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Right Education - 7/27/2008 3:02:48 AM
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741
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Joined: 11/10/2006
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Dear All,
I live in Surabaya, Indonesia. I have a 3.5 yo son and very proud of him. He is going to go to school next august. In his school (kindergarten, actually), he will be taught how to read and write numbers and alphabets, which is very common here.
What makes me write here, is that yesterday I attended a seminar and one of topics shocked and troubled me about my son's school. The speaker said that the development of left brain happens at the age of 6. Before 6 yo, the one which is developing is the right brain. Further, he said that reading, writing, logic are the function of left brain. So, teaching kids to do those at the age of 3.5 yo means compelling the right brain to do the job of the left one, while still doing its own job. That's not good. It will be the same with making a car to run at 60 km/h at gear 2. This troubled me a lot.
I asked the speaker what to do with my son, and he suggested that I should move my son out of that school and looking for a school that concerns with children's brain development. School that teaches her students with nature. The good news is, there is one school in Surabaya which is just "the school". The bad news, it's not a christian school, but based her teaching on another religion. And yes, I am looking for a christian school, otherwise I will not write this problem of mine here, right. At least, public school is fine. Please kindly be well informed that I am not trying to start an argument about religion here.
Can any of you give me suggestion? Please. I mean, I just want the best for my son, but on the other hand, I also don't want to make him do stuff he's not supposed to do yet. If, by any chance, any of you also live in the same town and facing the same matter, please kindly inform me a good school that meet the criteria above.
Please, once again, I need your suggestion on what to do best.
_____________________________
The Answer
"He is the Messiah!" John 7:41 (Good News Bible)
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RE: Right Education - 7/27/2008 7:20:26 AM
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csl7037
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You'll find all kinds of theories and opinions on what kids should be doing and what they should be learning and when. It can really drive you crazy if you let it.
I don't think children as small as your son should be pressured academically but they can certainly be introduced to concepts of numbers and the alphabet - and they should be!! Unless the Christian school you like is really pressuring these tiny children, I'm sure it's a wonderful school.
Frankly, I'd be wary of the over-focus on right/brain left brain and development issues. At the other school do they just finger paint till they're 6 or something? Finger painting is great and important for little guys but, IMO, they can learn (or begin to learn) quite a bit at that age.
It's so very hard to know what's the "right" thing to do for your child, I know. You just have to get him in the place where you're comfortable that he's being challenged and loved and where you're being supported and they're working with you and not against you.
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RE: Right Education - 7/27/2008 7:39:47 AM
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3cappuccinosmom
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Personally, I teach my children at home. There is *no* reason you cannot teach your own 3.5 yo what he needs to know, if you have the opportunity to do so. 
Have you spoken to the administrators of the original school to find out what the level of academics is? If you express your concerns about your child being pushed, they might be able to relieve those concerns. For instance, I would say I am teaching my three year old his letters and numbers and to write, but it is at a very, very relaxed pace. If he needs to practice the letter "A" for three months, that's fine with me.
Finally, take the left brain-right brain stuff with a grain of salt. Some children need longer to be ready for "real" school than others. That is very true. But some do well with being pushed and challenged. As a mother it hurt me to see my son struggle with his alphabet when he was 4 years old, but I am glad my husband pushed it. My son is now 5 and a beginning reader and *loves* meeting new challenges. This past week he was challenged to do his math without using his fingers or the abacus, and while he protested at first, he is no absolutely delighted that he can do math in his head, and is constantly coming to me to demonstrate his new mental powers. 
_____________________________
 Moo
Shameless Self Promotion
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RE: Right Education - 7/27/2008 8:14:30 AM
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manda59
Posts: 5451
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From: Hampshire, UK
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quote:
ORIGINAL: 741
What makes me write here, is that yesterday I attended a seminar and one of topics shocked and troubled me about my son's school. The speaker said that the development of left brain happens at the age of 6. Before 6 yo, the one which is developing is the right brain. Further, he said that reading, writing, logic are the function of left brain. So, teaching kids to do those at the age of 3.5 yo means compelling the right brain to do the job of the left one, while still doing its own job. That's not good. It will be the same with making a car to run at 60 km/h at gear 2.
I would not necessarily believe that. My mother taught me to read and write at home when I was 3 - so that when I started school at 4, I could do both already. It put me ahead of many of my classmates. And it stayed that way the whole of my academic life.
I'd suggest you start teaching him at home now, just in fun ways, and see how he gets on. You can get some really good books with pictures for letter recognition, for example. There are also educational jigsaw puzzles with letters that can be fun. I also suggest that you talk to the Christian kindergarten and ask them whether they teach in a relaxed way or whether the children have to work very hard - in other words to see how pressurised (or not) the environment is).
If you are Christians, I think it could be very confusing to your child to go to a school where another religion is taught. That could cause him far more "damage" than someone trying to teach him to read a little early.
Whether your son will be ready to learn to read, write and do numbers will depend on him and how he is built, not on left or right brain stuff. Don't worry, he will be just fine.
_____________________________
"That's what I would say as well."
Mrs Wifey, August 2008.
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RE: Right Education - 7/27/2008 10:31:38 AM
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Jenny-Fair
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I agree that formal education at an early age is not a good thing. It is one reason we homeschool. At that age, children need to be playing and running and learning by exploring the world around them.
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Tony: Ziva, did you kill Houdini?
Ziva: It is possible. I do not remember all their names.
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RE: Right Education - 7/27/2008 6:28:42 PM
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Auben
Posts: 1597
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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I think that you're asking the wrong question.
What you should be finding out is not if the school teaches the alphabet, numbers, and other simple concepts but if it has lots of play time, time outside, and other active things.
While children can learn, and learn well, those concepts at an early age it really helps to have a non-academic (no sitting in desks or being given marks/grades) setting. Three year olds are very intelligent but they are not very focused and their ability to plan ahead or understand consequences is still fuzzy. They shouldn't be forced to learn it should be fun.
If your Christian school has a play and learn focus then it should be fine for your child. Learning should be very fun at this age.
_____________________________
Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Right Education - 7/27/2008 6:48:31 PM
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manda59
Posts: 5451
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From: Hampshire, UK
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Auben
Three year olds
The OP said "next August" - I don't know if that means next month, or next year. If it's next year, the child will be four and a half by then.
_____________________________
"That's what I would say as well."
Mrs Wifey, August 2008.
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RE: Right Education - 7/29/2008 7:53:33 AM
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741
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Joined: 11/10/2006
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Thanks all for your suggestions and sorry for the lack of information. My son will go to school August next month. It's a Christian school and actually, a semi homeschooling. Meaning, my son will have to attend school 3 days a week, and learning at home for another 3. The school will provide homework and assignment to fill those 3 days at home. To be precise, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at school, while Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at home.
The school will ask all the students to do exactly what they wanted. For example, to do a tracing, the kids will have to draw a line exactly as the dotted line shows, no crooked line allowed. I hope I am making myself understandable in this point. In short, the school practice a hard discipline. Yes, for K3 (3-4 yo kids) as well. But from the experience of other parents, that discipline do just great with their kids. That's why we (me and my wife) agreed to enlist our son there. Because, well, he seemed to need that discipline.
The school uses those activities such as tracing, coloring, and all, as a tool to teach kids how to be discipline, obeying parents, and manners.
What bothers us a lot, once again, is that we found out that the function of the left brain will be developed at the age of 6. Maybe I need to ask first whether or not this is true? Because if it is, we think we should use other way than tracing and stuffs using the left brain and start using activities which requires right brain to teach our son discipline.
And while we are talking about the brain here, can I also ask if mind mapping is Biblical or not? Or should I open a new thread for that topic?
If I cannot find the answer for both questions above here, are there any reliable Christian source that I can go to?
I taught my son to read from the age of 2, using Glenn Doman's method. And my son seemed to enjoy that, but was that really how he feels? Or was it just myself being proud of him? Well, maybe these questions of mine seems "unbelievable", but this is really my first time being a proud father of my real amazing son. Moreover, my son is our only child and the first of my family (or my wife's fam), to be taught how to read with that method.
Back to my original matter, I don't know if my reply above give a better picture of my trouble. But I really feel a lot better reading at your comments. I feel like I am not alone (well, there's still my wife, of course). Thanks a lot.
_____________________________
The Answer
"He is the Messiah!" John 7:41 (Good News Bible)
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RE: Right Education - 7/29/2008 8:26:08 AM
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manda59
Posts: 5451
Joined: 9/22/2005
From: Hampshire, UK
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quote:
ORIGINAL: 741
What bothers us a lot, once again, is that we found out that the function of the left brain will be developed at the age of 6.
Whether this is true or not is just an opinion.
You will soon know if your son becomes frustrated or not, and probably won't have any idea until he starts. For all you know, he may absolutely enjoy it, as I enjoyed learning to read and write when I was that age. I *loved* being able to read books for myself. My own two children (19 and 14) were also taught to read and write early, and their reading age has always been ahead of their peers (at 6 my daughter had the reading age of a 14 year old).
If your only two choices are the Christian school and the "other religion" school, then I suggest you stick with the Christian school. If your child becomes stressed, or you feel the work is too much, you can always talk with his teachers.
Is there a lot of play as well as the learning?
_____________________________
"That's what I would say as well."
Mrs Wifey, August 2008.
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RE: Right Education - 7/29/2008 11:15:43 AM
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Auben
Posts: 1597
Joined: 4/13/2005
From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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Does he have to go to school this year? It sounds like you and your wife are doing just fine at home with the benefit of knowing your son enough to see if he is being too stressed by the structure. It's harder to do that with 20-30 children in a school setting. Certainly if he's already reading I'm not sure tracing is going to move him forward much more. Any of those things can be done at home without additional 'homework' to be filled out later.
From what I know about children's development many children are able to read, write, and learn many concepts at an early age. The ability is there for many of them (not all, but if your child is already reading he is probably able). However, the maturity to put together concepts on their own is not there. They are learning more by rote and the connections begin to come in later.
Also human beings, and many mammals, have a play-learn ability built in. Playing is learning at this age. Play tends to use imagination (building on concepts they see in real-life and extending and connecting them), copying behavior (dolls/babies or building/jobs), etc. An interesting person to read on this concept is Maria Montessori who started the Montessori schools for early learning. The basic concept is that children just need interesting and educational 'tools' provided (dress up clothes, books, games which introduce patterns, early math, phonics, art supplies, blocks or other spatial tools, science experiments) and they will explore and internalize learning on their own. They will like learning and do it for its own sake rather than just to be obedient.
Again, that's one concept of child learning/growth and it's fairly accepted in the States.
If you do decide that you want to teach him at home I know Kumon has a series of writing and early math workbooks. That is if you're worried that he'll fall behind. They include tracing, cutting, pasting, and every stage of language and math development. I think they're rather pricey for something someone could create on their own but I have friends who use them with success.
_____________________________
Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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