Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz: The most remarkable word I’ve ever seen
Despite increasing pressure to make kindergarten more rigorous, the cognitive capacity of children’s brains hasn’t changed much over the past century, a new study by the Gesell Institute of Human Development says. A triangle is still a mystery to most four-year-olds, and counting 20 pennies and then remembering that number is beyond most five-year-olds. At [...]
The great kindergarten debate, California style
Kindergarten students these days have a lot in common with middler schoolers. Visit any middle school and you are likely to be struck instantly by the vast differences in the size of students. There are plenty of small, still childish looking 13 and 14-year-olds who look as if they’d be more comfortable in an elementary [...]
In Baltimore, pre-k attendance means higher test scores later on
There may be disagreement about what students should learn and when, but superintendents across the U.S. generally hare a common goal of raising test scores — even if it means they don’t always agree on how to get there. So it was interesting to read what happened to test scores of first and second graders [...]
A look at the gains in an all-English classroom
California educates about 1.6 million, or nearly a third, of the nation’s 5.1 million English language learners, so it is often looked at as a trend-setting state. That’s one reason why it was interesting to read about what happened in Carol Decker’s pre-school class in the Santa Clarita Valley, where the four-year-olds who showed up [...]
Should young children be allowed to fail?
EarlyStories had a chance to take part in a fascinating discussion with top educators recently on the Bam Radio Network, who were asked just how much young children should be allowed to stumble, fall — and yes, fail. Failure isn’t an easy word for parents or for educators, especially at a time when a push [...]
Obama’s early education agenda: More listening?
At a time when President Barack Obama’s early childhood education agenda has been somewhat derailed, the U.S. Department of Education will be hosting a series of meetings to discuss critical topics in early learning. Yes, it’s another listening tour. It’s not clear exactly what will come out of the meetings, which will take place over [...]
