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Addressing the Cognitive Clamor
May 30, 2017
The sky, serene, or piled with white, slow-moving clouds, or full of wind and purple storm, is always overhead… You wait for that sudden sense of romance everywhere which is the touch of something big and simple and beautiful. It is always beyond the walls.
-Edna Brush Perkins, 1880–1930, poet
-Edna Brush Perkins, 1880–1930, poet
"Each year parents come to our school to see if it is the kind of program they want for their child," writes Carol Hillman in her book, Teaching Four-Year-Olds: A Personal Journey. "Some ask me how much reading readiness we do. If this is the only question they ask, it gives me pause…At our school the main thrust is helping children to grow and understand themselves, their peers, and the adults around them. Our method of helping children understand the world around them is to involve them in all kinds of hand-on experiences. Cognitive skills are definitely a part of those experiences. But we have no workbooks. No worksheets...The presence of too many letters, too many words, too many numbers, or too much technology can dull the imagination and put unnecessary pressure on this precious time of life.
"The most important thing to remember about the cognitive clamor is to keep it in perspective. Young children can and do learn all kinds of cognitive skills in a natural and unpressured classroom environment.
Some important questions to ask:
- How will you respond to the parent who asks what you are doing about reading readiness?
- Do you believe that showing your enthusiasm for a book you read during story time might be more important than teaching the alphabet?
- Do you play rhyming games with children? Do you praise them for being good poets?
- Do you let the children choose a favorite picture and dictate a story to you about it?"
A Personal Journey |
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Comments (3)
Displaying All 3 CommentsPennsylvania, United States
I couldn't agree more, children do learn so much in a 'natural and unpressured classroom environment'. By just enjoying normal conversation with children, you touch on so many topics. The cleverness of the children never fails to amaze me. When they are playing and engaged, they are learning--it's up to the adults to see and understand the learning that is taking place and we must be able to vocalize this learning to parents.
CSBC
Denver, CO, United States
I think this is all good advice, but my view is that everything we do with young children - art, exploring the outdoors, building relationships, playing on the playground, does, in fact, prepare students for cognitive learning. A child who has developed a positive relationship with an adult will learn better. A child who sees the patterns of color, shape, and space in a picture is developing cognitive skills. A child who estimates how far he can jump off a platform is involved in cognitive processes.
4-Kids Family Childcare
Shorewood, Wisconsin, United States
The word classroom interests me. I have an in home childcare setting and am finding that parents are seeking the preschool at age 3, they seem to want "school" for their children.
I am sad to see them go at that age as we have K-4 for them all the next year.
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