Are we pushing young children too fast on reading? Should they get more play and creative time? Should these students be tested? Can we be doing more for children this young? Discuss!
The Exceptional Infinite
thoughts and musings from a guy in his 50s
This is something that I am passionate about as I am a preschool teacher. I believe that there is so much focus now in kindergarten on learning how to read that children are missing other key skills such as learning to get along with others which come about by play. One of my favorite educators is Dr. Jean Feldman. She is famous for her songs and is an advocate for keeping play in preschool and kindergarten. Her blog is a good one for teachers and others to check out (www.drjean.org). I believe that parents of young children need to do their research and not believe everything they hear from schools or the media that reading or writing should be taught so early. Some of the 4 and 5 year olds in my classroom do not have the fine motor skills yet to properly grasp a pencil. They do not all know every letter of the alphabet or their numbers and I do not expect them to. Finland doesn’t start compulsory school until 7 and their children start to read and write then or in preschools at age 6. Here is an interesting article link regarding that topic http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/?no-ist=&preview=&page=2)
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