ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

The pressure that is placed on young children if very discouraging for those of us in the early childhood profession. The individuals influencing these ridiculous claims know absolutely nothing about early education and it's up to us to stand together and push back.

How sad!! I am so thankful for the opportunity to homeschool my children. My oldest is 6 and so far we've mostly been "unschooling" and playing with lots of time outside, running, digging, jumping... We read all the time, sing, bake, do household chores. We are mostly media free. He is reading, adding (even multiple-digit numbers), subtracting, multiplying, dividing - all learned through play!
It makes me sad to see such young children pushed academically (and burning out at such a young age) when they really should be playing.

This is heart-breaking really. It's a shame that this fear-driven hype has gotten some parents to buy into the idea of 'the earlier, the better'. Plus come to think of it, it appears ironic to me that in spite of the abundance of environmental information and increase in children's world of knowledge in this information age, we're still pushing them to know even more and much earlier. Fear-driven desperation can cause parents to make well intentioned-decisions that are detrimental to their children. Let's continue to advocate as ECE professionals on behalf of these children.

I, too, was dismayed by this article - it was in the Sunday Style section of the NYT. Everyone should visit the article's site - the photo of the little girl cited in the article tells the story even more poignantly than the words. The reporter is perhaps trying to reveal this poor example of what Kumon probably does not call education - they don't call their employees "teachers" but assistants!

I recommend comparing this with the article in the May/June 2011 issue of Exchange: "It's Time to Stop Defending Play" by Rosemary Burton (pp. 68-72). Dr. Burton concludes her article: "Let's talk about those learning experiences. Let's stop talking simply about learning through play. Let's instead talk about the 'what' and 'how' of learning through play as teachers facilitate that learning in skillful and deliberate ways. (p. 72). I would add that we must talk to parents about what it means to learn through play. Parents fear for their children's future. Let's tell them their children live in the present and that they learn best in the here and now by engaging in a wide range of activities with capable and educated adults who happen to be parents, relatives, and teachers.

I'm in tears right now.
Yesterday afternoon I spent 30 minutes on the playground with our 3-year-olds. In that 30 minutes, they dug holes in the digging area, moved sand 20 feet across the sandbox, climbed into the playhouse where they pretended to be a family with two moms and three babies, watered the gardens, rode trikes and scooters and pulled wagons, swung from the monkey bars, smelled every flower to see if it had "changed since morning," and checked 50 times on the empty bird nest to see if the baby birds had flown "home to see them's mama."
This morning my heart is breaking for little Eza. What are we doing to our children?

I read the NYT article in its entirety. It read like an advertisement for Kumon; a great boost for them, no doubt.

My heart breaks for our young children who are subjected to this type of teaching. My daughter is 3.5 yrs old. She knows all her letters, numbers, colors, shapes, directional signs, etc. I didn't drill her; I exposed her to the information on a daily basis. I used concrete, hands-on materials. I used sign language. We read, listen to audio recording (music and stories), we play music on the piano, violin, guitar, trumpet, recorder, tin whistle, bells, tambourine, drums and harp. We sing at the top of our lungs with Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman and others. We explore, create, play outside, get really, really messy and travel – a lot. We visit zoos, aquariums, museums, libraries, etc. We talk, talk, talk. I explain words, concepts and principles.

We do not have a television. We do not watch movies or mass media videos. We do not listen to popular radio stations. The media she is exposed to is carefully screened and monitored and kept to a minimum.

This is what 25+ years in early childhood education has taught me to do with my child.

Her pediatrician says she’s the best listener of all his patients.
She can actually carry on a conversation with anyone.
She has amazing fine motor skills and loves to “write” – whether it be with a pencil, marker, computer keyboard or (yes) a typewriter.
She’s starting to learn phonics just from our reading time together.

Guess who will not be attending a tutoring program?

This article should be called "Torturing Three Year Olds"

This is the most alarming thing I have read since the articles on "reclaimed beef" on a health website.

My thoughts are that if you follow this recipe you will have children on anti-anxiety meds by age four and they will HATE school. I predict that instead of fostering success, the sensitive child will be more likely to drop out, self medicate and act out. This may spur on a few competitive type A personalities, but the loss of what all children learn through constructive PLAY is too big a price to pay.

Children only have moments of golden childhood anyways so can we leave them alone and let them develop appropriately while they still can?

My husband was reading the NY Times issue that this article was in. Seeing the title he skimmed it quickly and handed it over saying, "Here's something that will make you talk in tongues!" He was right! Even at three, the charm of a sticker would have quickly worn off for me and I would have been dreading "the drill". I am perplexed at the way many parents totally ignore evidence-based research for media hype and a sales pitch. Perhaps this is a cultural issue where "keeping up with the Joneses" (or outdoing them) is so deep-rooted that it will take generations to change. I don't know whether to scream or cry.

This just shows that if you can make parents "afraid" of something that is not real, you can sell them anything. If these companies weren't selling the need for tutoring three year old children, they'd be selling snake oil. It's the adults who need tutoring in life.

Absurd! Let children be kids in loving and stimulated environments. So-called prestigous schools are so into image only. Lots of frustrated parents that have more money than common sense living out their personal frustrations of life through their children. 3 year olds could give rats behind about academic learning. That will come soon enough in a child's and teens life at schools with various degrees of academic programs. Some parents are just so gullable to believe that elitists lifestyles are common place for everybody I guess?

This is indeed scary. Parents must also be reminded that children have a right to be children first and then naturally and progressively grow into "students". Society is becoming more and more fixated on fast tracking their children through all aspects of life.
Parents are missing the pleasure of watching their children play and grow naturally - making discoveries and connections and whooping for joy as they do so. How many whoop for joy when they form letters and numerals correctly at age 3?