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Fun-filled childhood or know all your ABC‘s?
After reading the Scripted Prescription A Cure for Childhood, I found myself just as guilty as Vivian’s kindergarten teacher. In my school, three times a years I have to do the observations and then make the evaluation of my children in my classroom. I have to turn in the levels where they are at in fifty different area. My job is to help them to reach another higher level of developments. Well, it is ironic even some of my children had just turned four years old. I have to write down the upper and lower cases of Alphabets that they are able to recognize, know how to write and the letters-sound connections. Needless to say, the academic part of the daily curricula takes up a sizable portion of our day. I have to constantly struggle to balance a fun filled and yet academic schedule for our children. We do parents’ survey every year. After I have collected all the surveys, I was disappointed when I read the results of what we can do to improve our program. A few parents wrote: Give my child homework to take home daily. Isn’t early childhood years are the time to learn how to play, to socialize and to develop competency? As an early childhood educator, are we sometimes so pressure to do what our school officials expect us to do or we let our kids be kids and enjoy their fun-filled childhoods?
After reading What About Play? I want to know why the United States early childhood educators are not adopting the success recipe as in Finland? Starting the children to read until they are seven years old seems too late for me. I know some children know how to read at an earlier age. But the question is do they comprehend and really savor early childhood literacy?
Block area is one of my popular corner in my classroom. I also enjoy observing the interactions in this space. My children exhibit their creativity, imaginations, compromising and negotiating skills in this constant visited area. These oldest geometric wooden pieces are still the most popular toys for our children of different ages.
Hi Ivy,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your posting. I had pressure from the parents too during parent teacher conferences. They have high expectation on their precious ones. Now, I'm working in one of the international school in Hong Kong. Teaching 3-4 years olds, I didn't expect them to read and write. But some of them were able to read and write a lot of short words. I was new to the school and the school system in Hong Kong. I noticed parents in Hong Kong have a mile more on high expectation than Hawaii from the teacher and the children. I felt that I'm working with kindergarten class instead of pre-school where a kid can be a kid. But yet, I thought if a child is able he/she is able without force or push as long as the educator have that kind of activities available to them. Every child is unique and different, and grow in different rates. Parents don't understand that. How can we promote our believes to them. How can we promote literacy vs. creative art, or the other subject areas.
Hi Ivy,
ReplyDeleteYour honesty with your experience as a teacher offers all of something to think about as educators and activists. The requirements of a federal program like Head Start are detailed and restrictive -- if they are not followed, funding is lost. Decisions in the classroom are about continuing the program. So, as educators, can we reconcile our requirements with our wishes and appropriate practices?
Recently there was an article in the NEA journal discussing how accountability has become the limitation to our teaching. Should accountability be the demise of teaching? How can teachers question accountability practices in order to rethink the construct of curriculum and classrooms?
Jeanne
Hi!
ReplyDeleteIt is true how we push children to do advance leveled curricula. I feel its because we want the children to make it to kindergarden and because of the kindergarden standards we have to teach things we don't believe in. It's difficult wanting to do things what we believe in and instead we are forced to do the opposite for the sake of the child and parents. I believe teachers are sometimes stuck in the middle because we are educated to one thing and in the real world we have to do the exact opposite.
Aloha Ivy,
ReplyDeleteAs an educator, I do feel the "pressure" from parents (and the school system) about academics rather than the importance of play or areas of development such as social skills, fine/gross motor skills, cognitive skills, etc. Parents want their kids to be "smart" before they enter Kindergarten. "How can we change this?" "How can we do what we feel is right by allowing children to learn through play without having to be pressured into making sure kids pass the "test" before entering Kindergarten?" I feel we send mixed messages to the children when we place academics over letting kids be kids. We as educators know very well that our children learn and develop through play.