On October 18, KZV Lecture Series presented Dr. John Jabagchourian, Associate Professor of Child & Adolescent Development at San Jose State University, who led a discussion on Pre-School education with a focus on pre-school models, curricular objectives, and parent expectations.  Dr. Jabagchourian spoke to a classroom full of KZV parents, prospective parents, and KZV board members.

At the outset, Dr. Jabagchourian prompted parents to think about children and their abilities, as well as articulate personal goals for their children.  He noted that based on an international survey, parents have similar priority concerns across cultures, namely ensuring child safety and survival, the nurturing and development of cultural values, and a strong foundation that leads to academic success and eventually financial success.   Some long range expectations from pre-school programs include training and developing a disciplined mind; a synthesizing mind;  a creative mind; and a respectful and ethical mind.  Dr. Jabagchourian went on to explain the various pre-school models and their rooted philosophies in child learning.

Parents in the audience expressed concern on how best to choose among varying childcare and pre-school options.  Jabagchourian shared best practices with parents—namely to look for those programs that foster mutual respect and trust; offer a variety of experiences; ensure routine; stimulate talking; set clear expectations; display student work; and allow for plenty of fun and laughter.

KZV Principal Grace Andonian stated, “The importance of bringing parents together with a focus on learning best practices with experts from the field cannot be understated.   The KZV lecture series has gotten off to a great start to engaging parents on current educational issues and we look forward to hosting more of them.”