Port Louis, 5 September 2022: Dukesbridge, the largest chain of private schools in Mauritius, hosted a seminar in partnership with the Australian Chamber of Commerce on the theme of ‘Parenting in the Modern World’ at the Caudan Arts Centre in Port Louis on Saturday 3 September.
The event kicked off with Graeme Robertson, President of Australian Chamber of Commerce, introducing Jodie Matthews from the Australian ministry of education as the first keynote speaker. Jodie Matthews, who serves as a Principal Consultant for International Education team at the Government of Western Australia’s School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA), spoke at length on the Australian philosophy of education. She noted that the all-important question – What is the ‘best’ education? – can be answered in several ways, depending on one’s priorities. She also commented on the transformation of the education landscape, which has moved from an overriding emphasis on academic rigour to a more meaningful quest for life skills such as critical thinking, self-direction, independence, and application of information technologies.
“Dukesbridge primary schools are affiliated with the Western Australia’s School Curriculum and Standards Authority. The Western Australian curriculum is globally recognised and covers the knowledge, skills, behaviour, and disposition that will help students to live and work successfully in the 21st century. It’s currently being delivered in countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and China,” noted Jodie.
She concluded by congratulating Dukesbridge on its successful transition to the secondary year of schooling from P7 in 2023 and noted that, in doing so, they are providing multiple pathways that cater for every student – not just those that are academically inclined.
The keynote address was followed by a panel discussion on the post-Covid challenges of parenting, which was moderated by Rishi Nursimulu, Founder of Dukesbridge. The panel consisted of Jodie Matthews; Susanna Dalais, Co-Founder and Director of Lighthouse Primary and Secondary School in Mauritius; Ingrid Holmes, Head of Telfair Primary School; and Julia Rolfe, EQ Practitioner, Business Leader and Leadership Coach.
Commenting on how children across age groups were affected by school closures during Covid, Susanna said: “There was a big difference between the two hard shutdowns when parents and children were locked in together, and the time when adults were allowed to get out and about while children were left at home with lots of screens. We have seen the damages and strongly believed that the public health risks to children were not being sufficiently weighed against the risks of subjecting them to isolation in that way.”
For her part, Ingrid noted the effect of such school closures on younger children at preschool level, stating that: “We notice that the social skills that school earlier helped develop in younger children are now lacking, so it is important for children of all ages to be at school. School not only gives children a routine that provides them safety and security but also ensures that children mature a lot faster as they interact with others.”
Elaborating upon why schooling is such an integral aspect of a child’s upbringing, Julia said: “Being able to go to school, to play, to socialise, to interact with other children, to do what they used to do – part of that is the comfort of what normal life used to look like, and their craving of something normal again. I think school provided a safe place where children could go – and it’s amazing how children learn from one another. That was lacking (during covid), that was hard.”
For her part, Jodie emphasised the importance of student engagement and self-motivated learners vs the traditional focus on discipline and studying under pressure of examinations.
In response to Rishi’s query on how to deal with increasing cases of screen addiction in the new normal, Jodie went on to discuss the findings of a study done by the Australian ministry of education on how much screen time should be allowed to children: “The study recommends no screen time for children below 2 years of age. For children between 2 and 5 years of age, the study recommends no more than an hour of screen time a day. Finally, for children between 5 to 17 years, there should be no more than two hours of screen time a day.”
Following the panel discussion, the second keynote address was delivered by Julia Rolfe, who addressed the topic of emotional intelligence. She explained that our emotional responses are governed by a part of the brain called the cortex, and as activities in the cortex increase, so does our ability to engage with our cognitive skills. She also discussed the role of mirror neurons in social interactions, noting that: “This mirror neuron is really important to understand the social brain. It fires when we have an emotion, it enables us to comprehend what emotion we are having, and to recognise emotions in others. There is this idea that our emotions are contagious, that we can bring our emotion and mirror it onto our children. It’s also the reason for the chameleon effect – why our kids have similar mannerisms to us.”
Julia also highlighted how parents must spend time to understand where their children’s emotions arise from, to slow down, to pay attention to their worries and anxieties – and ask the right questions to change their focus to positive aspects. “The organisation I work for is called Six Seconds and they believe in three pursuits – knowing yourself, choosing yourself, and giving yourself. One of the key ideas in the choose yourself philosophy is to move from the concept that our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are three separate things. Another key tool is exercising optimism – if we can put on a different mindset and say: How can we be curious? The key to engage our kids is to empower them to be curious. Let’s teach our kids to look at each problem as an opportunity to learn. The last part is to have a bigger picture and acknowledge that our kids will go through tough times, but if they can think beyond themselves, they can be equipped with the skills to connect, to mirror something different. Ultimately, I believe that this is key to unlocking a brighter future,” she concluded.
The second half of the seminar saw another panel discussion, this time on the theme of disarming children with anger and dealing with behaviour issues as parents. The panel discussion was moderated by Shannon Briggs Nursimulu, Managing Director of Dukesbridge schools and featured Rose Smith, Principal Consultant for Early Childhood in the International Education team at the Government of Western Australia’s SCSA; Smeeta Beeharry Heeramun, Clinical Psychologist at Wellkin; Kirsty Lallchand, Head of Dukesbridge Primary School; and Anne Rajoo, NLP Practitioner & Parenting Coach.
The expert speakers discussed crucial topics for anger management in children, such as:
– How to manage angry and stubborn children?
– How to manage tantrums and emotional meltdowns?
– How to stop children from asking for things once you’ve said no?
– How to control a child from hitting while crying?
– How to discipline rebellious and defiant kids without affecting their confidence?
– How to get children to open up to parents?
– What does success look like for a parent?
Finally, Anne Rajoo took to the floor to deliver the third keynote address, and the event came to a close with Rishi delivering a note of thanks to the speakers for sharing their valuable insights on parenting in a post-Covid world.
