The Critical Nature of Early Learning

Neil Mufson, Head of School

 

Over the years ahead, you will frequently find me alluding to some of the brain research most salient to the ages we serve at Primary Day. I closely follow many sources that make these studies accessible for educators. One such publication is Edutopia, a project of film maker George Lucas’ educational foundation, whose mission is to help transform education “so that all students can acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to thrive in their studies, careers, and adult lives.”

      

For obvious reasons a recent article entitled “Why Ages 2-7 Matter So Much for Brain Development” caught my eye. In it the writer Rishi Sriram reviewed what most of us already know: that there are “critical periods” in children’s brain development, that the first typically occurs between the ages of 2 and 7 or so, and that during this period “the number of connections (synapses) between brain cells (neurons) doubles.” The astounding thing is that this increase in “synapses enable the brain to learn faster than at any other time of life” (emphasis mine).

 

While there have been countless fads that have attempted to harness this explosion of learning potential, it is often difficult to sift out the truly helpful and developmentally appropriate from the fluff and potentially harmful. The Edutopia article cited these critical guidelines:

 

“Encourage a love of learning” – Rather than focusing on performance and results focus on the process of learning. Help your children become comfortable making mistakes and then regrouping, which are fundamental parts of learning. Cultivating this kind of attitude helps children become resilient in other areas of life as well.

 

Help children develop what psychologist Carol Dweck calls a “growth mindset” – “the belief that talents and abilities are developed through effort instead of being innately fixed,” that persistence leads to the best results. Sriram notes that adults should “avoid labeling children or making universal statements about their ability, [like] ‘You are so smart!” (As an aside, I will soon be announcing a PDS parent book group that will read and discuss Dweck’s seminal work.)

 

Focus on the joy that can comes from trying new activities and experiences. These are not the ages to become overly specialized. Breadth rather than depth is best during this developmental period. “Exposing children to a wide variety of activities lays a foundation for developing skills in a range of fields… The people who thrive in our rapidly changing world are those who first learn how to draw from multiple fields and think creatively.”

 

·     Build emotional intelligence by emphasizing kindness, empathy, and cooperation.

 

·     “Don’t treat young children’s education as merely a precursor to ‘real’ learning.”

 

Everything we do at Primary Day is directed towards these goals. Your child benefits every day from our unique and deep focus on the needs of early childhood learners. While Primary Day has been in existence since 1944, our mission is as relevant today as it was then: The finest education for the most important years.