tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post5213841183149920520..comments2024-03-26T07:07:14.304-07:00Comments on Teacher Tom: Five-Year-Olds "Falling Behind"Teacher Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14606781724784785338noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-83671795392775644332016-07-18T21:34:57.286-07:002016-07-18T21:34:57.286-07:00Thank you for saying so, I have friends who are pa...Thank you for saying so, I have friends who are parents who do buy into all the garbage marketing their is because they swear it helps their child. And unfortunately I too was one until I took my ECE child development classes and found out how wrong I had been. It is a sham and a shame to profit from potentially damaging children's cognitive/physical/social and emotional states. These companies lie but every parent wants a leg up on the competition because they know when their children grow up the jobs will be scarce and resources will be dwindling so they make easy targets. A lot of these merchandise and technology said to improve your child's learning also offers to take the place of stressed and way too busy parents so they don't feel guilty about not spending time with their children. Society needs to change and start viewing parents and caregivers has the child's first and best teachers and give parents/caregivers the respect, time and resources to do the job well.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11684034684523125237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-77501873615710060502016-06-19T19:29:08.056-07:002016-06-19T19:29:08.056-07:00This is easily one of the best blogs I've read...This is easily one of the best blogs I've read on this subject in a long time, and I say this as a former teacher, a parent of a summer born boy who was headed for just this type of 'falling behind' labeling in England, and a journalist campaigner who set up the website summerbornchildren.org so that parents who want to wait (not 'delay') until their child reaches compulsory school age before entering the Reception class environment in which all this labeling begins (if it hasn't already in pre-school) can do so without penalty.<br />You are right to call the professionals out on this one. Yes, they must answer to their heads and to Ofsted, but the wellbeing and best interests of children - based on evidence - must start coming first. <br /><br />cesarean debatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01711913972260724246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-23094478425587411192016-06-16T04:23:21.658-07:002016-06-16T04:23:21.658-07:00I homeschool my 3 kids who are 8.5, 7.5, and 3.5. ...I homeschool my 3 kids who are 8.5, 7.5, and 3.5. I see this struggle so much in the homeschool world - is my kid behind, what cirriculim should I buy for my 4 year old or why isn't my 5 year old reading as well as Johnny. It breaks my heart for these mamas who somewhere have been told that they have unspoken rules of where their children are supposed to be. It's ok if little Jenny doesn't start reading until she's 8 or if Dan never learns to spell Mary Poppins' favorite word. These things should never be the end all in life. Instead we should look at more important things - is my kid happy, is he growing, is she enjoying life, is she playing. <br /><br />Kids will learn when they are ready. It's not a contest. Juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06989445151554564951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-13656314827814797652016-06-10T13:58:01.667-07:002016-06-10T13:58:01.667-07:00I really needed to read this today. Thanks for the...I really needed to read this today. Thanks for the reminder, Tom.Trishahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14633779886415991038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-26418538158588202582016-06-08T13:34:54.750-07:002016-06-08T13:34:54.750-07:00Thank you for writing about this. Lately, I (and ...Thank you for writing about this. Lately, I (and my daughter soon to be 4 year old) have been given a hard time about her not being potty trained yet. I've always trusted/believed that they have their own time/pace for their growth and development such as talking, walking and potty training also. However, it won't be true if I say I don't feel pressure or don't really care what others say. Even a preschool that I wanted her to go wasn't able to accept her because she is not potty trained. Just like how you describe your daughter, she is great in other areas except that she is not ready to give up on diaper.. Anyway, I had to share that I really appreciated this writing of yours and believe in readiness for each child..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-41480765370811918682016-06-07T17:25:40.419-07:002016-06-07T17:25:40.419-07:00I was "falling behind my peers" in getti...I was "falling behind my peers" in getting into mischief, but I caught up.Nancy Schimmelhttp://occupella.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-41058205776598938612016-06-07T15:27:22.381-07:002016-06-07T15:27:22.381-07:00I wholeheartedly agree Tom. It is scandalous for c...I wholeheartedly agree Tom. It is scandalous for commercial interests to exploit the idea of a supposed "normal" development path for profit. On the flipside, too often I also see children who are "ahead" denied their right to play and explore, and parents accused of hothousing, because "the research says kids shouldn't read until 7" so your 5 yr old shouldn't be ALLOWED to read those books she so loves. I think whenever we start teaching or parenting to a reasearched development timeline, rather than supporting the natural development of the child in front of us, we're in trouble. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-46543069439213405352016-06-07T15:16:55.817-07:002016-06-07T15:16:55.817-07:00I wholeheartedly agree Tom! Lets alsi be mindful n...I wholeheartedly agree Tom! Lets alsi be mindful not to accuse parents of pushing when children are "ahead". Some kids simply are reading at 5 and want to. We also should not deny them the opportunity to playfully explore this skill because research says they "shouldn't" learn until 7. You cant stop them amy more than yiu could stop your daughter speaking at 6 months. Commercial exploitation based on false developmental norms is shameful. And so is inflexible oppressive teaching based on the same fixed development mindset. Lets let the kids determine what they are ready to explore and when without limitation on the opportunities in their environment. You do that so well which is why I love reading your blog. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-48194412389643934442016-06-07T07:29:13.204-07:002016-06-07T07:29:13.204-07:00I have a 14 yr old and an almost 12 yr old and liv...I have a 14 yr old and an almost 12 yr old and live in an affluent suburb in MD outside of DC (often cited in surveys and magazines as Best cities to reside). The spring before my oldest was to enter Kindergarten there was a parent meeting and the reading teacher strolled in and announced that every child was to know the "50 sight words" before the start of the school year. My oldest wasn't interested, but the whole summer we worked on that task. Two years later I did the same with my younger one. It seemed to initially work, but by about 3rd grade, the kids that were not drilled eventually caught up with the "drill and kill" kids. I resent that a teacher made me feel that I would be letting my children fall behind the crowd. I know that this was probably forced on her to keep our rating/rankings high in the "best places to live" magazines, but I still resent it to this day. I apologize to my kids for having made them do this and for depriving them of summer fun in the name of a fake education. They would have eventually learned all these sight words (they did know many) by my reading to them and tracking the words, which would have been a lot more fun and educational than stupid flash cards! edblisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792046029260177146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15932919.post-83576134508270348222016-06-07T06:55:30.668-07:002016-06-07T06:55:30.668-07:00Thank you again, TT, for helping the obvious becom...Thank you again, TT, for helping the obvious become common sense again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com