultural awareness, indeed the exposure to it extensively by the teacher, lecturer and teacher-trainees, especially those involved in Early Child Education and their impact in the life of a growing child has been stressed by an educator, Oksit Gotom, a lecturer with the College of Education, Akwanga, Nasarawa State.

The benefits include helping the child to build and develop a positive self image, sense of identity, self-esteem and strong foundation and conviction of belonging and acceptance, especially in a diverse socio-economic environment that Nigeria is. These ingredients are fundamental according to educators for the mental health, emotional and psychological well being of the child. They play major role in the ability of a growing child to develop strong sense of networking, relationship  building and other human and self-driven, success oriented efforts and processes required as a child transitions from stage to stage into adulthood, and to do well as an adult.

Mr Oksit Gotom (Left)

  

This was revealed during an interaction that Scoreline had with a reputed teacher-trainer, Mr Oksit Gotom, a lecturer with the College of Education, Akwanga, Nasarawa State, who was in Jos with other lecturers and students of the College on a working, academic or study tour of the Jos Museum, Jos Zoo and Jos Museum of Traditional Nigerian Architecture (MOTNA), reputed for housing different traditional and cultural artefacts, animals and ancient buildings, all within the premises of the National Commission for Museums and Monument (NCMM) in the heart of the city of Jos, the Plateau State Capital.

Mr Gotom apart from commenting positively about what he saw with his students and other lecturers with him on the study tour of the NCMM in Jos pointed out that knowledge, experience and understanding of the history of the diverse nationalities, their heritage, tradition and culture that include their tools, utensils and food, clothing, buildings, mode of worship, relationship patterns and others are very vital for the living.

Apart from helping people to relate effectively with those from the different ethnic nationalities, they are powerful tools that can provide enhanced insight about narratives and stories that people read or hear, and are essential for the grooming of teachers, in particular those majoring in Early Child Education.Mr Gotom noted. 

Sound knowledge and understanding of the tradition and cultures of the diverse ethnic nationalities in Nigeria by the  teachers enable them first and foremost to form a very strong bond,  relationship and affinity with all in the class, the school management and the community generally, which put him or her as a teacher in a positive mode not only to relate effectively with all in the environment but to impart or transmit knowledge in a manner that produces heavy impact on the pupils.

Mr Gotom noted that sound knowledge and understanding of heritage and culture, promotes overall sense of cultural identity, confidence and esteem and essentially, a strong sense of commitment to appropriation of culture and traditions of people whose distance from theirs span several thousand of miles, celebrating, commemorating and promoting them. 

This above is vital for the creation, growth and development of a suitable environment for effective teaching and learning and the actual transmission of knowledge required to build confidence  and understanding of the learner and to later present him/her to the society as a finished product that can function not just in his/her field but can relate socio-culturally and make impact as well and in a sustainable manner.

Teachers trained and properly groomed to reflect the above are in better stead most likely to promote unity in diversity and importantly are more strategically positioned to help to the society create a special experience that enables the growing child to bond effectively with others beginning from the family unit to the community and far beyond because they understand early in life that their traditions may differ and strongly too with that of their friends and others in distant lands. 

To achieve the above status teachers must be thoroughly groomed in heritage and culture, of course beyond mere explanation of events by word of mouth (talking). This is where physical exposure and direct contact with heritage and cultural sites and locations, and of course interaction with the tour guides in such places matter. This is one assured approach that can be used to provide a well rounded heritage and culture awareness driven teaching experience, necessary for the teacher to impact the growing child effectively through the process of formal education: training, grooming and nurturing.

Such experience and capacity is what the Early Child educator/teacher requires during the grooming stage to be effectively positioned to sufficiently prepare and equip their products early in life with what will enable them to face the real challenges of life in the future, in a World obviously characterized and dictated by diversity. It is becoming very glaring that only the knowledgeable, properly oriented and skilful that in essence can actually practice and deliver successfully and sustainably in the world that we are in.

Nigeria, if at no other time but now is in dare need of systematic, very skillful  and capable heritage and culture driven diversity oriented teachers that will efficiently handle and transmit heritage and culture awareness in a diversified manner. This is where the attention of schools involved in the training of teachers is drawn to the need to imbibe the culture of exposing their trainees to heritage and cultural sites and locations, and to give them the time to interface and interact with the professionals in such locations. The benefits are many. 

Scoreline is a dependable partner and active servant working also in the area of promotion, packaging, organization and management, including orientation of people about tours of different types.

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