“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”
~Albert Einstein
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Early Childhood Education
This society puts so much pressure on us to teach our children their letters and numbers earlier and earlier. I too am wondering if it is:
Much Too Early! by David Elkind, Ph.D.
This may sound strange coming from the mother of a child who is reading before he's 3, but I completely agree. I do think we push kids way too early to acquire skills. We should let kids have fun being kids. You can introduce the concepts and if your child shows interest, encourage him or her, but don't push the skills at them if they're not ready for it.
And this goes for any kind of skills, not just letters and numbers. Brendan has very bad fine motor skills. I am encouraging him in this area in terms of using utensils and other every day skills, but am I concerned about his drawing or if he can write? Of course not. On the other hand my mother told me she's glad that they encourage writing skills with the 4/5 year olds in Brendan's preschool because what will he do when he's tested for the gifted classes for kindergarten and he can't write. Huh? He'll learn when he's able to. Just as other children will acquire other skills as they're ready.
It's just all a part of the huge competitiveness of American society and we are placing our kids at the middle of it. Reminds me of my brother and SIL who could afford to have more than one child but who will only have the one because otherwise how could they afford to send him to special classes and soccer clinics, etc.
We should let kids have fun being kids. You can introduce the concepts and if your child shows interest, encourage him or her, but don't push the skills at them if they're not ready for it.
You hit the nail on the head for me right there. I completely agree with you. I think its a line all of us parents walk, letting our kids just be kids and encouraging their interests. My sister also read by age 3, and Olivia LOVES books...I cant say she is 'reading' but she is certainly able to memorize her books and make it look an awful lot LIKE reading, LOL Brendan is quite exceptional(as you know) I in no way think thats because *you* have impossed your agenda on him! I am mostly frustrated with the seemingly endless amnts of competition between parents about how early their child did XYZ. Its like our culture is obsessed with forcing our children to grow up early, and to learn so much so early. I think kids are really missing out, you are only a child once and there are so many wonderful experiences children today are missing out on. Whats more is studies have shown that children who read at 4 and children who read at 6 level out and are testing the same by age 7-8 but the children who were pushed too far in early childhood education programs were lacking in many other basic social, critical thinking and problem solving skills. I wish I could site the studies, Ill have to do that if i get a chnace this afternoon(I hate stating things and not backing them up, LOL) I am so torn when it comes to Olivias education, on the one hand I am a radical UNschooler(to be), I also like a lot of the Waldorf ideals in a homeschooled environment, another part of me feels drawn to a more traditional curiculum(work books "doing school"), possibly even a charter school. Thank goodness I still have a few years to figure all this out! In the meantime I just want to let Olivia have as many experiences on her own, let he develope her own sense of wonder about the world we live in, who cares if she says the sky is pink(rather than blue) or that the Moon is the suns shadow. Shes learning about her senses, its amazing, if say a cloud is in front of the sun she will say "cold now" when it comes back "hot now" the light/dark connection hasnt been made yet but Im sure its coming soon. anyway Im rambling way off topic here now, LOL
2 comments:
This may sound strange coming from the mother of a child who is reading before he's 3, but I completely agree. I do think we push kids way too early to acquire skills. We should let kids have fun being kids. You can introduce the concepts and if your child shows interest, encourage him or her, but don't push the skills at them if they're not ready for it.
And this goes for any kind of skills, not just letters and numbers. Brendan has very bad fine motor skills. I am encouraging him in this area in terms of using utensils and other every day skills, but am I concerned about his drawing or if he can write? Of course not. On the other hand my mother told me she's glad that they encourage writing skills with the 4/5 year olds in Brendan's preschool because what will he do when he's tested for the gifted classes for kindergarten and he can't write. Huh? He'll learn when he's able to. Just as other children will acquire other skills as they're ready.
It's just all a part of the huge competitiveness of American society and we are placing our kids at the middle of it. Reminds me of my brother and SIL who could afford to have more than one child but who will only have the one because otherwise how could they afford to send him to special classes and soccer clinics, etc.
Crazy!!!!
We should let kids have fun being kids. You can introduce the concepts and if your child shows interest, encourage him or her, but don't push the skills at them if they're not ready for it.
You hit the nail on the head for me right there. I completely agree with you. I think its a line all of us parents walk, letting our kids just be kids and encouraging their interests. My sister also read by age 3, and Olivia LOVES books...I cant say she is 'reading' but she is certainly able to memorize her books and make it look an awful lot LIKE reading, LOL
Brendan is quite exceptional(as you know) I in no way think thats because *you* have impossed your agenda on him! I am mostly frustrated with the seemingly endless amnts of competition between parents about how early their child did XYZ. Its like our culture is obsessed with forcing our children to grow up early, and to learn so much so early. I think kids are really missing out, you are only a child once and there are so many wonderful experiences children today are missing out on. Whats more is studies have shown that children who read at 4 and children who read at 6 level out and are testing the same by age 7-8 but the children who were pushed too far in early childhood education programs were lacking in many other basic social, critical thinking and problem solving skills. I wish I could site the studies, Ill have to do that if i get a chnace this afternoon(I hate stating things and not backing them up, LOL)
I am so torn when it comes to Olivias education, on the one hand I am a radical UNschooler(to be), I also like a lot of the Waldorf ideals in a homeschooled environment, another part of me feels drawn to a more traditional curiculum(work books "doing school"), possibly even a charter school. Thank goodness I still have a few years to figure all this out!
In the meantime I just want to let Olivia have as many experiences on her own, let he develope her own sense of wonder about the world we live in, who cares if she says the sky is pink(rather than blue) or that the Moon is the suns shadow. Shes learning about her senses, its amazing, if say a cloud is in front of the sun she will say "cold now" when it comes back "hot now" the light/dark connection hasnt been made yet but Im sure its coming soon. anyway Im rambling way off topic here now, LOL
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