孩子的幼儿教育不是越早越好.docx

TWENTY years ago, kids in preschool, kindergarten and even first and second grade spent much of their time playing: building with blocks, drawing or creating imaginary worlds, in their own heads or with classmates. But increasingly, these activities are being abandoned for the teacher-led, didactic instruction typically used in higher grades. In many schools, formal education now starts at age 4 or 5. Without this early start, the thinking goes, kids risk falling behind in crucial subjects such as reading and math, and may never catch up. 20年前，上学前班、幼儿园、甚至一二年级的孩子们，大部分时间都在玩：堆积木、画画、创作想象的世界，在脑瓜里想这些事，或和同学一起玩。但这些活动越来越多地被老师的教学所替代，而这种教育方式过去通常用于年级较高的学生。在很多学校，正规教育现在是从4或5岁开始的。人们认为，如果不提早开始接受教育，孩子们在阅读、数学等关键科目上恐怕会落后，或许永远都无法再赶回来。The idea seems obvious: Starting sooner means learning more; the early bird catches the worm. 这个想法似乎是显而易见的：越早开始意味着学到的越多：早起的鸟儿有虫吃。But a growing group of scientists, education researchers and educators say there is little evidence that this approach improves long-term achievement; in fact, it may have the opposite effect, potentially slowing emotional and cognitive development, causing unnecessary stress and perhaps even souring kids’ desire to learn. 但越来越多的科学家、教育研究者和教育工作者表示，没有证据表明这种方式会提高长期的成绩；实际上，它可能会带来相反的效果，可能会阻碍情感及认知方面的发展，造成不必要的压力，甚至可能会扼杀孩子的求知欲。One expert I talked to recently, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, a professor emerita of education at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., describes this trend as a “profound misunderstanding of how children learn.” She regularly tours schools, and sees younger students floundering to comprehend instruction: “I’ve seen it many, many times in many, many classrooms — kids being told to sit at a table and just copy letters. They don’t know what they’re doing. It’s heartbreaking.”我最近与马萨诸塞州坎布里奇莱斯利大学(Lesley University)的教育学荣休教授南茜·卡尔松-佩奇(Nancy Carlsson-Paige)有过一番交谈。卡尔松-佩奇称，这种趋势反映了对“孩子的学习过程深深的误解”。她定期参观学校，看到很多年纪较小的学生无法理解授课内容：“我在很多教室看到过很多类似的情况，老师让学生坐在桌子旁，抄写字母。他们不知道自己在干什么。真让人感到难过。”The stakes in this debate are considerable. As the skep