• Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact

Nancy Bailey's Education Website

Revive, Rally and Recover Public Schools

  • Activism
    • Anti-Charter Schools
    • Anti-Common Core State Standards
    • Anti-Corporatization of Schools
    • Anti-High-Stakes Testing
    • State Action Groups
    • School Buildings
  • School Curriculum
    • General Education
    • Educators
    • Parents
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Math
    • Science
    • Social Studies
    • The Arts
    • Technology
    • Behavior
    • Diversity
    • English Language Learners
    • Special Education
      • Autism
      • Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities
      • Learning Disabilities
      • Developmental Disabilities
      • Gifted
      • Other
    • Early Childhood Education
    • Elementary School
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • Student Careers
  • Other Countries
    • England
    • Finland
    • Australia
    • New Zealand
    • Canada

STEM Preschool and Common Core—Too Much Too Soon and the Wrong Message

June 22, 2014 By Nancy Bailey 3 Comments

Post Views: 100

A friend of mine told me about STEM preschools the other day. At first I thought she was kidding. But I didn’t have to look hard. They’re everywhere! It seems that if parents are intent about making sure their children understand Science, Technology, Engineering and Math all they have to do is sign up for a Tiny Tot STEM Academy.

Some of these schools have hands-on activities that don’t look too bad overall. Really. Many of us like to introduce children to lovely STEM-like projects and that includes visiting science museums. Most parents and educators find it an enjoyable perk to help little kids understand the world around them.

But often the curriculum for these preschools is overly structured. There is too much of a focus on memorization, counting, and reciting. Children are pushed too soon to predict, reason, hypothesize and problem solve.

And the heavy emphasis on preschool STEM instruction, and STEM in general, is too contrived. There is a “Chicken Little” message attached to it that is reminiscent of the old science fears generated after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik. Those fears have long been debunked.

It is also important to note that the acronym STEM is highly political. Repetitively we have been told about a STEM shortage in this country. But there are those who question this claim. Even Forbes raises questions. See here!

Others believe that STEM means something different. That it is referring to vocational-technical jobs in corporations and/or industry.

No matter what it means, you have to wonder about the heavy STEM emphasis with small children.

Parents hear repetitive messages that their children will fail if they don’t keep up. So they allow them to be pushed harder and faster, thinking it’s good for them and that it will help them to get ahead. Children, we are all told, must compete in the 21st century global economy.

Along with this, of course, there are nonprofit programs aplenty, like Discovery Education that promote Common Core State Standards (CCSS), even though the standards are thus far primarily in reading and math.

Then there is Destination Imagination. They describe a sense of urgency when it comes to STEM and “real-world issues.” The sponsors are 3M, Motorola Solutions Foundation, IBM, and PEARSON.  They have workbooks and materials. No surprise there.

The real science Common Core will be called Next Generation Science. Watch for it. It is on its way to a school near you if it hasn’t already arrived. And like CCSS, it is anyone’s guess who devised these standards and what they will mean to teaching STEM subjects to children in the long run.

The sponsors of Common Core Science are some of the usual groups: The Carnegie Corporation of New York, The GE Foundation, The Noyce Foundation, The Cisco Foundation and Du Pont. I wouldn’t have a problem with these groups supporting science for young children, if I knew they really supported public education in general. But there is too much of an anti-public school agenda.

Much is tightly organized—staged. And is it really advantageous to steer young children into STEM-only activities in preschool? It may seem  harmless, even helpful, to show children how to like these subjects, but with too many structured activities, do adults run the risk of turning children off to STEM altogether?

Young children especially need a healthy balance of activities which includes a lot of play and opportunities to work things out on their own. Too much structure in one area is detrimental.

In general, should there be any specialized schools for children when they are so young?

Shouldn’t the idea of a career focus be found more at the high school level, preferably during a student’s senior year? Many students don’t know what they want to do even when they enter college, and that is really alright!

I’m not saying you can’t help develop a young child’s interest in any of these subjects. On the contrary. It just shouldn’t be to the exclusion of other subjects or to pressure and shape students to fit into the global economy…especially a world that is many years down the road.

For very young children it seems like programs dedicated to STEM are more trendy than productive.

The concerns about real STEM problems in the future are a reality. Serious world problems will need to be solved.

But it will take minds that are curious and filled with wonder…not standardized robots with homogenized thinking. The solutions certainly won’t come from prefabricated workbooks and everyone working on the exact same page all the time.

It does children no good to be exposed to tightly designed activities that allow for no breathing room or differences.

My advice: find well-rounded preschools that value the child, their interests and their developmental needs, and not the hyped programs emphasizing specific subjects and/or the global economy.

Once again, let children be children. They won’t disappoint.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: child development, Common Core, differences, Next Generation Science, Preschool STEM Programs, STEM

Comments

  1. lisa says

    June 23, 2014 at 7:52 am

    Years ago we debated on whether to sent my youngest to Pre-school.
    the teacher told me that kids that were home with their moms rarely needed pre-school..
    being home with a mom who raises the child for real, (not on the cell phone min by min. !) gives the child all they need .
    in fact we loved it SO much, we Home Educated ! she will graduate 2015 !:-)

    Reply
    • Nancy Bailey says

      June 23, 2014 at 8:19 am

      Congratulations to you and your daughter, Lisa! Job well done!

      Reply
  2. Anna says

    November 23, 2017 at 12:25 am

    Thank you for having the courage to stand up.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

front cover

An education glossary with an attitude.

Buy Now

front cover

Do we really want an America where we no longer own our public schools?

Buy Now

front cover

This book says “no” to the reforms that fail, and challenges Americans to address the real student needs that will fix public schools and make America strong.

Buy Now

Follow me!

Enter your email address to subscribe to my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Connect With Me!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Nancy E. Bailey Follow

Author, Ph.D. Ed. Leadership and longtime teacher, Blogging for Kids, Teachers, Parents & Democratic Public Schools.

NancyEBailey1
nancyebailey1 Nancy E. Bailey @nancyebailey1 ·
17m

Could Common Core, along with NCLB be driving the Science of Reading? Do SoR supporters ever critique these programs fairly?

Paul Thomas @plthomasEdD

If you buy the SOR movement, and think criticism of it is off-base, PLEASE review the Common Core movement:

Uncritically embraced, implemented and drove HUGE ***edu-market rebranding***, teacher retraining, and curriculum changes ... before imploding and ...

Reply on Twitter 1641884579547041796 Retweet on Twitter 1641884579547041796 Like on Twitter 1641884579547041796 1 Twitter 1641884579547041796
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
plthomasedd Paul Thomas @plthomasedd ·
3h

If you are making claims about education/reading and insist on using NRP as proof while also misrepresenting NRP findings, your entire argument has lost its footing. NRP = limited, 20+ yrs old, did *not* prove all Ss need systematic phonics

Reply on Twitter 1641849460928937985 Retweet on Twitter 1641849460928937985 3 Like on Twitter 1641849460928937985 8 Twitter 1641849460928937985
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
readingforum_ed thereadingforum @readingforum_ed ·
11h

Catherine Snow has done amazing reading research - well worth checking out her studies as well as this
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/23/03/harvard-edcast-weather-literacy-crisis-do-what-works

Reply on Twitter 1641724464881709056 Retweet on Twitter 1641724464881709056 4 Like on Twitter 1641724464881709056 21 Twitter 1641724464881709056
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
lauranbowman Laura Bowman @lauranbowman ·
30 Mar

Thank you, ⁦@JamaalBowmanNY⁩. “Question them. Force them to respond to the question, ‘Why the hell don’t you do anything to save America’s children?’ And let them explain that all the way up until 2024.”” https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3924968-watch-lawmakers-get-in-shouting-match-outside-house-floor-over-gun-control/

Reply on Twitter 1641462625253900292 Retweet on Twitter 1641462625253900292 7 Like on Twitter 1641462625253900292 9 Twitter 1641462625253900292
Retweet on Twitter Nancy E. Bailey Retweeted
faithborkowsky High Five Literacy @faithborkowsky ·
30 Mar

Where will Judy and Faith meet for their one year anniversary birthday bash? Who will be their next guest on The Literacy View? @BoksnerJudy @LindsayKemeny @NancyEBailey1 @FaithBorkowsky Listen to Facebook LIVE‼️🎉👏👏👏🍎🗽

https://www.facebook.com/groups/907060703274275/permalink/1155890545057955/?mibextid=SDPelY

Reply on Twitter 1641229236043235328 Retweet on Twitter 1641229236043235328 3 Like on Twitter 1641229236043235328 7 Twitter 1641229236043235328
Load More

Archives

Tag Cloud

Arne Duncan Autism Betsy DeVos Bill Gates charter schools class size Common Core Common Core covid-19 disabilities dyslexia early childhood education Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Florida high-stakes testing kindergarten learning disabilities Online Learning parents Personalized Learning phonics preschool private schools privatization public schools reading recess retention School Choice school libraries School Privatization school reform schools Social Emotional Learning special education students Students with Disabilities Teacher Preparation teachers Teach for America teaching Technology testing the arts vouchers

Copyright © 2023 Nancy E. Bailey · Website powered by Standing Pine Media.