My 2-year-old daughter appreciates a good Noggin (a TV channel sponsored by Nickelodeon) program, particularly this yellow creature called Wubbzy. I am not familiar with the education of very young children, and tidbits of information on this topic are interesting to me. Many of these shows have education specialists as resources when producing the show, and I am forced to reflect on my childhood programs. Blue's Clues develops awareness of relationships, prediction, and builds self-esteem. Dora promotes memory skills, Spanish language, and problem solving. At the start of many of these shows, a friendly voice lists the skills that are taught in the particular program.
Did we have any of these shows when we were kids? Sesame Street was pretty full of learning skills (The Count's Batty counting song sticks out as a favorite, as well as the precursors to "How It's Made," when they went to a crayon factory.) Carebears were all about caring. Are today's child "babysitters" more well-developed and useful than old cartoons? Still, these are not substitutes for socialization and one-on-one instruction. (Even so, Steve from Blue's Clues gave me an excellent way to assess biomes. He was asking all of his animated friends what their favorite environments were. Mrs. Salt and Mr. Pepper liked the tundra, and to show this, they made a cake that represented characteristics of the tundra. We can make cakes! How weird!) Does anyone know? Are kids coming to school more well-prepared or deficient that kids used to? Are these programs effective? My child has identified objects I had no idea she had seen, presumably from exposure to shows like that found on Noggin.
I'm starting to develop an interest in early education.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
It is interesting how television programs for our children have developed since we were kids. I remember watching Bozo the clown and loving the games, but they were just that, games. Like you said though, today's programs come packed with teachable moments for kids, and as a result they do end up learning more as a result. Unfortunately though, I am not sure that they are necessarily coming to school better prepared because you need the follow through and extension on what you have learned for it to actually stick long term, so unless you have parents who take the time to talk to you and further teach you, what you learn from these shows will only be stored in short term memory.
I laughed when I saw your blog. My 4 year old son attends a private school for K-4. While he loves school, he hates getting up in the morning. During one of our morning "battles" to get dressed, he asked if he could just stay home. When I replied, "no", he quickly stated that he would watch Noggin all day. I again told him that he could not stay home and watch TV and that he had to go to school so he could learn more. He informed me that he would be learning because Noggin was pre-school on TV! I have never laughed so much.
While there are more shows that have roots in educational principles, students are not coming to school more prepared. There needs to be discussion and follow up on the skills being learned from the shows for the learning to be lasting. As an educator and a mother, I am constantly interacting and reinforcing what my children are learning.
Just putting a child in front of Noggin doesn't prepare them for pre-K or kindergarten.
When I was growing up there was no cable, no satellite, nothing but a black and white antenna and a good public television station. I was the first sesame street generation. Big Bird had an imaginary friend snuffleufagus that only he and the children watching the show could see. Oscar the grouch was loved despite his complaining. I learned how to count with the count, and not fear the dark with Ernie. "sing a song" was the favorite and follows my friends around to this day.
For me this show accented what I had learned in preschool. I am glad to hear that there is a station out there that can emulate preschool, but if I ever have children, we're sticking to the basics, Big Bird, Grover, and that wonderful world of Sesame street.
MissingDoor, I am troubled to hear that Snuffleupagus was imaginary. Apparently I could have used some extension to improve my comprehension skills. I think you also mentioned something that is very relevant--the interpersonal skills that kids can absorb from television. Television is a form of people-watching. I love sitting with my hubby in public places, talking about people we see (and making jokes about them, of course). Situation comedies are a favorite of adults and young people alike. For you, you observed how people might deal with an unpleasant individual (Oscar) in a kind, constructive way. You also related to the character Ernie, and he showed you how you might deal with a situation that you encounter. The crawling stage of metacognition? I think those who watch others are doing so, in part, because they are learning or observing how people deal with and react to one another. This is really a skill in itself, and TV is a much-used source of this in our increasingly impersonal society.
Post a Comment