Misconceptions About Early Education

 Myths About Early Childhood Education

Why are there still so many parents when mentioning the phrase "early education" for their children, parents immediately object and refuse to learn?

Around the world early education emerged as a field of study during the Enlightenment from the 18th century, especially in European countries with high literacy rates. And continued to be researched and developed in the 19th and 20th centuries, until now early education continues to be researched and developed. 

Misconceptions About Early Education

 

-In Europe: Montessori (1870-1952) believed that children learn through their senses and movements; Reggio Emilia is built with the goal of educating children to develop comprehensively the skills to help them become global citizens.
- In Asia: Typical is the "ageless method" of Professor Phung Duc Toan - China; The policy is an "open" educational method that helps children learn naturally and passionately from the time they are babies. Also in Japan there are typical methods such as shichida and Hakuru; 

-In the US: With its position as a world power in education, in the US, early education has been studied from a very early age, typically the work of Professor Glenn Doman (1919-2013) and a group of collaborators since 1956. important to the motor and intellectual development of children right from birth. In 1983, Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) was originally studied by Professor Howard Gardner of Harvard University more than three decades ago and has been implemented in many parts of the world.

And now, in Vietnam, 10 years ago almost no one knew what Early Education was, 10 years later only about 25% of parents understood correctly and enough about the importance of early education and they focused on invest more in children at this stage. So the remaining 75% of parents, what did they think? Let's find out and clarify the truth with Vietparent!

First of all, it is a fact that when hearing the word "education" everyone hears forced, crammed to learn and remember, not play, right? Even so, it's "early" to feel unsatisfied. I'm so small, what can I teach? I can't absorb but teach but force me to learn with practice. Others, more advanced, may know that the child's brain is infinite, can memorize very quickly and for a long time if activated early, but to do this may have to be very expensive, luxurious and far away. which the poor cannot reach. Or is it a trend they think they should watch out for!

 

And here are the "Wrong" misconceptions about Early Education that need to be clarified:

Firstly, it is said that applying early education is forcing children to be immature and stealing their childhood

Some parents thought that they would raise their children according to "naturalism", that is, when their children were young, they would let their children grow up naturally, doing whatever they wanted, without molding. And wait until the child enters kindergarten or primary school to start strictly forcing them to study. Then entrust everything to the school, to the teacher in the work called "education".

Second, early education is educating children to be geniuses or prodigies

Many other parents always want their children to have special talents from an early age, push them to develop deeply in a certain field from a young age, and forcefully push them. This puts children under a lot of pressure and sometimes not only does not develop, but also loses their feelings in that area. 

Third, early education is aimed at equipping children with a lot of knowledge when they are young, which is to teach the curriculum of older ages.

There have been many families who care and want their children to develop beyond their peers, preparing their children to enter primary school is not surprising with knowledge. Therefore, families and adults have brought more knowledge of older ages, forcing children to learn first, forcing children to "ripe".

Fourth, Early Education is "uniform", is "casting" all children in the same mold

Misunderstanding about early education will cause parents to miss an important period to foster their children's interest in learning and discovery. Even putting the child under a lot of pressure, and leaving the opposite consequences because "ripe fruit will not be sweet". When children have good qualities, they will have passion and skills later on, they will automatically be active in learning. Parents need to have influence and know how to use science to maximize their children's qualities. And each child has their own abilities, their own colors and differences that make their own mark. Therefore, from a young age, pay much attention to the child's special ability, helping that ability develop naturally. We should not force all children to learn the same way, to achieve the same results.

So what is the correct understanding of the phrase "Early Education"?

We need to understand that the word "early" here does not mean early compared to children's awareness, but early compared to the long-held concept in society. Many scientific works have proven that the most important period in each person's life is the period from 0 to 6 years old, because at this time the brain can absorb infinitely and develop strongly without limit. And all good foundations of mind, body, soul are best built at this stage, not in elementary school, high school, college or graduate school. In the period 0 - 6 years old, children are like absorbent sponges, if parents educate their children consciously, they will allow them to absorb selective things, otherwise, children will collect all the chaos of society.

However, early education is not forcing children to study hard from a young age. When it comes to teaching children to read, we must first see what literacy activities are. If parents only give word cards with vivid illustrations, learning letters here is as normal and natural as teaching children to perceive things around life. And if parents force their children to study well, it is really "forcing young children".

Early education is education at the right time and in the right way

The most important period of brain development is from 0 to 6 years old, skipping this stage will lose the potential of the child.

This is a process that stimulates brain function to develop during the strongest period of growth. What needs to be done is for children to be active, comfortable and natural, helping them form values, positive emotions, initiative and creativity."

Early education is a quality education, helping children develop their potential from the very beginning of life

In the book "Waiting for kindergarten, it is too late" famous Japanese educator Ibuka Masaru pointed out that an "intelligent brain depends on the ability to connect and communicate between brain cells". , “the brain development of a person until the age of 3 is 78-80% complete” and “almost complete by the time a child is 6 years old” This means that the connection between the brain cells of a child is almost As it is completed after the age of 6, we need to teach children what and how to teach is the most important issue in early childhood education methods. 

Children at this stage have the ability to absorb any knowledge, as well as are always eager to be acquainted with new things, without the risk of being overloaded as adults often fear. This is also the "most suitable time" to help children develop their limitless abilities at an early age, by sending them lots of stimulation from the outside such as cuddling, talking, moving, etc. listening to music or reading stories... When parents understand the true nature of early education from a scientific perspective, parents will find many ways to teach their children.

Early education is "education of children about soul and personality", focusing on nurturing children's souls, nurturing self-confidence and motivation with the love of parents.

Educator Shichida Makoto said that "early education of children is education of the soul" because the soul is the guide that guides the mind and is the factor that creates a person's quality. When babies are born with cuddling, talking is the best way to help them form a bond with their parents and foster self-affirmation. Besides, parents should spend time reading stories, poems, showing pictures, taking children for a walk, playing with puzzles... with their children. This is one of the best ways for children to have an environment that stimulates their intellectual ability, creativity, and self-interest while still fully feeling the love of their parents. Regularly praising your children for their work, patiently listening to them, and caring about their feelings will help them gain confidence, think of others, and be motivated to try. After all, children are not the property of parents, so parents must be the ones to discover their children's talents to help them maintain their passion and develop that ability based on their own desires. of the child, not his own wishes.

But understood, another question arises: how to apply early education methods successfully, when I am just a normal parent and have no economic conditions?

Early education method is understood as a way, a process that affects children from 0-6 years old to activate the cerebral cortex, especially the right brain, thereby helping to arouse and promote the available potentials. inside every child. Talking about early education is talking about awakening the latent and limitless potential of people, fostering the personality foundation at the stage of the most developed human intelligence.

The essence of early education is to give children an interesting and colorful life but must be stimulated and trained appropriately. Thereby, improving basic qualities and completely different from conventional education.

Early education is essentially the process by which children learn everything around them. Therefore, early education begins right in pregnancy, when the fetus has fully developed senses to receive all stimuli from the outside environment. 

Early education helps children develop naturally and comprehensively through practical experiences associated with children's lives with educational orientation. The best early education for children is to teach them to learn through experience, through game activities. In fact, every child is easily attracted and attracted to games. To develop children's cognitive, linguistic, creative and emotional capacities, many people have applied learning through games at home, which is very effective and not as expensive as people think. Research also shows that there is a strong link between play, which children acquire skills for learning, have a deep understanding of Math, Vietnamese, Science and Information Technology as well as Informatics. According to GDS expert Lai Thi Hai Ly, "Combining early education for children in a scientific way, along with interactive books as a tool, will help children have a rich spiritual development environment, help children become passionate about learn everything around, rather than get sucked into a single thing that is sometimes toxic.”

Early education is not far away, early education starts in your own family. Family plays a 70% role in determining success or not. Surely you have also been doing it, but there is something you do right or not. There is no single method that is applicable to all children, but I believe that if parents update and have an open mind, they will find the most suitable educational method for their children. No one was born to be taught to be a parent, that's why parents also need to learn that it's easy to understand. 

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