Healthy Learning Practices at Child Academy
Many child academies are under pressure to produce protégées fit to write tests and be accepted into highly academic schools. However, there is a danger of trying to teach preschoolers too much too soon, which can result in a lack of character development and later problems.
Too Soon
You wouldn’t teach a sophomore advanced mechatronics, and yet preschoolers are often expected to advance far beyond their capacities. The entry requirements for prestigious schools are extreme, so parents often push their children to excel before they are capable to do so. Most of the time, it is simply too soon to expect a child to learn Latin or the 17 times table off by heart. Preschool is the time children learn what letters actually are, and how to formulate simple words from them. They learn very basic numeracy, and the importance of math rather than memorizing a sequence of numbers that mean nothing to them. We need to remember that these are young children, not mini adults. They do not have the cognitive capacity of 5th graders, and should not be expected to know the different elements on the periodic table.
Too Much
Preschoolers cannot sit still for extended periods of times as they simply do not have the attention span to do so at their age. Consequently, they cannot be expected to work through an entire day of school, even if the lessons are appropriate for their age group. It is not fair to expect a young child to come home from a whole day at school, only to be sat down by a parent and expected to go over the entire day again as homework. Children need a break, or they won’t be able to absorb anything they have learnt. Their lives cannot revolve around work and school just yet. It is very important to integrate learning with play and down time, and even link the two together. Songs and games may seem like a waste of time to some, but they are, in fact, very useful learning tools for children. Overloading a child will often cause them to fail, which will in turn damage their self-esteem and can lead to problems later on in their learning career. The best thing to do is simply let kids be kids; they want to learn new things, but they also want to play and fool around.
Too Little, Too Late
Although it is important that children learn an appropriate amount of work at their own rate, there is a danger of leaving things too late, and not giving them enough content to work with. Certain foundation phases must be taught before a child can enter school, otherwise he or she will struggle. Some argue that homework is too burdensome for preschoolers, as it inhibits their ability to play and experience the world, while others say that children need to learn and revise things on their own or with parents. Whether or not homework is beneficial, it is often required in order to finish the syllabus, and simultaneously teaches children the importance of revision and self-study. Preschool is the best place for foundations to be set, and the only way for this to happen is if students participate and want to learn. Letting kids relax and play all day will not benefit them in the long run if they want to enter mainstream school at the appropriate age.