The Death of Preschool

In the November/December, 2011 issue of Scientific American Mind, there is an article titled, “The Death of Preschool”, which discusses the prevalent direct instruction, that is teaching academic knowledge via formal classroom settings, among some private preschools in the US. As the article points out, there are more and more affluent families sending their preschoolers to those institutions to learn academic knowledge earlier in hopes to get into Ivy League schools, or have better achievement in the future. However, is early childhood education mainly involved with academic learning better? And what is it better at?

Apparently some neuroscientists and developmental psychologists hold a relatively different viewpoint. For decades, the United States applied the play-based approach for preschoolers or even elementary school pupils. Yet the crucial reality seems to have made it go the opposite way. The US Congress enacted a law-No Child Left Behind- in 2001, in which the ultimate goal of this project is to aim to enhance children’s academic knowledge so they can pass the standardized tests through well-designed curricula. Hence, schools failing to meet the benchmarks shall face penalties. I agree that letting children start to learn some knowledge earlier is necessary; but depriving the opportunities of playing may not be beneficial to their certain cognitive and physiological developments as said the scientists such as Bruce McEwen and Alison Gopnik and her colleagues.

Unfortunately, many parents are short-sighted. They think academic achievements equal to success in society. We have seen quite a few horrific homicides which showed those murderers were highly educated but lacked of good social skills. They did not know how to handle relationships well. Therefore, when their partners asked to end the relationship, they thought it was the end of the world and had to take extreme measures to ‘solve’ their problems. At the end of the article, Bruce McEwen advocates, “Appropriate experiences can hone neural pathways that will help the child during life; by the same token, stressful experiences can change the brain’s architecture to make children significantly depression, anxiety disorders-even cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.” As neuroscience indicates, toxic stress can severely damage the hippocampus, a critical brain area to learning and memory.

I sometimes hear my elementary school students complain about their tight schedules. Their parents arrange all sorts of after-school classes for them to attend. Some of them even told me being a student is not fun at all; and the adults do not understand how they really feel. Sadly, not many parents will listen to what their kids are trying to tell them. In my opinion, I would suggest that early childhood education be geared towards direct instruction based on play-based learning approach in a step-by-step fashion. That said, balance in everything we do in life is relatively important, including child education both at school and home.

Volcanic Mist

Neighbours’ jasmine hedge
Surrounds a small cottage
Giant yellow tulips
Stand still in a vase
Of archaic story
Drumming of heartbeat
Mellow lyrics
Hang high in the oil painting
Blue and purple mirages
Race against surreal dreams
On this late eve
Autumn breeze
And forlorn volcanic mist
Descend lethargically

Boulevards of Autumn

Speed as Light
Spark as Fire
Boulevards of Autumn
Decked with
Songs of Frank Sinatra
Seep Nectar
Dance Waltz
Ordinary Days
Filled with
Unorthodox Waves
Efflux
Clandestinely
In the Dark

Laussane

Ravines submerge
In the blue marine
Attracting white smithereens
Accordions of busker
Sing
French melody
And traveller’s curiosity
Youth’s mind
Deeply haunted
By the mosaic dreams
And dazzling confetti
Reveals
Idyllic paintings projected
On Lausanne’s streets
Beneath
Mystical skies
Full of nouveau glee

Way of living

How forgettable one can be in life! I always wonder. The weather forecast on TV keeps showing that the typhoon might bring a lot of damage. Natural disasters have been a relatively hot issue in recent years even when I teach. This topic is well-discussed and has drawn a lot of attention as well. But there are still people who ventured to go surfing. And yes, there have been many who had lost their lives for the last few decades.

Recently I have cultivated a habit, bring a small notebook (not computer, thanks!) on the metro all the time. It is to write down all sorts of ideas and inspirations. I like it very much so far because I have penned down some poetry, lesson plans, and interesting ideas for writing. For people like me, spending almost two hours commuting to work daily, it doesn’t seem a bad idea reading books or brainstorming when riding the public transportation. Sometimes, I wonder how much time we waste each day and how many things we can actually accomplish simply by making good use of some spare moments we can get in life.

Tonight I came across a good friend’s blog, stumping upon a very meaningful thought: no matter what you do, you’re always you intrinsically. That’s right. Intrinsically! How I love this word. Thing is that how many of us really take a few minutes reflecting on what we have done and who we are at the end of each day. I still recall the very first time I went to Evian when I was a student in Suisse. I was very surprised to see so many people, young and old, sitting or standing along the busy street and doing nothing. Well not exactly nothing. They were enjoying the warm sunshine on a lovely Saturday morning. I asked myself what they were thinking in their mind-were they thinking what to eat for lunch or merely spacing out. Was that a sort of waste of time? I later learnt it’s just a way of living…

A way of living
Whether you like it
Or hate it
A way of smiling
That creates many blessings
A way of sulking
That brings incessant miseries
I choose smiling
I choose blessings

By Jerski

Sonnet

Across the green ocean
An island cradles
Gently
Wind breathes
Soothing power of magic
Ephemerally
Indigenous melody
Imbues the blue sky
With curly whites
Who on earth has penned
A sonnet in my head
Twinkling tumbling
And intoxicatingly
Red

Summer of Medusa

In the dark
Hundreds of days passed
Moisture seeped through
Layers of hazelnuts
Awaiting patiently
The moment of dawn
A new life was about
To hatch
The fanfare of summer
Droned and bustled
With singing of cicadas
Proclaiming an indelible mantra
And Annie Lennox’s Medusa