“We have to do the worksheets. The parents want it.”
“We have to make pre-cut crafts. The parents want it.”
I have worked with parents who wanted their Children force fed. I didn’t do that.
I have worked with parents who wanted their children to be forced to nap – or kept awake. I didn’t do that.
When families and early childhood educators sit at a table, they bring two different sets of expertise. The families know their culture, history, family dynamic, child’s medical history, experiences and more. They have a lot to offer as insights to their child to help us in our work. Early childhood educators have experience in an early childhood setting, ongoing professional development knowledge and, in quality settings, an education in how children think, learn and develop. We need to do a better job of teaching each other.
We live in a time when there are research and evidence-based reasons that we do not include worksheets, pre-cut crafts, letter of the week and other practices from the past. We know better now. We know:
- Worksheets are not developmentally appropriate for early learners. Period. Not. Children in the early childhood years learn when they are participating in hands-on, interactive, real experiences. They learn best and deepest when they are enjoying what they are doing. We know from studies that children do not attach worksheets and/or letter of the week to the actual task of reading.
The truth is that we didn’t do what was most effective for many years. Families need to be educated about that.
- Pre-cut crafts are not a good use of educational time – but I’ve written about that before.
I have been asking why they exist. Here is the answer I get consistently – something very much like this - “Infants and toddlers can’t do things on their own like older students so we have to pre-cut and glue with and for them. Their parents want to know they are learning.” They are not learning while you take their hands and push down on the pre-cut, pre-glued item. That is 100% not how infants and toddlers figure out their world.
So, what’s a person to do? Educate. I do not only teach children. I also teach families because they do not know. It’s sort of like when you go to a doctor. You do not know what they know. They have to explain it. I was at the doctor recently and needed medication for a sinus infection. I remembered that I once took an antibiotic that didn’t irritate my stomach. I asked for it. The doctor explained why that wouldn’t work. She provided me with written information about what she was prescribing and hints for what to do if I had a problem.
Educating parents is really that simple, too. In both cases – medicine and education – we are here to do no harm.
Do no harm. Stand for what is right for children, what builds their self-worth and their intellect and educate everyone else about how that is accomplished.
You may also want to read:
- Art vs. Craft vs. Project: What Does Each Teach Our Children?
- Art vs. Craft: The Difference in What Children Learn
- Good-bye, Letter of the Week. A Better Way to Teach Literacy
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This post first appeared on Helping Kids And Families Achieve With Cynthia Ter, please read the originial post: here
