Tracy

Friday, September 16, 2011

I chose to follow the National Institute for Early Education Research or NIEER. I also signed up to receive the free newsletter they offer. The organization "conducts and communicates research to support high quality, effective, early childhood education for all young children".

The Institute's research program aims to:

Provide a vision of early education excellence in terms that are usable by policy makers and understandable to the general public
Monitor and evaluate national and state progress toward early educational excellence
Develop and analyze model legislation, standards, regulations and other policies required to improve quality and increase access to good preschool programs
Explain the costs, outcomes and economic benefits of alternative policies

There was no articles directly related to the topic that we have been discussing this week. However, I did find an article on the website that was very interesting and worth sharing.

An article on the NIEER website discussed the harmful effects of fast paced television on preschoolers. 60 4 year olds were divided into 3 groups. One group watched 9 minutes of a fast paced (spongebob) cartoon, one group watched 9 minutes of a slower pasced cartoon (title unmentioned) and the third grop was asked to draw for 9 minutes with markers and crayons. After viewing and drawing was complete they were asked to assess executive functions. The Spongebob viewers scored significantly worse. The research found that fast paced television has a profound impact for childrens cognitive and social development.

A representative from Nickelodeon that airs Spongebob defended the results by saying that the show is intended for children age 6 to 11 and is not designed for preschoolers. However, how many 3-5 year olds do you know that can pick Spongebob, Patrick or Squidward? Fast paced tv, not just Spongebob, is detrimental to a child's development.

3 comments:

Aretha MathawsSeptember 17, 2011 at 7:17 PM
I think that is very important when it comes to early childhood when someone is constantly looking for solutions to what can be better to the field. I agree T.V has such an impact on children and theres no age limit because all children pick up something from TV which is part of their development. Thanks for sharing.
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AnonymousSeptember 17, 2011 at 10:27 PM
Hi Tracy:

This organization looks like a great resource in building information as an advocate for quality programming in the early childhood field. Thank you for sharing it with us.

I always appreciate information on the affects of media on our children. However, I also believe it is up to us to monitor and manage their exposure. We cannot rely on others, such as those from the entertainment or media field, to do it for us. The unfortunate thing is that parents do not always have the educational or practical experience early childhood professionals do. That is why it is important we support them in accurate information and the appropriate manner to use media with children. I always think of media products marketed to parents that are supposed to teach them to read or other learning skills. As teachers and professionals, we need to remember that parents what the best for their children and believe they are helping their child with these programs (due to the marketing). We can provide them information on why it is not as well as better, and cheaper, ways to teach their children at home.

LouAnn Rhodes
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TeriSeptember 18, 2011 at 8:08 AM
Tracy -

It looks as if the organization you chose might be one you will refer back to over time as an early childhood professional. They appear to have many resources available.

The article about television touches on such a sensitive subject. As early childhood professionals, we know the effect over-use of television has on young children. I found it interesting that Nickelodeon intended to marked Spongebob to an older age group; that's not the age group that routinely watches the cartoon!

Thanks for sharing your resource!

Teri
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"My Connections to Play"

Two quotes:

Vygotsky - "Children use private speech in play to regulate behavior"

"Creative play is a central activity in the lives of healthy children."
Almon, K. (2002) The vital role of play in early childhood
education. Gateways, 43.

My family, especially my mom, was very supportive of play. She recognized its importance. My sister and I loved to play with our friends. She would take us to the community pool and parks and we would play all day. When we got a little older we got a trampoline and jumped on it for much of the day. We had a playroom above our garage in Tennessee and we played there for many hours even though it got very hot at times. My sister and I loved to play with dolls. My mom always said she would be my best friend and as we got older did not encourage many outside friendships. I think that hurt our social skills a little. Now we talk every once in a while, have very different lives and see each other about 2-3 times per year. Even though we are still very close and had many years of play as children, we have drifted apart. My dad was really good at playing with us also. He took us on our boat all the time and encouraged more of the rough and tumble type of play. Both my mom and taught us to be resourceful and take care of ourselves, almost to a fault.

As I attempt to write my blog assignement I feel play has changed a great deal since when we were younger. We would go all day without seeing the inside of our house and find things to play with. All three of my boys are sitting around my table asking me questions and saying they are bored. I live about 2 blocks from one of the most beautiful lakes and beaches in the country and 1 block from an elementary school playground. There are children all over this neighborhood to play with and they are asking me what they can do. Where have I gone wrong in this scenario? They have come to rely on me as their "social director" and I have probably enabled that. Play is very different. I am going to cancel cable and hide the playstation and nintendo ds's for the summer. My kids are older and possibly beyond help. I hope that young children will be pulled away from the computers, tv and other electronic devices. I hope they will be in a safe place to be able to venture out and make friends. Parents need to be more confident in their childrens ability and need to become independent players. I think sometimes parents protect their children and don't let them make mistakes at an early age.

I have included pictures of my boys below at the beach. This is what we love to do these days. This was on a spring break vacation. My youngest sons favorite toy was a palm branch he found the first day. Again, an item from nature that I didn't have to purchase that entertained him. Nice!!