I was browsing the Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Association website and found an intriguing article from the Atlantic magazine, The New Preschool is Crushing Kids.
The article, by Erika Christakis, suggests that work is replacing play in early learning settings due to the demands for school readiness results and early reading. She lays out an interesting case that children are being crushed, and are losing the joy of learning. She indicates that preschool should be about developing relationships, rich conversation, and the excitement of exploration.
Christakis, an early-childhood educator, writes:
“In a high-quality program, adults are building relationships with the children and paying close attention to their thought processes and, by extension, their communication. They’re finding ways to make the children think out loud.”
“Conversation is gold. It’s the most efficient early-learning system we have.”
“The real focus in the preschool years should be not just on vocabulary and reading, but on talking and listening. We forget how vital spontaneous, unstructured conversation is to young children’s understanding. By talking with adults, and one another, they pick up information.”
Is Christakis right? Several European countries, like Sweden and Finland, delay formal school, and concentrate on interaction and learning through play. They have established an extension of informal, play-based preschool, delaying formal schooling. Researchers are pointing to evidence showing that starting school later is best. Sweden and Finland have better academic achievement and child well-being, despite children not starting school until age 7. (Note that their early care and education programs are excellent). Whether the Scandinavian experience can be transferred effectively to the U.S. is unclear.
But at least, we should be careful about pushing formal learning too hard too early and with too much pressure. Let’s hope Wisconsin’s preschool programs have a good balance in their programs, with a strong emphasis on rich conversation, fun, and exploration.
Dave Edie
Early Education Policy Analyst
