To subscribe to ExchangeEveryDay, a free daily e-newsletter, go to www.ccie.com/eed
|
To say our field is diverse is a gross understatement. Early childhood professionals operate huge programs and tiny programs, for profit, non profit programs, and public programs. The profession includes staunch right-wingers and flaming left-wingers and every shade in between. When it comes to curriculum, our programs are just as diverse — ranging from the highly structured academic programs to totally unstructured play programs — again with every possible variation in between.
These differences have been exposed most dramatically of late around the debate of play versus academic programs. This peaked in 2008 when one in four participants in our annual Exchange Insta Poll on Threats identified "the push down of academics" as a major threat. As the economy worsened and other concerns peaked, only 12% shared academics as a prime threat in 2009, and in this year's Insta Poll on Threats, less than 10% see it that way.
However, a recent New York Times article, shared by several readers, "Studying Young Minds and How to Teach Them," will certainly ratchet up this debate. Here is a small excerpt:
"For much of the last century, educators and many scientists believed that children could not learn math at all before the age of five, that their brains simply were not ready. But recent research has turned that assumption on its head — that, and a host of other conventional wisdom about geometry, reading, language, and self-control in class. The findings, mostly from a branch of research called cognitive neuroscience, are helping to clarify when young brains are best able to grasp fundamental concepts.
"In one recent study, for instance, researchers found that most entering preschoolers could perform rudimentary division, by distributing candies among two or three play animals. In another, scientists found that the brain’s ability to link letter combinations with sounds may not be fully developed until age 11 — much later than many have assumed. The teaching of basic academic skills, until now largely the realm of tradition and guesswork, is giving way to approaches based on cognitive science... ".
The Exchange book, More Than Numbers: Mathematical Thinking in the Early Years, is a must-have resource for presenting mathematics to young children as a way of thinking through practical, hands-on experiences. This inspiring collection offers you a wealth of powerful insights and ideas.
For more information about Exchange's magazine, books, and other products pertaining to ECE, go to www.ccie.com.
|
© 2005 Child Care Information Exchange - All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Return to Site