Convener Soapbox: Early Childhood
by Forum Convener Deborah Meier

The Forum was launched by fourteen educators who were disturbed at the absence of focus on the central purpose of education-to pass on, nourish and expand upon the democratic values we cherish. The nature of democracy and the dots that connect it to the details of schooling is the missing discussion in the so-called "reform" movement.

Between birth and six years of age, some things have been constant for most of human history. Children "grow" in the intimate company of adults engaged in ordinary lifetime activities. They imitate and explore, invent and imagine, experiment, observe and improvise in activities we now call play. Almost always, they do these things in the company of older children and adults, and within the worlds of work and community-but regardless, they are unstoppable.  Unless, in the interest of better school performance, we design structures to stop them.

Today, we are endangering the benefits of that precious period of development by undercutting early childhood's critical role. The latest research indicates that, on a typical day, children in all-day kindergartens spend 4–6 times as much in literacy and math "instruction" and taking or preparing for tests (about 2–3 hours per day) as they do in free play or "choice time" (30 minutes or less). Inappropriate expectations and high-stakes testing are rapidly filtering down into preschools, too, resulting in a further edging out of play-time and a further diminishing of the space children need to develop their natural sense of curiosity and wonder. The Froebel or Montessori-like early childhood settings are ever harder to find.

While few societies make full use of the potential that children exhibit before the age of six, with such new "reforms" we are cutting children off at earlier ages from the "power of their ideas" (hence, the title of my first book). With our race to structure and institutionalize early learning, we are programming children to perform on cue. The energy, motivation, drive, imagination, and intellectual prowess they exhibit in those early years is channeled into more and more unnatural "learning" settings; with more benchmarks and judgments about their place along the so-called normal curve of human variety, using-believe it or not-the argument that such steps are in the interest of equity and democracy. We believe this at our peril.

To prepare all children to use their minds well, we must strike a balance between their agenda and ours. Lately, the movement to impose  "academic standards" and push down tests and a scripted curriculum into kindergarten and preschool has gone amok-forcing children into rigid adult  "schooling" modes.  The imaginative, self-directed life of young children — in a benign environment that seeks to protect them from danger — is seen as "unnecessary," especially for poor and minority children. Many now see these as empty, "unused" years that we can cram full of pre-academics. In fact, we cannot design a curriculum as rich as the one infants design for themselves. We can, however, help ensure that they remain safely within "our company" surrounded by a thought-provoking world.

It's good that President Obama plans to spend more funds on young children, to attend to their health, and to provide settings for them when the adult family members must be absent, or when such adults need communal support to provide stimulation for their children. We need child-safe places for adults and children to explore and study together.  In Finland, families have access to such infant play groups at public expense long before their children begin formal schooling--at age seven! Maybe that helps explains why their educational system is considered the best in the world.

Our new love affair with early childhood education provides a major opportunity to improve the system of public schooling in this country, but it must NOT turn into a drumbeat for earlier schooling, earlier testing, earlier scripted curricula, and parent bashing.  Research and common sense join together on this urgent issue. We are already seeing evidence that inappropriate judgments are creating behavioral and learning problems in pre-schools and kindergartens.  Walter Gilliam of Yale University found expulsion rates were three times higher in preschool than K-12! More than four times as many boys than girls are expelled, he notes. The data are similar regarding kindergarten retentions for failing to meet grade-level standards!  The statistics on where this leads are unmistakable-academic failure, above all for low-income males.

To counter these disturbing trends, let's restore and expand playful, adult-guided  (not dictated) experiential learning to its rightful place at the heart of early education. Let's craft standards that reflect what we know about the importance of self-directed learning and eliminate worksheets and didactic scripts that stifle rather than nourish young children. And let's create settings that encourage educators to observe, enjoy, and stimulate the hearts and minds of our youngest citizens.  That's the best and most important response we can offer their growing talents.

For more information on early childhood issues, visit www.allianceforchildhood.net and www.indefenseofchildhood.org.

 

Forum, Coalition of Essential Schools Co-Sponsor "Horace on the Hill"

On February 24 and 25, The Forum and the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) partnered on a two-day program that brought together more than 80 educators and students representing 18 states. During the program, titled "Horace on the Hill," Forum and CES staff provided training in preparation for a series of meetings with Congressional lawmakers. Attendees received a briefing from House and Senate education committee staff, participated in training on structuring effective conversations with lawmakers around powerful personal experiences, and put their newfound skills to work in one-on-one discussions with lawmakers. The next day, a smaller group of these educators visited DC's Capital City Public Charter School (a member of the CES network), to witness its innovative expansion. Initial feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The Forum and CES have plans to build on the foundation we established and hopes of expanding the effort next year. To learn more about Horace on the Hill, contact CES's Brett Bradshaw at bbradshaw@essentialschools.org. 

 

"Will We Really" Campaign Enters Final Stage

As President Barack Obama enters the second half of his first 100 days in office, the Forum's national petition campaign, www.willwereally.com, is still accepting signatures.

If you believe every American child deserves a 21st-Century education, a well-supported teacher, high-quality health care, and an equal chance, visit www.willwereally.com today to watch the video, sign the petition, and spread the word. Together, we can turn the hopeful energy of Obama's presidency into the actualized promise of a better society for our children, and a more hopeful future for our democracy. YES WE WILL!