Breaking into the Future: Early Childhood Education

Are children tiny people or a different creature entirely? So much of our early life is spent contemplating just this notion. Every educator, parent, childless adult, and child himself has some opinion on the matter. Where is the happy medium where we all coexist?

Pediatricians deal primarily with the growing bodies of our children. As they develop diet and exercise needs change drastically. These changes can be tracked and compared to demographic averages to determine whether or not a child is normal. Psychology may attempt to do many of the same things but in fact the mind is so complex and children’s creativity so diverse that indeed this area of study has its limitations.

For example, a teacher may wish to maintain classroom order by telling students, “Sit down and be quiet please.” A room of adults is assumed to know without being told that this course of action is appropriate. Likewise these adults would be considered very rude for interrupting the instructor while she is talking. However, some adults are indeed not as well behaved as some children.

Children and adults have different questions. A child may ask the following questions: Why is the sky blue? From where does rain come? How did I get here to your house? Why am I your child? For an adult the questions are drastically different. Where can Ifind Clarks shoes? What is the stock market doing this month? How much money should I move over into savings? Where will we put Dad now that Mom’s dead? Why am I your child?

An adult may write down the coherent sentence “Where can I find Clarks shoes?” A young child may understand that we are going to a shoe store that is brand specific and thus write the simpler statement “Clarkes shoe”. Small children are also more comfortable communicating through pictures than trying to write out more complicated thoughts for which they might not yet have the vocabulary.

Patience is always the key to not simply dealing with other people but getting their personal best. With proper care and fostering anyone from a toddler to a senior citizen is more inclined to be cooperative and productive. This trait in a caregiver or educator has the possibility to make up for a multitude of flaws in knowledge and overall competence. The key is to apply the right person to the right education level to get the best out of everyone involved.