As I begin a new school year,  I think of the 100+ new little faces I’m going to get to teach in a few weeks, which means I’m again pondering the changes I’ve seen in education  and the concern I feel for them as they immediately jump into academics.  Not that behavior/social skills won’t be taught as well, but teachers have to try to cram both in at the same time. I’m trying not to be the old “back in my day” kind of person and if the need for change is proven to me in a logical way, I’m there.  But in my day (ha!), my kindergarten report card consisted of things that had to do with motor skills, a few of the most basic of academic skills and then social skills – necessities to get ready for 1st grade.  Motor skills included things like skipping in rhythm and managing my own clothing.  Academic skills included the ability to write my name and know my name when I saw it, and knowing my colors. The rest of them were social skills, those necessary lifelong behaviors and dispositions that enable you to focus on academic endeavors throughout your schooling and beyond.  Of the 17 things listed, 10 of them were social skills, my favorites being “I do not annoy others” and “I rest well”, neither of which I do well today, but that’s my problem : )  Anyway, maybe children have changed and that’s why the push for more academics sooner.  Does that mean that something like Piaget’s Theory is obsolete or outdated?  Has technology somehow enhanced children’s ability to learn faster?

So, let’s go with this theory that technology has somehow enhanced the way children process information and learn.  That would mean that there is something within the technological environment that actually changes the way children think and conceptualize, that somehow technology is changing how our kids develop cognitively and so they are able to grasp more concepts at a younger age.  But if the use of technology is merely a tool, like a book or manipulatives, how can it make kids cognitively or psychologically more mature?  Simple observation of most elementary students by a seasoned teacher would tell you that exactly the opposite is happening in that if anything, kids appear to be less psychologically mature.  Which leads me to wonder, could the upswing in mental illness among elementary kids come from pushing them academically too soon?  Just asking.

This does not mean that children aren’t intelligent, in fact, Piaget said that these stages of development do not mean that children are less intelligent than adults, it’s that they process things differently.  Just because a student can manipulate the web as well as the teacher for information doesn’t mean he’s processing the information like an adult. That’s why it can seem like the student can handle more, but in fact the typical 5-6 year old has just begun to think symbolically, learning how to use words and pictures to represent objects.  They are still thinking very concretely and the beginning of abstract thought is at least 2-5 years away.  Based on the theory then, attempting to get a 6 year old to understand the “why” of a math problem is a waste of time.  They’re just beginning to understand what the symbol “2” means.

I’ve listened to classrooms where kids are reciting concepts but I’m wondering how many understand what the concept really means and how to use it.  If kids are just beginning to get that letters are symbols for sounds and all of a sudden we start throwing combinations of letters at them in the form of words and then we want them to understand what they’re reading before they’re ready, it’s a waste of time.  Do you know how many little ones have told me they’re stupid because they can’t read the words?  And what we tell them is that they need to read more or work harder. Now, I get that in first grade I had some friends who struggled too, but remember, abstract thinking, according to Piaget, doesn’t happen until 7-11 years of age and as much as we would like all kids to be on grade level at the same time, logically, it isn’t going to happen.  So you’ll have those kids who are developing a little more quickly maybe get it and think they’re all that and then you’ll have those other kids who are developing at the appropriate rate but a little later and they believe themselves to be stupid.  How are you ever going to get a kid to love learning when they feel that way about themselves?

All I’m trying to say here is that despite the fact that kids can surf the web on any number of devices, can be very articulate in terms of spoken vocabulary due to TV and movies, if we ignore the basics of child psychology and push them beyond their own individual development, which includes time to play, rest and learning how to get along with others, we’re going to have more and more tired, stressed out kids who hate school.  School should be that place where we teach kids to love learning through play, creativity, and collaboration.   Technology can be a great tool but we shouldn’t let it deceive us into thinking kids aren’t still kids developmentally.  Spending time teaching kids how to be good people and taking the time to teach listening skills and how to work with others, I believe will be more beneficial in the long run.  Don’t be fooled my friends!