By: Joanna Rose G. Fernandez
Teacher III
Bagumbayan Elementary School

As a preschool teacher, I do believe that preschool is important for young learners. Preschool provides education and care for learners from various psychological, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds prior to their entry to Grade 1. One of the purposes of preschool education is to help learners develop physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively. It also aims to improve their skills and acquire new ones. Preschool provides a nurturing setting where children develop skills to identify and express emotions constructively. Teachers play a crucial role in guiding children to comprehend and manage their feelings, fostering emotional resilience and empathy.

During this time, learners’ literacy and numeracy skills are being built and strengthened. Preschool serves as a crucial phase for literacy and numeracy development. Children should be immersed in diverse linguistic settings and participate in activities such as storytelling, singing, and conversing with teachers and peers. These interactions act as catalysts, fostering vocabulary expansion, improving communication skills, and laying the groundwork for literacy. Moreover, young learners have active imagination, and those imaginations are nurtured to fuel learning and creativity in the preschool environment. Most importantly, preschool education helps learners develop the skills they will need to grow throughout their lives. With improved social and communication skills, they will be able to ask for help, build relationship and cooperate with others. With strong cognitive and emotional skills, they will have the ability and knowledge to resolve any challenge they may encounter.

In addition, preschool education helps bridge the gap between the privileged and marginalized group. Learners who are in the privileged group have easy access to preschool while those in marginalized group do not because they have a lot of factors to consider. Preschool education is important because this guides and helps them overcome barriers to achieve their dreams and goals in life.

For them to do this, and to grow and develop optimally, they need to receive nurturing care and love from the environment they live in. They need adequate nutrition and good health, to feel safe and secure, and have lots of support and opportunities for learning. With these, they will be able to bravely face social norms and advocate for their rights and other basic needs as they achieve their full potential and become productive member of the society.

Preschool is important for young learners because it lays the foundation for academic success, social and emotional development, and lifelong learning skills. It provides children with the tools they need to thrive in school and beyond.