Tag Archive for 'childhood'

Full Speed Ahead!

Published by Robert Pondiscio on September 29, 2008 in Research and Reports. 1 Comment

A few years ago John Cloud of TIME Magazine wrote that the idea that kids are overscheduled and need to slow down is “a fine example of transference.  Aren’t you really the one who wants to lose the BlackBerry and go fishing?”  Looks like he was right.  The Washington Post takes note of new research that indicates kids not only cope with a heavy schedule, but thrive with it.  It’s the parents, however, who are stressed out.  And, (as is often the case when members of professional classes feel burdened by a problem) it’s not that much of an issue to begin with.

Two studies based on data about how children spend their days show that only a minority are heavily scheduled and that organized activities are linked to positive outcomes in school, emotional development, family life and behavior. The children most at risk have no activities at all, the studies showed.

“I found the opposite of what I expected,” Sandra L. Hofferth, director of the Maryland Population Research Center at the University of Maryland at College Park, tells the Post.  Hofferth “started out with a pretty solid belief that lots and lots of activities are bad for children.” But, says the paper, she found a higher level of activity was not linked to such stress symptoms as depression, anxiety, alienation and fearfulness.

The American Academy of Pediatrics warned in 2006 that a hurried lifestyle could create anxiety or contribute to depression for some children.

Houston, We Have a Problem

Published by Robert Pondiscio on June 30, 2008 in Assessment and Testing and Parents. 0 Comments

I’m all about committed parenting, academic rigor and student achievement so why does it feel excessive to me that children as young as four are being tutored to get ahead in school? The Houston Chronicle reports some parents are hiring tutors, “because they’re feeling the pressure of looming high-stakes tests, which begins in Texas with the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills for third-grade children. Others are thinking about college.”

Houston-area tutors work with hundreds of young children on phonics, numbers, colors, study skills and fine motor skills. Some take children as young as 3 1/2 . But some caution that putting pressure on young children might give them a distaste for school. Rather than spending upward of $45 an hour on private tutors, they say parents should use outings to stores, libraries and museums as teaching moments.

“A child needs summer,” Kay Hall, director of the Early Learning Academy in the Spring school district tells the paper.  ”There’s a lot of learning that can take place over the summer, but it doesn’t need to be in a classroom in a structured environment.”