My synopsis of the article at 11:30 at night when I'm really half-asleep:
* In general, kids who learn to read at age 6 or so will develop a longer-lasting interest in reading than those who are pushed to do it earlier (note: not self-directed kids) * Self-directed creative play is good for kids * Baby Einstein videos kinda suck as academic tools (we knew this) * The single best predictor of academic success seems to be a big vocabulary; the single best way to have a big vocabulary is to have educated, affluent parents (this part is depressing) * Kids whose cortex development peaks later wind up being smarter (this part is fascinating) * A gung-ho early-childhood-intellectuals school that had *great* and *genuine* success with brain-damaged kids doesn't have any evidence to back up the assertion that their method also helps regular kids * Parents can be pushy and misguided without seeming creepy, though it certainly doesn't hurt.
I don't think the article itself is specifically down on flashcards, either as a learning tool later in life or as a toy in youth -- it's more down on the kind of forced mindless/uninteresting memorization that comes from USING flashcards to, say, drill your toddlers on classic works of visual art. Flashcards the way you and entrope use them sound basically awesome.
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Date: 2007-10-31 03:39 am (UTC)* In general, kids who learn to read at age 6 or so will develop a longer-lasting interest in reading than those who are pushed to do it earlier (note: not self-directed kids)
* Self-directed creative play is good for kids
* Baby Einstein videos kinda suck as academic tools (we knew this)
* The single best predictor of academic success seems to be a big vocabulary; the single best way to have a big vocabulary is to have educated, affluent parents (this part is depressing)
* Kids whose cortex development peaks later wind up being smarter (this part is fascinating)
* A gung-ho early-childhood-intellectuals school that had *great* and *genuine* success with brain-damaged kids doesn't have any evidence to back up the assertion that their method also helps regular kids
* Parents can be pushy and misguided without seeming creepy, though it certainly doesn't hurt.
I don't think the article itself is specifically down on flashcards, either as a learning tool later in life or as a toy in youth -- it's more down on the kind of forced mindless/uninteresting memorization that comes from USING flashcards to, say, drill your toddlers on classic works of visual art. Flashcards the way you and