Einstein Never Used Flash Cards...

aknchan

An interesting summary of why parents should not attempt to hurry intellectual development in kids.

Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How Our Children Really Learn-- And Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less (Hardcover)
by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Diane Eyer, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff

PS: I don't think I'll be very popular to post this up BUT I hope this can serve as an opposing argument to the current hype on 'early child' education.

aknchan

You can use "中文字card" without flashing. There is nothing wrong.

People who uses flash card, show the cards to their babies at a high frequency to ensure the content is INPUT to the baby's right brain.

With ordinary use of "中文字card", you show them to your baby just like any book or picture. You are NOT trying to do any INPUT.

Infact, I do believe the flash card thing works.
But this is precisely why these technique can be dangerous because they give you a false impression of what the baby can do.

Reading is WAY MORE THAN knowing the words. Way more.

aknchan

原文章由 awah112 於 08-6-27 18:38 發表
請教下除咗flash card，仲有冇其他方法開法右腦？

I'm afraid you posted the question in the wrong thread because I don't buy training a certain 'half' of the brain.

This book DOES NOT propose something BETTER to train the 'right' brain other than flash card.

Infact, it claims that the 'left/right brain' theory is dated, over simplified, and exagerated by marketing company to sell stuff.
Many experiments have indicate that both left and right brain works TOGETHER to perform a lot of task.

aknchan

原文章由 awah112 於 08-6-30 11:57 發表


我知妳唔相信flash card，我都冇用flash card。我大仔3歲，除咗閱讀，妳用乜新方法教妳個仔/女？妳個仔/女幾歲？

I don't have any "新方法".
My kid is the same age as yours, and we do all the usual stuff like reading, painting, games, talk, etc.

I just want to present a different perspective, for parents who worried that their kid will be 'left behind' if they don't do so and so when their baby is still young ...

aknchan

原文章由 ha8mo 於 08-7-2 12:28 發表
我好相信接要觸實物而唔係睇咭
可惜我老婆唔信
早兩日仲要去訂果套乜鬼Your 悲B can read DVD
唉~~

aknchan

用唔用 信唔信 flash card, Glenn Doman, ... 好睇個人

用咗有效 不要太興奮
用咗冇效 不要太灰心
冇用過 不要內咎 以為自己冇盡責

aknchan

原文章由 BBR 於 08-7-18 10:26 發表
...到佢剛讀K2時(4歲)已經識+-數背X數表,串4百幾個英文字,中文字就識寫30幾個,現在重有3個月5歲已經可以自己睇同讀story book,作句子,做1年班的作業 ...我希望趁佢幼稚園唔太多野做時可以教定佢多D野,因為現在教可以慢慢教,唔識可以慢慢黎,一升P1就無時間同佢慢慢黎,希望佢讀小學時就唔駛太辛苦,好彩佢都鐘意讀書,不過有時都會 ...

Have you every wonder whether your kid is feeling the pressure? I believe the crying is a tell tale sign.

The books uses "FLASH CARD" merely as ONE example on how today's parents are hurrying their kids at every stage, but it doesn't stop there.
The books ask the reader to re-think a lot of questions:

  Why do we always want our kid to do "advance" stuff, like to master P1 material while still in K2/K3?
  Why do we insists on giving them "the edge" and making sure they are "ahead of schedule" ?

As reneeleung has pointed out, the book talks about a lot of other things as well.

aknchan

I have absolutely no intention to criticize your parenting style/skills. Believe or not, I agree with most of what you wrote in your last post.

In your previous post on 08-7-18 10:26, you mention 'the child cried ...' RIGHT AFTER a long passage on "what and why you need to DO MORE while in kindergarten when it is less busy...". The only logical conclusion would be the child cried because of the workload. So, thank you very much for clearing up your story.

You are probably the envy of all parents on this forum with such a bright and eager to learn kid. If the kids asked to be taught, parents should support and teach them.

I am not an advocate of all play and no work. Infact I believe play and work balances each other out. My only concern is how some modern parents preaches this 'speed up their kid's learning to give them an edge in life' type of thinking, like asking children to memorize the whole multiplication table before they understand what addiction/subtraction means.

aknchan

This thread is getting a little off topic lately but does raise a number of interesting points.

Regarding the original topic, how parents attempt to hurry intellectual development in kids, this is waht I would really want to say:

Education industry is HUGE business.

People in the industry KNOWS that every parent wants to help their kids at best they could. These parents are willing to spend time and money on anything that they think will give their kids an advantage.
Scientific studies are being misinterpreted, bent and exaggerated by marketing people to simply sell products.

Remember the "Mozart Effect" ?
How study shows that students who listens to Mozart do better on IQ test?
Education industry people tells you how listening to Mozart can enhance your baby's brain?

Guess what when other scientists try to repeat the test?
While many failed to repeat the test, those who succeed found out that the Mozart Effect only last for a very short period of time and helps to improve score on a small portion of all the question on an IQ test (spatial related problem)!!!
Also, it needs not to be Mozart. Perhaps listening to "鄧麗君" works as well or even better.

Many of these so called modern education methods / tools / toys / kits / programs (including flash cards but not limited to) simply does not work or work as well as they say.

Babies who can "do math equations" with flash cards does not mean they understand what it means if they cant apply the skill on another context. Don't you see all these kids who memorize the whole multiplication table but struggle on WORD PROBLEMS in math?

You might argue that I am not so stupid to pay for these things:
All my flash cards are home made and cost me nothing.
Flashing only takes very little time and I have nothing better to do.
Then, I'll say go ahead, flashing is for you.

After all, it's every parent's own decision on how to educate their child.

PS: The competitive but crazy HK education system and how parents are 'force' to put pressure on their kids to do more, in my mind, is a totally separate story.