Interesting Read

Ttimes3

Why Preschool Shouldn't Be Like School.

Moesten

Amen, sister. This is why I have never looked for an "academic" preschool and why I don't get all jazzed up about what letters, sounds, numbers, words in spanish, etc Katherine knows. It's not important and it's not age appropriate. There are far more important learning activities she should be engaged in.

Ironically, people always give me the side eye as if I am a bad psychologist and a worse parent when I tell them early academic learning in preschool isn't terribly important and they're appalled I didn't look for "the best" preschool with "the best" preschool curriculum. I don't give a d@mn about the side eyes since I know what the research says about it but I have stopped discussing preschool with people. It's just not worth the argument.    

Ttimes3

Holla!

Jessica&Brett

That is very interesting. I can show that to DH when he tells me how dumb my montessori schooling was 

I love to watch Fin figure stuff out on his own - he is so much prouder of himself if he figures it out on his own rather than if he just copies what I do too!

Ttimes3

I almost forgot to add that I kept going back to this paragraph:

"What do we already know about how teaching affects learning? Not as much as we would like, unfortunately, because it is a very difficult thing to study. You might try to compare different kinds of schools. But the children and the teachers at a Marin County preschool that encourages exploration will be very different from the children and teachers in a direct instruction program in South Side Chicago. And almost any new program with enthusiastic teachers will have good effects, at least to begin with, regardless of content. So comparisons are difficult. Besides, how do you measure learning, anyway? Almost by definition, directed teaching will make children do better on standardized tests, which the government uses to evaluate school performance. Curiosity and creativity are harder to measure."

As many of us [already] find ourselves in the throngs of *stressing out* about which route to take, regarding our LO's primary/secondary education (private vs. public, which district within the public school system, etc.), I ruminate on the [general] message contained in the aforementioned few sentences, especially the underlined one. Food for thought.  

 

Ttimes3

Jessica&Brett:

That is very interesting. I can show that to DH when he tells me how dumb my montessori schooling was 

Did you attend Sands?

AgathiP04

Interesting.  Thx for sharing!  I will also give a shout out for Montessori... DS has thrived in his Montessori school. 

cops_wife

On the other hand, I read the portions of that article that explained what teachers should be doing and thought, "And how is that not like school?"

All the early childhood ed teachers I have been around do teach that way. How often do you really see a kindergarten teacher standing in the front of a classroom lecturing? I guess if you are seeing that all the time, it's a problem, but I don't think that's typically how teachers teach, especially at that age. Of course preschool should be about learning through experiencing things. Most of school should be. In preschool, that means it's play-based, but that doesn't mean I didn't look for a school with a curriculum. I chose a school where there was intent behind the play. I requested a teacher because of the activities I saw the children in her classroom engaged in. They were learning by playing and making discoveries on their own, but she had a goal for what she wanted them to learn and the things they were exploring were selected with a purpose. Yes, I want my preschooler to have plenty of opportunity for free play, but if I am paying to send her to preschool, I expect there to be some learning involved as well.

And while I'm certainly not a fan of phonics for babies or anything, I also don't think there's anything wrong with a child learning things early. I personally don't believe it's inappropriate for a preschooler to learn to read or write or even speak German if they're interested in it and enjoy it, as long as their parents aren't drilling them or pushing them at that age.

hav2run

cops_wife:

On the other hand, I read the portions of that article that explained what teachers should be doing and thought, "And how is that not like school?"

All the early childhood ed teachers I have been around do teach that way. How often do you really see a kindergarten teacher standing in the front of a classroom lecturing? I guess if you are seeing that all the time, it's a problem, but I don't think that's typically how teachers teach, especially at that age. Of course preschool should be about learning through experiencing things. Most of school should be. In preschool, that means it's play-based, but that doesn't mean I didn't look for a school with a curriculum. I chose a school where there was intent behind the play. I requested a teacher because of the activities I saw the children in her classroom engaged in. They were learning by playing and making discoveries on their own, but she had a goal for what she wanted them to learn and the things they were exploring were selected with a purpose. Yes, I want my preschooler to have plenty of opportunity for free play, but if I am paying to send her to preschool, I expect there to be some learning involved as well.

And while I'm certainly not a fan of phonics for babies or anything, I also don't think there's anything wrong with a child learning things early. I personally don't believe it's inappropriate for a preschooler to learn to read or write or even speak German if they're interested in it and enjoy it, as long as their parents aren't drilling them or pushing them at that age.

This exactly!

kel716

We are so terribly focused on the "test" it is appalling.  For years, I've been told "these are the best test results yet."  Yet the math scores don't reflect what I see in the classroom.  Many districts will do what they need to do to get their "Excellent" rating, but just because they're "excellent" doesn't mean they're a great school.  JMO. 

The biggest thing that I've noticed is the ability of students to think.  In this era of standardized testing, more and more students just want to be told what to do so they can repeat it.  The ability to think is not as important.  The other thing that I find interesting is students have this impression that "good teaching" is a teacher standing at the board demonstrating/explaining/lecturing how to do something.  The truth is most people can't focus on this sort of teaching for long periods of time.  Teaching is developing and implementing activities that help studnets think and learn material.  Sometimes direct lecture/demonstration is needed...  but many times a carefully planned set of questions is way more effective. 

I guess where I'm going with this is that I really do agree with this article.  I want kids to think...  and thinking happens when they're left to think for themselves.  Free play stimulates creativity; creativity stimulates thinking skills. 

Thanks for the article. 

Ttimes3

kel716:

We are so terribly focused on the "test" it is appalling.  For years, I've been told "these are the best test results yet."  Yet the math scores don't reflect what I see in the classroom.  Many districts will do what they need to do to get their "Excellent" rating, but just because they're "excellent" doesn't mean they're a great school.  JMO. 

E!X!A!C!T!L!Y! 

Ttimes3

cops_wife:

On the other hand, I read the portions of that article that explained what teachers should be doing and thought, "And how is that not like school?"

Trust me when I say that, sadly, it isn't. With districts forcing teachers to "teach to the test," REAL teaching (and REAL learning) is happening less and less. It's awful, but it's true. 

cops_wife

Ttimes3:

cops_wife:

On the other hand, I read the portions of that article that explained what teachers should be doing and thought, "And how is that not like school?"

Trust me when I say that, sadly, it isn't. With districts forcing teachers to "teach to the test," REAL teaching (and REAL learning) is happening less and less. It's awful, but it's true. 

OK, but are we talking middle school/high school or Pre-K/K/grade 1? I've spent a pretty good amount of time in one particular public early childhood school, and the teachers there are not feeding info to kids. They're asking questions and offering opportunities for discovery. I completely understand concerns about teaching to the test, and agree that it's a problem, I just haven't seen as much of that in the lower grades, in my experience. Maybe that's an anomaly, but I just sort of doubt that most teachers who are certified in early childhood ed don't teach the way this article suggests is most effective. I mean, surely they're seeing the research as well.

kel716

I think the foundation of school starts in early childhood centers and early elementary grades.  We spend more and more time focusing on certain facts early on that we forget about the beauty of free play.  I think we as teachers (parents are in many ways teachers too IMO) have to follow our kids leads.  We spend more time worrying about ABCs, 123s, colors, etc..  Some kids aren't interested in it at an early age.   That doesn't mean they're less smart than the kid that does..  they may be better at sorting and organizing information, or have a greater imagination.  My feeling is that it's a matter of interest and at some point they'll learn that information.  Different kids like different things...  in early childhood education, my feeling is that we should follow their lead and not worry about certain basic facts. 

Ttimes3

cops_wife:

Ttimes3:

cops_wife:

On the other hand, I read the portions of that article that explained what teachers should be doing and thought, "And how is that not like school?"

Trust me when I say that, sadly, it isn't. With districts forcing teachers to "teach to the test," REAL teaching (and REAL learning) is happening less and less. It's awful, but it's true. 

OK, but are we talking middle school/high school or Pre-K/K/grade 1? I've spent a pretty good amount of time in one particular public early childhood school, and the teachers there are not feeding info to kids. They're asking questions and offering opportunities for discovery. I completely understand concerns about teaching to the test, and agree that it's a problem, I just haven't seen as much of that in the lower grades, in my experience. Maybe that's an anomaly, but I just sort of doubt that most teachers who are certified in early childhood ed don't teach the way this article suggests is most effective. I mean, surely they're seeing the research as well.

One would hope. However, ideals often conflict with bureaucracy when you are a teacher. I am living proof.

Obviously, I can only speak for secondary (as it relates to my own experience); however, when teacher autonomy is stripped in favor of meeting state/national standards, my [generalized] point is that it, more times than not, leaves little room for "good teaching." That said, as kel pointed out, the "best" districts don't always have the best teachers (or, more aptly worded, employ the best/most effective methods of teaching/learning). It's unfortunate. KWIM?