Desks, letter books and math worksheets in preschool. It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to figure out preschool is no longer about learning to sit on the circle rug without touching the kid on the next color. Today’s early childhood education only vaguely resembles my own brief stint at Lolliopop Nursery …
President Obama’s call to provide high-quality preschool to every kid sounds promising. Do a couple years of singing the ABCs while sitting criss-cross applesauce make much difference in a kid’s life? Is there any evidence that Head Start and other well-regarded programs have any lasting effects? Let’s take a historic stroll first. A couple “landmark” studies have …
Don’t skip the school book fair. Don’t even think about recycling the book flyer coming home in the back pack. Don’t even try to deny your child the boxed set of Captain Underpants. Books in the home make better readers. Subtext: Buying books for your kids will make them smarter. Says who? Scholastic, the “read every day. lead a better …
So President Obama referenced that new teacher study in recent news in his State of the Union address last night. The education study with 2.5 million school kids tracked over 20 years, the very one I posted on a few weeks ago so it was very fresh in my mind. Yours too? The Prez spoke about education, including higher education, …
Fostering a love of learning? Photo from The New York Times. Math and reading tutors for two year-olds. It’s called Kumon and is coming to a strip mall near you. Some see this academic prep program as scholastic progress. The three year-old girl in the photo at right may be learning her letters but I suspect she’s also learning that learning …