American kids suffer from a learning gap?
Categories: Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Education
My wife pointed out this very interesting article about a woman's experience trying to get her five-year-old daughter into a kindergarten in London -- Nancy Zuckerbrod's family is moving across the pond. It turned out that her daughter Olivia was well behind what was expected of kids entering Kindergarten in England. She has what the head teacher of the British school called a "learning gap".Apparently, five-year-olds in England can read, tell time, and handle fractions. Olivia is an intelligent girl who did attend pre-kindergarten in the US. Her education, however, included planting seeds, learning about insects, and "mastering the monkey bars," rather than the academic subjects the British kids were learning. At first, she felt pretty bad, but then decided that she was okay with where her daughter is, and she'll just have to catch up.
Play-based learning is the norm in American pre-schools, and, personally, I think that's the right way to go. Four-year-olds need to learn about the properties of matter, gravity and other natural forces, and creative expression through activities like playing in the sand box, building with blocks, and finger-painting before they need to get into the nuts and bolts of describing them with fractions and time.
There are, however, those who believe strongly in academic pre-schools, including, apparently, the UK. But, as Mrs. Zuckerbrod says, "a child's most important teachers are his or her parents." Her daughter will catch up, even as the British kids struggle to catch up on the monkey bars.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Karen 8-11-2008 @ 2:44PM
I agree. UK is wrong on this one.
Kids do NOT need to be reading by Pre-K or working with fractions. I suspect these kids have to learn and relearn a lot of that material.
I don't even think kids (in healthy homes with engaged parents) need pre-K.
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Jenni 8-11-2008 @ 4:59PM
As a preschool teacher you are more than right! Children's don't need preschool as long as they have parents who are involved in their lives. The only thing we do differently than a loving parent in the home is to teach a mass group of children at once rather than devote our attention to just the one child.
Children are working on fractions and all those other concepts through their play. Helping cook in the kitchen teaches about fractions. Dropping a waterballoon off the balcony is gravity. They may not have the words to describe it (but a parent or teacher can give them those words) but they have the real life experiences to build those necessary fountations to learn more about them in the future.
A child can memorize what a fraction is but cannot actually conceptualize what it is until they actually have experiences with it; and typically not until later than that!
http://www.thepreschooltest.blogspot.com
Karen 8-11-2008 @ 6:55PM
I agree Jenni.
When I taught first grade my favorite way to teach fractions was with a candy bar. They got it every time! Hersheys even divides it up for you! LOL
samara 8-11-2008 @ 2:55PM
parents are the reasons for a well adjusted child, this article helped me. http://hrbaby.com/page.php?go=70
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Jan Bay 8-11-2008 @ 4:42PM
There's just too much evidence that kids whose early years were filled with productive play and interaction with their parents and siblings do just fine (and maybe better) in school for me to push fractions and early reading skills. We read and watch educational programs but that's it right now. They retain an amazing amount of knowledge without being required to do so.
I occasionally point out letters or count with the girls while we are playing games, but that's as far as I want to go no matter what's going on elsewhere. Does anyone else wonder if the children that tackle math etc. at that young age really understand the concept and how to use the information or if they are merely reciting what they are told?
Jan from http://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/
Jan from http://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/
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otherhand 8-11-2008 @ 4:59PM
I don't see what is so wonderful about a sandbox, or finger painting. It amazes me that we actually take steps to teach our kids how to smear. Sand and finger paint each have only one texture, and are meaningless in the scheme of things. They are merely a sorry substitute for actually doing real-life things like playing in the garden and helping in the kitchen. They might be stimulating for a one- or two-year-old, but there is no way that sort of activity, done on a repeated basis, is intellectually stimulating for a preschool-aged child.
There is no reason why a four-year-old should not be exposed to more complex and abstract concepts. Their brains hunger and thirst for it. It doesn't have to be reading (though I don't see what harm it does to spend a bit of time each day on learning letters and words). But it needs to be something that truly stretches their minds. Finger paints? I seem to recollect that that was introduced as a positive alternative for kids who smear feces. My generation and all those before never had finger paint, and we somehow managed to get the math concepts when they came along.
Personally I think that a large percentage of the "learning activities" planned for preschoolers are planned with the intent of making things easy on teachers. Practically no "teaching" or "stimulating" required - just let them sit and smear. They would be better off outside of preschool where at least they'd have access to a greater variety of objects and concepts.
I agree with those who say pre-K is not necessary. Real stimulation is.
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Jenni 8-11-2008 @ 5:07PM
You are right in some ways only. You're right that some of these experiences are teaching or stimulating. However, a great preschool teacher doesn't just throw these activities out for the heck of it. They time the activities to the child's development in such a way that they are going to get the most out of that stimulation.
For the great teachers, it's not about fingerpainting and sandplay. How can I, as a teacher, reach a tactile child to help her learn about shapes and colors? I can fingerpaint WITH her and, while doing so, introduce her to carving out the shapes in the paint and naming them. I can give her the red and yellow paint and talk about how it makes orange; then later take that experience to the science table with baking soda and and colored vinegar and suddenly we made orange again.
I'm not saying you're wrong; I think the best place for a preschool child is at home. However, those of us who do teach know that it may look like play on the outside, but every one of my students are reading, writing, doing simple math equations, and are able to function socially in a group setting well before their kindergarten years. These are all things that have been proven to make a child successful, not only in kindergarten, but in the rest of their school years and in life as well.
Kelly RImmer 8-11-2008 @ 5:11PM
We are americans living in the UK. My husband is stationed at an air force base and we live about 45 min away from the base. My 6 year old goes to a local school. I like the school system. My daughter loves school and is very confident in herself, they have smaller classes, and can pay more attention to each childs needs. My cousin and I have realized at 5 and 6 my daughter was doing the same things her kids were doing. It doesn't bother me. Honestly the work load isnt as bad as it seems, she has 30 min of homework a WEEK. I know its going to be hard trying to place her when we come back to the states, but I wouldnt change the school system here in any way.
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kelly 8-11-2008 @ 5:16PM
I would like to add that at my childs UK school they have a very wide array of learning ideas and activites. The even do gardening. They have art and music classes. They have gone on wonderful field trips and the children are asked to make things and play pretend while they learn it isnt just shoving information down the throats of children. In my last comment i meant that my cousin is a second grade teacher...
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Mihir 8-11-2008 @ 6:02PM
why not try to have them learn fractions/read/tell time at a young age? language is an extremely complex thing, yet small children learn it easily (relative to adults). it's obvious a child's mind is geared toward taking in as much information as it can and processing it.
think of all the amazingly complex things we learn in childhood like balance, coordination and obstacle avoidance/path navigation.
so why not cram in a few more tidbits of information (as long as you're not completely crazy about and let it overtake their lives)?
i also agree with one of the posters above who mentioned letting kids help cook teaches about fractions. complex learning in kids must be applied to real life situations in order for it to be retained.
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mommy of 2 ANGELS 8-13-2008 @ 11:12AM
Hello everyone, well i have a 4 year old boy and a 2 1\2 year old girl. I am really upset at the comment I read about it not being any reason in teaching your kids to finger paint and play on the monkey bars, Its teaching them to use thier imagination and i think that is a part of them developing thier own personality! VERY IMPORTANT!!! unless you want your child to walk around beng a robot..like over there. Sometimes the work dont need to be graded as a letter,but as how happy the kids were while doin it. I know that I would be much happier with my kids painting if they laughed and smiled while making it..instead of it being perfect with tears on the paper. thats just me..Some people would love to have the Mona Lisa,....but i would much reather have my kids fingerpaint pics. on my wall...yall have to excuse the typing i got both kids in my lap right now trying to help me type. haha
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ladylane13 8-13-2008 @ 11:23AM
WHAT happened to lettting little kids be little kids? There is PLENTY of time for them to learn, without the schools and parents trying to cram loads of information down their throats. I personally homeschooled my daughter until she was ready for 2nd grade, and she is an A student. Did I crank her daily. NO! She learned her ABC's on the beach with a stick. Phonics, scavenger hunts around the house, She learned solids and liquids at the park. Fractions? We baked. Parents!! I beg you!! Spend TIME with your kids! Sacrifice a little for them! Trust me when I tell you, they don't CARE if they ride in a Lexus, or a Chrysler!! They want YOU! They don't care about what the Jones have! And neither should you! The Jones don't pay your bills!!!!!!
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GMarsden 8-16-2008 @ 11:20PM
If you read the article that is cited in this piece the woman wanted her daughter to go to an elite private school with "exceptionally high academic standards". As in the US public schools vary wildly from region to region and my 8 year old son is more educationally advanced in some areas than his same age cousins in London and at the same level in others. The same article that is cited here goes on to point out that by fourth grade both US and UK kids scored at the same level academically in an international test, both in the bottom level of Western educated kids, Finland, Russia, Hungary, China, and some areas of Canada all tested better than US and UK educated kids.
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Amanda Lucas 8-17-2008 @ 1:23AM
I feel that my daughter loves to learn. We "play" school once a day for one hour as part of a routine. She is three and is writing the letter A and adding and subtracting very well. She can count to 20 and further sometimes. She knows her left and right better than I do and she has LOVED learning it all. Sat thru Fri this week we are learning to write the letter A and coloring the objects that start with A and she loves it. She has known her ABCs for well over a year and has been able to recognize them she can also recognize the #s 0-10. She is amazing and loves it. She asks to play everyday. She is sincerely upset when she does not get to play. I think that it is important to make it fun for your child and they will like it and not feel as though it is being "crammed" down their throat.
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LolliUK 8-19-2008 @ 5:32PM
Im from the UK and kids over here certainly are not like robots so that comment was totally uneducated.
Anyway, although my son is only 2yrs 5m he has attended a nursery from the age of 7 months. In his nursery the staff follow a birth to 5 plan. In the plan it states that at various ages children be encouraged to demonstrate certain skills. It is not teaching per se, but gently probing them into opening up to various activities. If the kid is not willing to show enthusiasm for it then they simply are not ready and are not pushed any further. As well as getting the kids to count, say their abc's etc there are amoungst other things; creative play, outdoor play, singing and rhyme sessions, cooking, gardening, freeplay etc. There is no set structure or teaching plan, and kids do not have to show competence in this that and the other by a certain age, or be subject to failure. It simply is encouragement. And as someone else mentioned above, many kids minds crave the intake of new information so the majority of kids do open up to learning simple math at an early age, hence the statistics that you are presented with. My son will be starting pre-school in September 09 (3 yrs 6m) and I do not have any concerns that they will push him too far. If he came home citing Pythagorus theorem however then I might be having words with his teachers!!!
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