Chimurenga Chokutanga
“…Vasikana mandikangaidza
Mandikwidza muti une shavi
Mandiona ndichimukonewa
Onai njiva yoru-u
Yobvurukuta hu-u
Ichitsvaka mwana hu-u…”

EARLY Childhood Development (ECD), as we discussed in the last article, is the genesis of vuZimbabwe in our children, so we hold it very dear to our hearts, and we should guard it jealously.
This fundamental quality of vuZimbabwe is the genesis of what each child can achieve for themselves and for Zimbabwe.
Therefore when we focus on the child’s emotional, psychological, as well as their broader intellectual development, this is the context.
By the time children enroll in early childhood education and care institutions, they already have been developing so much.
Their emotional, psychological and intellectual development does not start when they enroll in these institutions.
They already are on the ‘long march’ by the time they get to us, what we only do is to catch up with them though in reality we convince ourselves that we are beginning their education for them.
No, we don’t begin their development, it started a long time ago, remember, when they were still in their mother’s womb.
So, where we actually come in is we assist them to continue with their education which is already in progress.
What we also need to remember is that these tiny beings, these little children are self-directing, so our approach is not to say you know nothing let us begin to fill you up with something, you don’t succeed that way.
What is correct is to recognise that they already are on a journey and what is necessary is to interface with them in that context.
They already have a fair idea of what goes on in the world.
They already have constructed in their minds, models of how society is structured, how it works and how it should work, models to help them understand society.
As much as it is a duty of the learners to understand what the teachers put forward, it behoves the teachers to understand the journey each child has walked so they know where the children are at, this is where to start.
Paulo Freire once inter-personal intelligence, the intelligence that enables one to understand others, their feelings, moods, desires, and motivations, said that teachers are the most presumptuous of people, they just walk into a class and start teaching, as if anybody has asked any questions or has given any indication that they want to hear what the teacher has to say.
We too are most preposterous if we think children have no history when they come to us and that they are blanks on which we can write anything.
So, the children have already been learning, they have already been developing so what is the role of early childhood education?
You are saying these youngsters are our most critical concern in education, we don’t want them to be put through each thing someone dreams up particularly from the West, something from nowhere that concerns us including that which is treasonous.
We want to synchronise what each child already has developed with the best ingredients we can offer nationally so that each child has an equal chance to develop each of their capacities regardless of their social circumstances, thus the need for a national syllabus.
At birth each child is endowed with at least nine intelligences barring disease or injury at birth (Multiple Intelligence Theory).
These intelligences are already developed to various degrees at birth and the degree to which they can further develop depends on the nurturing they get.
This is where we come in with early childhood education, to ensure that each of these intelligences gets a turbo boost from the values, knowledge and activities we line up for the children.
Beginning with intra-personal intelligence, the capacity to understand oneself, one’s feelings, fears and motivations, being able to create an effective model of oneself and to use it to achieve one’s goals and inter-personal intelligence, the intelligence that enables one to understand others, their feelings, moods, desires, and motivations we have a great opportunity to do some wonderful things with the children.
We can nurture in them the best moral, ethical, and aesthetic attitudes, values and feelings from our traditional cultures and our religions.
When children come to us, they already have experienced their socio-religious cultures, their economic and political cultures.
Our role is to assist them to culture the best from these experiences.
We can work with them to construct the best models of themselves based on an emulation of themselves as Zimbabweans.
A model based on the understanding and appreciation that they draw from a civilisation that is humane, that believes and trusts in justice and equality for all, that respects life.
We would nurture them to appreciate and identify with African beauty, music, dance, art and all that is positive in our own Zimbabwe cultures.
As Zimbabweans, our morality is very different from that of the West, and this distinction should never be blurred.
We are a people who honour the sixth commandment, we do not believe in promiscuity, prostitution, it is viciously encroaching on us, but our fundamental fabric as a people rejects this.
We do not believe in homosexuality, we do not believe in senseless killing as is perpetrated by the West today.
We believe in marriage, proper marriage, we do not sanction loose cohabitation that goes by various names which actually by our standards is prostitution.
We believe in our families, in taking care of our old, not surrendering them to institutions and we believe that the extended family should take care of the unfortunate instead of ceding them to institutions.
We do not believe in buying and selling human beings, we are warm, affectionate and peaceful though we are not afraid to fight for justice and truth.
We respect hard work and our only prayer is that the Lord should send us sufficient rains.
We take pride in our history, our Great Zimbabwe culture, that lasted centuries, in our liberation struggle, in our young Zimbabweans who so loved their country and their people that they gave their lives for them.
This would be the core of who they understand themselves to be, and how they should relate to others.
This is who we are, ndihwo unhu hwedu.
The way to go about this is to discuss the issues with the children, they have already experienced so much of this in one way or another and they have formed opinions, some of them very strong, so when they are involved in discussions it is easy to clarify issues to them, to correct and to strengthen what is already positive in their hearts and minds.
Simply telling them, it is like this or that does not necessarily change anything or make an impression, they may just keep quiet and hold on to what they already believe, but if they are engaged, the dialogue will open their minds.
Children taught and raised this way are fully equipped to be heirs of Zimbabwe and are excellent material for future leadership.
That is how crucial early childhood education is, for statesmen are not created at university, but at kindergarten.
Ndicho Chimurenga chokutanga.
Next week we will explore the rest of the intelligences.

Dr Mahamba is a war veteran and holds a PhD from Havard University. She is currently doing consultancy work.