“Those who protest that children need more unscheduled time are using a half-baked argument.”
Not according to, The Creative Spirit, written by Goleman, Kaufman and Ray, companion book to PBS series by the same name.
According to these experts and Gardner, children develop their ability to be creative by the age of eight years of age. Unscheduled free time to explore and play as the child chooses,especially time to focus on one activity as long as he wants to, determines a child’s ability to solve all kinds of problems for the rest of his life.
Not only must a half-day kindergarten schedule remain, but learning to read in kindergarten, forcing a developing brain that wants to be free to explore all day is destructive. At least coming home after a half day gives the child time to explore without being exhausted after a full day.
If I were a parent with a young child nowadays, I would home school for kindergarten or send to, only a half-day Montessori type education. I would enter the child in the first grade. And believe me, folks , he would learn to read and understand what he read.
Why not leave that choice up to parents? Those who do not believe in full day pre-K are not compelled to send their children anywhere.
There is also a lot of literature on home-schooling kids throughout. Lots of home schooled children actually turn out to be very successful. So should we use that as the basis for dissolving the entire school system?
That’s not what I said. I said the early years are crucial to developing creativity and problem solving and those skills can only be developed by letting a child play and explore in an unhampered environment without an authority figure over his head. That is what this great book says. That is why you hear the expression every one is a genius until after age three. That means creativity and curiosity can be and are stunted, destroyed.The neural pathways responsible for creativity are formed in the early years orj they are not formed. After the early years that is the time for formal , rigorous schooling with drills, tests etc. Telling a child he is wrong, correcting him on reading etc, in kindergarten, that is destructive to his brain’s development. He won’t form THE HABITS Of CREATIVITY , CURIOSITY, and an ORIGINAL perception of anything. Read da book.
So yes, in Ridgewood I would home school until the first grade. My children were in a fun half-day kindergarten program here in Ridgewood years ago; it was fine. No reading drills or arithmetic, no learning. When did the change to reading in kindergarten begin. That is what I object to.
Look the damage is done. Educators have changed the deal. I don’t expect to change anything. It’s sad that’s all.
But hey, it will help the economy. More people will be susceptible to advertising and buy more crap. They won’t have the inner resource to develop a creative hobby on there own, soooo the malls will be filled. Damiano will be happy.
10:28. Seriously. Like full day or keep your kid home and play with sticks??
How about half day and everyone knock it off.
Yes, sticks is great. My brother is a famous scientist. He did JUST THAT played with sticks and stones. Counting, playing with shapes.
Pick up sticks ,Lincoln logs,erector set secreted away from their big brother..kick a ball into a net even on the coldest day. Dig up bugs….live a little tykes
This is not reality. Reality is that the half-day kindergardeners are getting home and being plunked down with an ipad while mommy or nanny texts and texts and posts stupid news items on facebook and then gets her nails done and has a massage. These kids are not having wholesome afternoons of learning and exploring, believe me.
We should not be on the Hook for
Neglectfull Parenting
I love it, looks like the village hall workers.