Friday, January 10, 2020

What the Research TELLS us to do (vs. what we actually do)


A friend posted this article on Facebook, and it really resonated with me. You can read the article in its entirety by clicking here: What the Research Tells Us To Do. I want to note that this is a friend who has her kids in public school. This is not a homeschooling post bashing public schools in the least bit. 

I am not against public schools. Or private schools. I taught in a public school. I went to a private school. My Dad taught in that school. My brother is an athletic director at a school now. Most of my family members and many of my friends have their kids in school.

But this article resonated as to why (some of our) schools are broken and why more and more parents are saying "I can't let the school do this wrong." 

For example: nearly all research indicates that children are not really ready to read until they are seven-years-old. But in the USA we are NOT listening. We are forcing kids to learn to read younger and younger when the facts are: MOST are not ready.

If you wander into a homeschool cooperative, you will find that a vast majority of the children are not reading at five or even six-years-old. That's because we are listening to the research. Almost all kids are reading by the age of seven. When the research indicates they are ready.

Another point this article touches on: "early childhood education should focus on equity, happiness, well-being and joy in learning." It's proven. It's a fact. The research shows it. 

But we aren't listening in the USA. We are:

  • increasing instruction time.
  • relying on standardized tests.
  • requiring kids to sit and listen.
  • focusing HARD on literacy and math at young ages.
Now listen: I know some schools aren't doing this. And some teachers are fighting this norm. I'm just summarizing in a general sense what this article said. 

The author finishes with this, and I agree: "This is not my feeling. This is not my opinion. This is not my philosophy. These are the facts as fas we can currently determine them. It is cruel, even abusive, to base our educational system on other people's feelings and fantasies, even if they are rich and powerful. For the sake of our children, we must demand play-based education because, damn it, that's what the evidence tells us."





1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Agree that play-based learning is the best for young kids. Research also shows that in countries (like Finland and Scandinavia countries mentioned in the article) where there is investment (monetary and otherwise) in public and social programs including parental leave, public school (from preschool on) and healthcare so that equality is promoted (and improve life for "the least of these,"), citizens (particularly students) thrive. We, and our schools, would be better off in this country if Americans could embrace similar collective responsibility rather than opting out on an individual basis to do things "their" way(s) because of a host of personal reasons.