Quick question for my European readers...

[rivka]

...is this person smoking crack, or what?

While I agree with the general consensus that it's a bad idea to push your kids too much, I have to say that when when I was in preschool (in Europe) we all had to learn how to read, write, learn multiplication tables, long division, addition, subtraction, inequalities, a foreign language, AND we played a lot.

It was pretty much the norm to know how to read and to have basic arithmetic skills *long* before you entered elementary school, and we never felt like we weren't having fun.

So if I had a choice, yes, I'd definitely want to send my kids to that kind of a preschool. It's not about being ahead of everyone else (because, like I said, in my case, I was just average when I could read when I was three). It's about the fact that no one can learn like a child can, and you only have a certain number of years before your brain starts turning into mush. Why waste those years with nothing but play?

Is it really "just average" for Europeans to be reading at three, and doing long division before the age of five? I've always been under the impression that Europeans are more likely to have a "let children be children" philosophy than Americans, but I'll admit that I don't have much to base that impression on, besides the big progressive educational philosophies (Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emiliana) all being European in origin.

(Obviously, I'm not going to run out and buy a lot of flash cards if she turns out to be correct. I'm just curious.)

NB: I don't think we're talking about a radical cultural disconnect about which ages constitute "preschool," because this is someone who now lives in the United States. She never specified where in Europe she is from; she included all Europeans in this comment and her further elaborations upon it.

Comments

[naomikritzer]

I haven't read Einstein Never Used Flash Cards but it sounds like I should pick it up the next time I want a book to validate my parenting approach. *grin*

I completely agree with the benefits of play, and I would extend it to say that even kids who do have the cognitive readiness for early academics should be encouraged to spend as much time as they'd like playing. Molly still likes playing with Play-Doh, building forts out of blankets and chairs, dressing up in costumes, etc. I'm not going to make her put her book down and play if she wants to sit and read, but I'm certainly going to provide her with a good environment for play, not just big stacks of books.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with the benefits of play, and I would extend it to say that even kids who do have the cognitive readiness for early academics should be encouraged to spend as much time as they'd like playing.

Oh yeah, I agree 100%. I just meant that I don't think there's anything wrong with offering academics to children who are ready for them early. As an early reader, I always hated it when people told me I should be playing instead of having my nose in a book.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

My parents thought I should read less and play outside more, so I just kept a book outdoors in a safe place and went to read where they couldn't see me.

[naomikritzer]

I've tried to get Molly to read outside when the weather's nice (fresh air! fresh air is good!) but she prefers the couch, as it's comfy, she has her bookmark stash right there, and the rest of her books are close to hand.