Comments on: Questions about Common Core and Youngest Learners

By: Cecile Tousignant

Cecile Tousignant — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:29:24 +0000

It is frustrating to witness the politically-motivated architectural design of ed standards from top to bottom. At the November NAEYC conference, Constance Kamii spoke about how the math standards for early learners made no sense, deeming it “A Regression to the 1970′s”.
How do we make the voices of these giants in research (Meisels, Kamii, Morgan et al) on early learning influence legislation to reverse this trend?

By: Stan Schwartz

Stan Schwartz — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:22:55 +0000

Thank you for this post. It is especially relevant in the age of PreK-3 alignment. In many ways, it seems that the cart has been placed before the horse or like putting a roof on a structure before completing the foundation.

By: macky buck

macky buck — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:53:19 +0000

This post says much that is important and needs to be the basis for us ECE educators as we talk to parents. We do need to help parents to remember, and to understand the importance of the tasks of early childhood to the later full faceted development of the child and human.

I wonder about this quote

“No one, including early educators, can afford to overlook standards,”

It seems to indicate that perhaps ECE educators have ‘overlooked’ standards. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact ECE educators have had a strong sense of what early childhood achievements are all about, and how programs that attend to the social and emotional, play and modulation needs of young children are the step into the next realms. We know intimately that early numeracy, and literacy skills are integrally written into all that we do.

By: Gwen Morgan

Gwen Morgan — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:17:48 +0000

This is an important post, and a challenge to our state’s efforts to create a system of education and care. Sam Meisel’s comments remind us all that
learning starts at birth, in reading, math and all the other subjects we try to align. We in Massachusetts have created an early childhood department to
work with the other departments to assure this alignment. Our Legislature is
paying particular attention to reading by third grade, and it is the early educators who can implement the knowledge that reading begins with language and communication.We should invite Sam to come back to Massachusetts to remind us all that our state is in a leadership role to meet
the challenge of assuring a high quality public education system from birth to
college, by starting where learning starts.