Further to my previous posts and my conversation with Brenda from Mullin Avenue Workshop / Early Childhood Education and Common Sense, this article from Creativity Post addresses the how's and why's of unstructured imaginative/creative indoor/outdoor play being covertly traded for 'the “cult of rigour” at the centre of "corporate-style school reform".' Read more from the link above. LOVE to hear your impressions and ideas.
"Children should have plenty of opportunities to play"
"Even young children have too few such opportunities these days, particularly in school settings"
These two propositions — both of them indisputable and important — have been offered many times.
The second one in particular reflects the “cult of rigour” at the centre of "corporate-style school reform". Its devastating impact can be mapped horizontally (with test preparation displacing more valuable activities at every age level) as well as vertically (with pressures being pushed down to the youngest grades, resulting in developmentally inappropriate instruction). The typical American kindergarten now resembles a really bad first-grade classroom. Even preschool teachers are told to sacrifice opportunities for imaginative play in favour of drilling young children until they master a defined set of skills."
"Children should have plenty of opportunities to play"
"Even young children have too few such opportunities these days, particularly in school settings"
These two propositions — both of them indisputable and important — have been offered many times.
The second one in particular reflects the “cult of rigour” at the centre of "corporate-style school reform". Its devastating impact can be mapped horizontally (with test preparation displacing more valuable activities at every age level) as well as vertically (with pressures being pushed down to the youngest grades, resulting in developmentally inappropriate instruction). The typical American kindergarten now resembles a really bad first-grade classroom. Even preschool teachers are told to sacrifice opportunities for imaginative play in favour of drilling young children until they master a defined set of skills."
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