Shanthi Wijesinghe’s pioneering venture:

Shanthi Wijesinghe

Seeking a brighter future for children

Ruwini Jayawardana

She seeks to enrich young lives. As an educator and expert in early childhood development Shanthi Wijesinghe is the power behind Seekers Early Childhood Research Centre and Preschool which not only looks into childcare and education of children but also provides advice for effective parenting.

“Searching for unknown facts is a journey that we take on for life. We may never find the answers but we are actually looking at trying to get the answers. A child is very curious and if you try to stop this aspect you will stop the learning process. The child should continue to seek answers and work out a method of getting solutions on his or her own,” Wijesinghe explained this unique teaching method.

With over 20 years of experience in the field, Wijesinghe says that very little attention had been focused on this vital subject. She notes that parents are mostly interested in is only whether the child is able to read and write.

“This is a huge misconception. Someone needs to take responsibility for it. We talk big about strategies but you need to realize that when a child is born you need to plan for the next eight years. This is the period which we consider as early childhood,” she stressed.

A graduate in Child Psychology and the Montessori Method of Education, Wijesinghe worked in India and Singapore for several years before returning to Sri Lanka. She established a quality-based ECD / Montessori Centre in Mt Lavinia. Later she was offered a scholarship to study Learning Difficulties (LD) in India in 1995 and graduated from the Alpha to Omega Learning Centre with a Special Certificate in LD for remedial teaching. She is also a consultant to ‘Kid Kare’, a Standard Chartered Bank childcare facility, Longdon Place.

Seekers is five years young and enrolls children between two to six years as well as toddlers from six months to two years. New intakes are scheduled for September. They even conduct an after school program for children between six to eight years. The spacious and airy rooms equipped with CCTV facilities ensure the safety of the children.

She says that learning problems can only be detected once the child had passed eight years. Some pass the blame on to the parents and ask them to take the child to a psychiatrist. All schools are quipped with special education units. Problems occur not because children cannot engage in the task but because they have not been given the time and opportunity.

“Sri Lankan mothers are obsessed with feeding the child. If a child does not finish his or her plate of rice the mother goes mad! You need nutrition for the brain. If you are feeding your child processed food then your child would have behavioural problems. Sri Lanka had become a dumping ground for all kinds of food products.

Seekers educating children. Pictures by Saman Sri Wedage

We are an easy target because we accept things with open arms as long as the other party provides the money. Parents give into this with the excuse of ‘no time for cooking’. Everyone has 24 hours. We need to learn how to manage our time,” the old girl of Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya, said adding that any parent who visits them will be part of the Seekers Parent Education Awareness program.

She notes that children’s needs have not changed with the passage of time. The variation is brought on by the parents.

“There are some children who throw up tantrums because they want their parents to take them to fast food outlets everyday. These terms are not inherited through birth. The modern parent introduces these aspects to them,” she said, adding that they prepare parents to face the facts of life.

All the staff at Seekers are ‘living values’ educators. They ensure that rest and extra-curricular activities will keep the child focused and entertained throughout the day so that parents will have time to spend with their child back at home.

According to Wijesinghe, a teacher’s responsibility is to educate the child. Unfortunately most parents treat educators like maids. She believes in the Montessori motto that a teacher should “help the child help himself”.

She said: “Children observe adults’ actions and copy them.

We are specialized in early childhood problems because we do not want them to carry these issues to their teens. When a child comes to us I have a vision for him or her in 10 years. I focus on the aspect of how a child will be an asset to the parents. They should realize that what we put down here today and the next three years is the child’s foundation for the future.”