This chapter made so much sense to me when I read it! Based on what I read, I think "preparing the brain for school" means preparing the entire child for school. That includes preparing the child emotionally, as well as helping children develop sensory motor development, auditory development, vision development, and making sure they are making nutritional food choices. I think so many parents believe that preparing their child for school only involves preparing them academically, and this chapter makes it clear that thinking that way is incorrect.
I loved how this chapter mentioned helping young children develop emotional and social skills before they enter school. I think this is an area where a lot of our students are not receiving what they need at a young age. Because so many of our students have such difficult home lives, many of them are not shown strong role models of emotional stability and kindness on a daily basis until they enter our school. I also found it interesting how much this chapter discussed how TV is not a substitute for learning opportunities. Too often I feel that TV is used as a babysitter and I have had many parents tell me that though they do let their children watch many hours of television, they don't think it is hurting their child because the child is watching "educational television." I would love to share this information with parents so they can understand that there are more beneficial activities they can do with their child. I truly believe that many of the children in our school are not raised by parents who don't care, but simply parents who have never been completely informed on what they should do to make sure their child is developing properly and successfully. I also loved reading about nutrition in this chapter. I definitely agree that most children are not malnourished, but are improperly nourished. I know I am guilty of grabbing fast food because it's quick when it would be healthier for me to go home and cook a more nutritious meal. It's so easy for parents to go through a drive thru and pick up something quickly, especially with everyone living such busy lives. I would love to find a way to share the information about nutrition that was shared in this chapter with parents. I honestly think that if many parents knew how much nutrition and what their child is eating effects their brain development, many of them would atleast make some changes in what their child is eating.
I do believe that many of our students do not come to school with a brain that is "prepared for school." I know that I personally have met many first graders who do not have strong emotional and social skills due to the lack of strong parental relationships when they were younger. I have also met quite a few first graders who have issues with sensory motor development because parents did not take the time or did not know how to help their children in this area. My hope is that we can get this important information about how a child's brain grows and develops to parents. I know that most of the parents of our students simply want what is best for their child and knowing this information would give them the tools to help their child before they enter our school. I really enjoyed reading this chapter and I think it will definitely help me understand more of what I see in my classroom daily.
Although, I too found that a lot of the information in this chapter made sense, I was also surprised by some of the information I found. I definitely learned a lot while reading this chapter. I agree with Courtney’s belief that many parents only think of the academics when thinking of their child as being “ready for school.” But there is so much more a child needs - emotionally, nutritionally, and socially. Because of this, I do believe that many of our students do not come to us “ready.” I thought it fascinating just how much a child does need before they are even 2 years old in order to be successful and parents need to be informed about this! Although I definitely want to use information I’ve learned from this book to help educate parents on how they can be helping their child, I can’t help but think that by the time they hear it from me, it’s “too late.” I also was shocked to read that “according to one theory, it may be better to have a bad care-giver than no caregiver or too many caregivers.” I guess that just goes to show how important it is to form a relationship with a child. . . even a “bad” relationship is better than no relationship. I definitely think the emotional and social aspects are the most important to foster before sending a child to school. If a child does not feel loved, cared for, safe, or wanted at home, it’s going to negatively impact their desire to learn and will be harder for them to form meaningful relationships in and out of school.
"Although I definitely want to use information I’ve learned from this book to help educate parents on how they can be helping their child, I can’t help but think that by the time they hear it from me, it’s “too late.”' ---I felt the same way when reading that part. Those first few years are so important, but they're before we (all teachers) can even get involved. Make you wonder if pre-preschool programs would be worthwhile. Even just to train parents on all the ways they can help prepare their children.
"I also was shocked to read that “according to one theory, it may be better to have a bad care-giver than no caregiver or too many caregivers.”' ---This stood out to me, too! It's like 'bad publicity is better than no publicity'. I guess as long as there is some relationship being built, it can have at least some positive outcomes.
I too think that students do need to be emotionally and socially ready for school. These aspects are fostered at home. I wished this information was made available to parents of younger child to help nurtured at home on a daily bases. Lindsey made a good point that these two aspects will help students be successful in school.
Courtney, Lindsey and Myra, I totally felt very similar to the way you did when I read this. First off, can we say CRAZY at some of the statistics regarding nutrition in that section. 11% of 2 year olds eat French fries daily! INSANE! Back to the brain...I think many of our students may be students who have not had the great exposures and influences in early development. I know that when I talk to parents in ARC's or read about the child's social/developmental history I learn so much about the home lives of these kids. It makes total sense now that if we have students whose bodies and brains have been trained to react a specific way or have revised pathways in their brain because of situations they have experienced, their schooling and learning would be different from a child who had a "normal" upbringing where parents read and talked to them and didn't just plop them in front of the tv or set them alone to play video games.
This is one of those chapters you wish you could just plaster around town for parents to read! Preparing the brain for school starts even before birth, so a lot of damage can be done prior to a child reaching school age, which is scary from a teacher's perspective. "Preparing the brain for school" involves not just academics, which like Courtney and Linds said, is what most parents think to focus on. It consists of the whole child—intellectually, emotionally, socially, physically.
I believe the most important way to prepare a child for school is emotionally. Jensen talks specifically about how correct modeling by a caregiver helps the child develop appropriate emotional responses. To me, this is probably a big reason why we have so many students who don’t respond appropriately to peers, adults, and/or situations. We know how active police officers are in their home lives, and we also see or hear about some of the craziness that goes on in front of these kiddos. It’s sad to know that research (mostly) leans toward there being no chance of reversing emotional issues later in life. A child not being able to handle him/herself emotionally makes it extremely difficult for him/her to learn (and be taught). Negative exposures early on in life lead to a lifetime of emotional issues.
Considering all of the ways to prepare the brain for school, I feel that a majority of our children come to school ill prepared. There are parents out there who try, but may not have the resources or knowledge. We have kids whose parents never read to them or work on counting; we have kids who are exposed to physical and emotional abuse; we have kids who don’t get the food or medical care that they need. We expect so much of them and yet they’re coming to us with brains that are not prepared for school. I’m assuming this is why we’re reading this book…to learn what things we can do to help counteract those things as much as we can! ☺
I am loving te preparing your brain for school chapter. I am a very wholistic (you read this right, not holistic, WHOListic) teacher. This ebing said, I try to use my role as teacher is a Maria Montessori type of way. "Free the child's potential, and you will transform him into the world" comes to mind. I think this quote is exceptionally important in how they come to school. Socially and emotionally, they must be ready. This gives them abilities beyond measure. I do not think they are prepared because of the lack of family values/morals/talking/expectations/responsibilities/etc. I think I am so hard on my kids because of this. We are crazy organized and scheduled, they have pretty hefty responsibilities for their ages, as well because I am so afraid of them not being well rounded and "ready" for school. I do agree with the unfortunate feelings above that it might be too late, BUT morning meetings (while NO ONE has ANY time for them) might be the key to a classroom focus on social and emotional preparedness for these children who are scary below level in these two preparatory measures.
I have enjoyed this chapter. I agree that quality preschool programs educate the child as well as the parent and/or guardian. Unfortantely, all of our children do not attend a preschool program. Many parents do not understand the importance of free play, communication, and nutrition. I do not feel that this is their fault. I feel that we need to find a way to provide information to parents on the importance of free play, communication, and nutrition.
I really enjoyed reading this chapter and found many things to be interesting. In college I studied the importance of students’ social and emotional competence and ways to intervene maladaptive behaviors, but reading that these issues can be made permanent at such a young age threw me for a loop. I guess I always thought about it from a behaviorist stand point, targeting the behavior and developing interventions to obtain a desirable outcome; but with significant damage to a child’s brain caused by trauma and neglect, those interventions may only help the student for a limited amount of time. That being said, I share a common belief with the comments above, that students need to be academically, physically, socially, and emotionally prepared for school, and there are many practices in which parents should be made aware to ensure their child’s readiness. Furthermore, perhaps the most important preparatory measure for a student to be successful in school is their emotional readiness, because students who are emotionally unhealthy over long periods of time become physically unhealthy, which we know adversely affects cognition.
I had an experience during my student teaching semester that really opened my eyes as to how important it is for children to be nurtured at home, in order to be prepared to take on responsibilities inside and outside of the classroom. When I read the quote, “sometimes, just let them sleep”, I thought of a student who was constantly exhausted, because he barely slept at night. At first, I was confused when my cooperating teacher did not try to wake the student, or later take disciplinary action towards his apathy. Once I got to know the student, I understood that it wasn't apathy at all, but he was simply exhausted, due to detrimental living situations. Teaching this student taught me that we must consider our students as “whole persons” so that we may give them the best education, no matter their home situations.
This chapter was frustrating to me b/c it left me thinking, "Good Lord, no wonder!" So many of our students come from families where the parents can't take care of their own physical, emotional, and nutritional needs, let alone those of a little one (or ones!) But a big part of our job is KNOWING the obstacles we must overcome in the challenge of helping young children learn; FINDING WAYS to overcome those obstacles is the BIGGEST part of all! This book has the potential to help us do both.
I knew the chapter was going to be a lot to swallow upon reading the heading "Parenting with the Unborn in Mind". I thought to myself, "Uh oh. How many kids did I have in my class that had things already going against them because of what their mother was not thinking about when she was pregnant." When the author stated that the most important thing a pregnant women can do for her developing fetus are to eat well, to avoid drugs and smoking, and to minimize stress, I thought back to all of the students I have had that were born having things in their systems that shouldn't be there. THEN to top it all off, the author said that educators must help parent understand prenatal brain development. My question to that is HOW??
The knowledge I gathered from this chapter was really insightful. It was really eye-opening to read about the importance of what a pregnant woman is eating and experiencing during development of her child, and how a child's brain can be "brain ready" for school. However, this chapter was also a little bit depressing. I kept thinking back to all of the students I have had that beyond a shadow of a doubt were not "brain ready" for school. Almost always the common denominator with those students has been their less than uplifting home life.
I would love to think that all of my students when they set foot into my classroom are "brain ready" for school. Unfortunately, we know the reality, and that is hardly the case. No matter the state of my students' brains, I am the one thing ALL of my students have in common. Therefore, it is my job to exhaust all of the resources I have, be as creative as I can, and do everything in my power to push my kids and to reach every single one of them.
I loved seeing how the brain grows in this chapter. It is amazing how it all connects. Things that children learn early on are fundamental for them to develop as a student and individual. This fact stresses how important it is to inform parents that their children need help in developing these early skills to help them become more successful later on.
I also think that this provides some insight into why some students may be struggling in certain areas. I think it is important to remember the environment that students grew up in plays a big role in the way they process different things throughout the school day.
I agree with Kim that we need to help educate the parents on the importance of early interactions for children and offer support where it is needed so these students can be successful.
This chapter reminds us that there are some factors out of our control. Our job is to not overlook these factors. We must figure out how we can provide these students' physiological needs, build a relationship with them that they may be lacking, and then we can begin to assess their academic needs from there. We may not know these children's backgrounds (especially me, coming from a different school) but if we can build a relationship with these children and not look the other way, we will be able to figure out what children are lacking and find ways to give these kids what they need to be successful. This chapter was a good reminder that there is an incredible amount of development that occurs early in life that can affect the child's learning as they come to us. We may not know all that went on, or what they may be missing, but it is our job to find a way to prepare their minds for learning so we stop the deficiencies before the crucial teenage years!
This chapter provided me with several "ah-hah" moments. There are many factors in our students history that we cannot control or change. But it is important that we are aware of that history. We have known for a long time that a child's home life shapes who they are. This chapter takes that sooo much farther. Their home life really does shape their brain! As teachers I think this chapters brings to mind many students that we have had over the years. This chapter has even made me think of my own children and their own history and how that most definitely had an affect on their brains. The good news that this chapter gives is that although we cannot change the past we can have a positive affect on our students brain development today.
This chapter made so much sense to me when I read it! Based on what I read, I think "preparing the brain for school" means preparing the entire child for school. That includes preparing the child emotionally, as well as helping children develop sensory motor development, auditory development, vision development, and making sure they are making nutritional food choices. I think so many parents believe that preparing their child for school only involves preparing them academically, and this chapter makes it clear that thinking that way is incorrect.
ReplyDeleteI loved how this chapter mentioned helping young children develop emotional and social skills before they enter school. I think this is an area where a lot of our students are not receiving what they need at a young age. Because so many of our students have such difficult home lives, many of them are not shown strong role models of emotional stability and kindness on a daily basis until they enter our school. I also found it interesting how much this chapter discussed how TV is not a substitute for learning opportunities. Too often I feel that TV is used as a babysitter and I have had many parents tell me that though they do let their children watch many hours of television, they don't think it is hurting their child because the child is watching "educational television." I would love to share this information with parents so they can understand that there are more beneficial activities they can do with their child. I truly believe that many of the children in our school are not raised by parents who don't care, but simply parents who have never been completely informed on what they should do to make sure their child is developing properly and successfully. I also loved reading about nutrition in this chapter. I definitely agree that most children are not malnourished, but are improperly nourished. I know I am guilty of grabbing fast food because it's quick when it would be healthier for me to go home and cook a more nutritious meal. It's so easy for parents to go through a drive thru and pick up something quickly, especially with everyone living such busy lives. I would love to find a way to share the information about nutrition that was shared in this chapter with parents. I honestly think that if many parents knew how much nutrition and what their child is eating effects their brain development, many of them would atleast make some changes in what their child is eating.
I do believe that many of our students do not come to school with a brain that is "prepared for school." I know that I personally have met many first graders who do not have strong emotional and social skills due to the lack of strong parental relationships when they were younger. I have also met quite a few first graders who have issues with sensory motor development because parents did not take the time or did not know how to help their children in this area. My hope is that we can get this important information about how a child's brain grows and develops to parents. I know that most of the parents of our students simply want what is best for their child and knowing this information would give them the tools to help their child before they enter our school. I really enjoyed reading this chapter and I think it will definitely help me understand more of what I see in my classroom daily.
Although, I too found that a lot of the information in this chapter made sense, I was also surprised by some of the information I found. I definitely learned a lot while reading this chapter. I agree with Courtney’s belief that many parents only think of the academics when thinking of their child as being “ready for school.” But there is so much more a child needs - emotionally, nutritionally, and socially. Because of this, I do believe that many of our students do not come to us “ready.” I thought it fascinating just how much a child does need before they are even 2 years old in order to be successful and parents need to be informed about this! Although I definitely want to use information I’ve learned from this book to help educate parents on how they can be helping their child, I can’t help but think that by the time they hear it from me, it’s “too late.” I also was shocked to read that “according to one theory, it may be better to have a bad care-giver than no caregiver or too many caregivers.” I guess that just goes to show how important it is to form a relationship with a child. . . even a “bad” relationship is better than no relationship. I definitely think the emotional and social aspects are the most important to foster before sending a child to school. If a child does not feel loved, cared for, safe, or wanted at home, it’s going to negatively impact their desire to learn and will be harder for them to form meaningful relationships in and out of school.
ReplyDelete"Although I definitely want to use information I’ve learned from this book to help educate parents on how they can be helping their child, I can’t help but think that by the time they hear it from me, it’s “too late.”'
Delete---I felt the same way when reading that part. Those first few years are so important, but they're before we (all teachers) can even get involved. Make you wonder if pre-preschool programs would be worthwhile. Even just to train parents on all the ways they can help prepare their children.
"I also was shocked to read that “according to one theory, it may be better to have a bad care-giver than no caregiver or too many caregivers.”'
---This stood out to me, too! It's like 'bad publicity is better than no publicity'. I guess as long as there is some relationship being built, it can have at least some positive outcomes.
I too think that students do need to be emotionally and socially ready for school. These aspects are fostered at home. I wished this information was made available to parents of younger child to help nurtured at home on a daily bases. Lindsey made a good point that these two aspects will help students be successful in school.
ReplyDeleteCourtney, Lindsey and Myra, I totally felt very similar to the way you did when I read this. First off, can we say CRAZY at some of the statistics regarding nutrition in that section. 11% of 2 year olds eat French fries daily! INSANE! Back to the brain...I think many of our students may be students who have not had the great exposures and influences in early development. I know that when I talk to parents in ARC's or read about the child's social/developmental history I learn so much about the home lives of these kids. It makes total sense now that if we have students whose bodies and brains have been trained to react a specific way or have revised pathways in their brain because of situations they have experienced, their schooling and learning would be different from a child who had a "normal" upbringing where parents read and talked to them and didn't just plop them in front of the tv or set them alone to play video games.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those chapters you wish you could just plaster around town for parents to read! Preparing the brain for school starts even before birth, so a lot of damage can be done prior to a child reaching school age, which is scary from a teacher's perspective. "Preparing the brain for school" involves not just academics, which like Courtney and Linds said, is what most parents think to focus on. It consists of the whole child—intellectually, emotionally, socially, physically.
ReplyDeleteI believe the most important way to prepare a child for school is emotionally. Jensen talks specifically about how correct modeling by a caregiver helps the child develop appropriate emotional responses. To me, this is probably a big reason why we have so many students who don’t respond appropriately to peers, adults, and/or situations. We know how active police officers are in their home lives, and we also see or hear about some of the craziness that goes on in front of these kiddos. It’s sad to know that research (mostly) leans toward there being no chance of reversing emotional issues later in life. A child not being able to handle him/herself emotionally makes it extremely difficult for him/her to learn (and be taught). Negative exposures early on in life lead to a lifetime of emotional issues.
Considering all of the ways to prepare the brain for school, I feel that a majority of our children come to school ill prepared. There are parents out there who try, but may not have the resources or knowledge. We have kids whose parents never read to them or work on counting; we have kids who are exposed to physical and emotional abuse; we have kids who don’t get the food or medical care that they need. We expect so much of them and yet they’re coming to us with brains that are not prepared for school. I’m assuming this is why we’re reading this book…to learn what things we can do to help counteract those things as much as we can! ☺
I am loving te preparing your brain for school chapter. I am a very wholistic (you read this right, not holistic, WHOListic) teacher. This ebing said, I try to use my role as teacher is a Maria Montessori type of way. "Free the child's potential, and you will transform him into the world" comes to mind. I think this quote is exceptionally important in how they come to school. Socially and emotionally, they must be ready. This gives them abilities beyond measure. I do not think they are prepared because of the lack of family values/morals/talking/expectations/responsibilities/etc. I think I am so hard on my kids because of this. We are crazy organized and scheduled, they have pretty hefty responsibilities for their ages, as well because I am so afraid of them not being well rounded and "ready" for school.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the unfortunate feelings above that it might be too late, BUT morning meetings (while NO ONE has ANY time for them) might be the key to a classroom focus on social and emotional preparedness for these children who are scary below level in these two preparatory measures.
I have enjoyed this chapter. I agree that quality preschool programs educate the child as well as the parent and/or guardian. Unfortantely, all of our children do not attend a preschool program. Many parents do not understand the importance of free play, communication, and nutrition. I do not feel that this is their fault. I feel that we need to find a way to provide information to parents on the importance of free play, communication, and nutrition.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this chapter and found many things to be interesting. In college I studied the importance of students’ social and emotional competence and ways to intervene maladaptive behaviors, but reading that these issues can be made permanent at such a young age threw me for a loop. I guess I always thought about it from a behaviorist stand point, targeting the behavior and developing interventions to obtain a desirable outcome; but with significant damage to a child’s brain caused by trauma and neglect, those interventions may only help the student for a limited amount of time. That being said, I share a common belief with the comments above, that students need to be academically, physically, socially, and emotionally prepared for school, and there are many practices in which parents should be made aware to ensure their child’s readiness. Furthermore, perhaps the most important preparatory measure for a student to be successful in school is their emotional readiness, because students who are emotionally unhealthy over long periods of time become physically unhealthy, which we know adversely affects cognition.
ReplyDeleteI had an experience during my student teaching semester that really opened my eyes as to how important it is for children to be nurtured at home, in order to be prepared to take on responsibilities inside and outside of the classroom. When I read the quote, “sometimes, just let them sleep”, I thought of a student who was constantly exhausted, because he barely slept at night. At first, I was confused when my cooperating teacher did not try to wake the student, or later take disciplinary action towards his apathy. Once I got to know the student, I understood that it wasn't apathy at all, but he was simply exhausted, due to detrimental living situations. Teaching this student taught me that we must consider our students as “whole persons” so that we may give them the best education, no matter their home situations.
This chapter was frustrating to me b/c it left me thinking, "Good Lord, no wonder!"
ReplyDeleteSo many of our students come from families where the parents can't take care of their own physical, emotional, and nutritional needs, let alone those of a little one (or ones!)
But a big part of our job is KNOWING the obstacles we must overcome in the challenge of helping young children learn; FINDING WAYS to overcome those obstacles is the BIGGEST part of all! This book has the potential to help us do both.
I knew the chapter was going to be a lot to swallow upon reading the heading "Parenting with the Unborn in Mind". I thought to myself, "Uh oh. How many kids did I have in my class that had things already going against them because of what their mother was not thinking about when she was pregnant." When the author stated that the most important thing a pregnant women can do for her developing fetus are to eat well, to avoid drugs and smoking, and to minimize stress, I thought back to all of the students I have had that were born having things in their systems that shouldn't be there. THEN to top it all off, the author said that educators must help parent understand prenatal brain development. My question to that is HOW??
ReplyDeleteThe knowledge I gathered from this chapter was really insightful. It was really eye-opening to read about the importance of what a pregnant woman is eating and experiencing during development of her child, and how a child's brain can be "brain ready" for school. However, this chapter was also a little bit depressing. I kept thinking back to all of the students I have had that beyond a shadow of a doubt were not "brain ready" for school. Almost always the common denominator with those students has been their less than uplifting home life.
I would love to think that all of my students when they set foot into my classroom are "brain ready" for school. Unfortunately, we know the reality, and that is hardly the case. No matter the state of my students' brains, I am the one thing ALL of my students have in common. Therefore, it is my job to exhaust all of the resources I have, be as creative as I can, and do everything in my power to push my kids and to reach every single one of them.
I loved seeing how the brain grows in this chapter. It is amazing how it all connects. Things that children learn early on are fundamental for them to develop as a student and individual. This fact stresses how important it is to inform parents that their children need help in developing these early skills to help them become more successful later on.
ReplyDeleteI also think that this provides some insight into why some students may be struggling in certain areas. I think it is important to remember the environment that students grew up in plays a big role in the way they process different things throughout the school day.
I agree with Kim that we need to help educate the parents on the importance of early interactions for children and offer support where it is needed so these students can be successful.
This chapter reminds us that there are some factors out of our control. Our job is to not overlook these factors. We must figure out how we can provide these students' physiological needs, build a relationship with them that they may be lacking, and then we can begin to assess their academic needs from there. We may not know these children's backgrounds (especially me, coming from a different school) but if we can build a relationship with these children and not look the other way, we will be able to figure out what children are lacking and find ways to give these kids what they need to be successful.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter was a good reminder that there is an incredible amount of development that occurs early in life that can affect the child's learning as they come to us. We may not know all that went on, or what they may be missing, but it is our job to find a way to prepare their minds for learning so we stop the deficiencies before the crucial teenage years!
This chapter provided me with several "ah-hah" moments. There are many factors in our students history that we cannot control or change. But it is important that we are aware of that history. We have known for a long time that a child's home life shapes who they are. This chapter takes that sooo much farther. Their home life really does shape their brain! As teachers I think this chapters brings to mind many students that we have had over the years. This chapter has even made me think of my own children and their own history and how that most definitely had an affect on their brains. The good news that this chapter gives is that although we cannot change the past we can have a positive affect on our students brain development today.
ReplyDelete