No Flashcards Here
*Warning. It's my soapbox and I am going to stand on it.*
I have playgroup every other Friday with my MOMS Club, and today was the day. I enjoy getting together with the other moms, and I like that Mr. Personality has a steady group he has been playing with since he was about 16 months, although "playing with" is more of a general description because usually they all either ignore each other or try to rip toys away from someone else.
So, two of the other moms have older children, and they were discussing preschools. I have been very interested in hearing about the preschools in our area, how much they cost, and the like. So, I got some good dish on some of them, then they began talking about the curriculum at each of the various schools.
I recently began reading a book titled "Einstein Never Used Flashcards", and the title is fairly self-explanatory. The authors, PH.D.'s all, believe that we are pushing children too hard and too fast into academic curricula and achievement. Now, before I read this book, I was somewhat of the same mind, having read some studies here and there.
Just the title of the book alone makes me think, how many geniuses has the world produced without their mothers playing Mozart in utero? If our method of early introduction to academia is so successful, why have school test scores basically stayed steady or dropped? This book is a real eye-opener into child development and I would urge people who think that their child must be reading by age three to read what the authors have to say. Let our children be children, for goodness sakes, they will already be spending 12-plus years in school as it is. Let them climb trees, build block houses, play hide and seek, or just lay on their backs and look at clouds if that is what they feel like doing. Our society expects too much from people, e.g. 70 hour workweeks to be "successful," and our children are paying the price.
*Leaps down from box, invigorated from her ranting, still swearing its not about PMS.*
I have playgroup every other Friday with my MOMS Club, and today was the day. I enjoy getting together with the other moms, and I like that Mr. Personality has a steady group he has been playing with since he was about 16 months, although "playing with" is more of a general description because usually they all either ignore each other or try to rip toys away from someone else.
So, two of the other moms have older children, and they were discussing preschools. I have been very interested in hearing about the preschools in our area, how much they cost, and the like. So, I got some good dish on some of them, then they began talking about the curriculum at each of the various schools.
I recently began reading a book titled "Einstein Never Used Flashcards", and the title is fairly self-explanatory. The authors, PH.D.'s all, believe that we are pushing children too hard and too fast into academic curricula and achievement. Now, before I read this book, I was somewhat of the same mind, having read some studies here and there.
Just the title of the book alone makes me think, how many geniuses has the world produced without their mothers playing Mozart in utero? If our method of early introduction to academia is so successful, why have school test scores basically stayed steady or dropped? This book is a real eye-opener into child development and I would urge people who think that their child must be reading by age three to read what the authors have to say. Let our children be children, for goodness sakes, they will already be spending 12-plus years in school as it is. Let them climb trees, build block houses, play hide and seek, or just lay on their backs and look at clouds if that is what they feel like doing. Our society expects too much from people, e.g. 70 hour workweeks to be "successful," and our children are paying the price.
*Leaps down from box, invigorated from her ranting, still swearing its not about PMS.*
Comments