From their website:

The HighScope educational approach is based on the belief that young children build or “construct” their knowledge of the world – they are “active learners”.  This means learning is not simply a process of adults giving information to children.  Rather, children discover things through direct experience with people, objects, events, and ideas.  They learn best from pursuing their own interests while being actively supported and challenged by adults.

And:

The space and materials in a HighScope setting are carefully arranged to promote active learning.  The center is divided into interest areas organized around specifics kinds of play; for example, block area, house area, small toy area, book area, sand-and-water area, and art area.

Sounds good, right?  Sounds great, actually.  I agree wholeheartedly with the foundations of the HighScope curriculum, which is why I was shocked and disappointed recently when I read in one of their new resources that “Computers are a ‘must’ in early childhood classrooms.” (Setting Up the Preschool Classroom by Nancy Vogel, p. 81)

WHAT?!?  Since when?  And says who?  Computers are a “must”?!?  Not according to over 70 professionals who recently signed a letter to NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children).  This letter was written by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood with help from the folks at the Alliance for Childhood.

From the letter:

In the world of medicine, implementation of any medical practice intervention is guided by the principle “Do no harm.”  We believe that maxim should guide the use of new technologies in classrooms, particularly since screen time may displace activities with proven benefits for young children such as direct hands-on exploration of the world, connecting with nature and with other human beings, and child-initiated play.  Given the vast amount of time that young children are spending with screens and out of child-care settings, and the growing concerns about the impact of screen media on children’s well-being and development, we urge the NAEYC to take a leadership position in efforts to reduce the amount of time children spend with screens and promote the kinds of hands-on creative play proven to be beneficial to their growth and development.

And:

Given that there exists a wealth of screen-free educational activities known to be beneficial to children, and limited data on the costs/benefits of screen media – particular, new media – for young children, we strongly recommend that the burden of proof should be on documenting the benefits of screen media, and on proving they are not harmful, before it is assumed that screens should be incorporated into early childhood environments.

Lisa Guernsey of The New America Foundation is more in favor of computers than those who signed the CCFC’s letter.  She has her own letter to NAEYC posted on her blog, Early Ed Watch.  But even though Guernsey is more supportive of computers in early childhood settings, she also cites her own warnings and recommendations, and doesn’t agree that computers are now a “must”.

So I ask: why such a strong (and in my opinion, dangerous) statement from HighScope?  Believe me, I am trying to find out.

And consider the e-mail I received recently, with the message line reading “Here is your Digital Kindergarten”.  The pitch letter started out like this:

Please enjoy this Digital Sample Digital Mini-Text for your students.  Complete Curriculum publishes dynamic K-12 digital textbooks and highly-interactive web-based instructional programs that make learning fun and “cool” for today’s whiz kids who eat, breathe, and sleep technology.  Our groundbreaking format takes students out of the dull world of traditional print textbooks and transports them into the exciting world of interactive textbooks and lesson plans where learning becomes fun.

Uggh!  So now we have a digital alternative to the “dull” world of print textbooks.  Hmm, here’s a radical idea: how about letting our students interact with the world around them?!  Play with real people and real open-ended materials?  Explore nature, art materials, building materials and actual books?!  Could the real world be an alternative to the “dull world” of print textbooks?  To paraphrase Free-Range Kids author Lenore Skenazy, when did the preschool/kindergarten we grew up with become so radical?

In honor of Free-Range Kids creator Lenore Skenazy’s “Take Your Kid to the Park & Leave Them There Day “on Saturday, I decided to hang back as much as possible this weekend, as my sons played at the public playground. Since my boys are only six, and we didn’t have an older kid to bring with us, I couldn’t completely leave them, but I sat further away than usual. I was close enough to watch and hear many of the interactions, and I have to say I was impressed with all of the kids and how they managed. There were a fair number of 8-10 year-olds playing together without a grown up. My sons joined them in a game of tag, and when my son fell (twice) and cried out “Ow!”, both times a child from the group stopped playing long enough to check that the little one was okay. Nice.

My sons were fascinated with a group of middle schoolers and giggled in delight as the “big kids”  rocked wildly on the small  horses. My sons watched closely as this group of middle school aged kids played, laughed, chatted and flirted (all face-to-face with very little cell phone use!). When one of the older boys started using dicey language, his friends kept him in check, saying, “Hey, there’s kids right over there.” When an older girl sitting in a tree called down to my son, “Hey, little kid! Am I fat?!” He thought for a moment, then looked right back at her and yelled, “Who cares?!” and continued playing. (Later he told me about the interaction and revealed, “Well, I didn’t want to hurt her feelings and I didn’t want to lie.”) Pretty good thinking on your feet for a six-year-old.

My sons tried and tried to get themselves onto a teeter-totter, but once one boy was on, the opposite end was always too high for the other to reach. Eventually, they found that if they both sat towards the fulcrum at the middle, instead of on the seats at the end, they could play that way, and make the ride go up and down.

These “problems” illustrate how capable kids are when they have the opportunity to experience situations and try out solutions. These days, however, due to our culture of fear, kids are not often left to their own devices. They don’t have opportunities to become self-reliant, capable, creative problem solvers. This is precisely why Lenore came up with the idea of  “Bring Your Kids to the Park and Leave Them There” day – so kids today could start coming  back outside (instead of watching TV or surfing the Internet) and discover other kids to play with. Heck, when I was 6 years old I used to walk to the corner store with a few friends. I distinctly remember one day when we went – without adults – to buy a frozen banana dipped in chocolate. Yum! And it wasn’t just delicious and satisfying because it was a frozen treat.  The whole experience of walking along the road, making a decision, handing over the money (I think it was a dime) and walking home was in itself satisfying. The frozen banana was just part of the sweet reward.

We also rode bikes, played in the woods and wandered the neighborhood for hours. Lots of kids did; it would be weird if you didn’t. And the few times I remember someone getting seriously hurt (like emergency-room-visit hurt), we knew where the grown ups were, and precisely how to summon them in a hurry. Without cell phones, of course.

So thank you to Lenore Skenazy for starting this movement. Many folks think she is a kook (see this article in The NY Daily News). She’s not a kook. She is, however, a hoot.  (She gave an absolutely hilarious talk at the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood’s Consuming Kids Summit in April.  Here’s to hoping it’ll be available on You Tube soon.)  Not only is she a hoot but is, in my book, a hero.

It will take weeks (maybe months or even years!) to reflect on all the powerful moments from the weekend.  It was truly an honor to be among so many activists and advocates, some whom have been at this work for decades and are making a world-wide impact – and others who are new to the work and ready to dive in head first.  I am somewhere in the middle. I have thought for many years about the issues of marketing to children, especially in how it impacts quality play. However, only after attending Diane Levin’s Media Madness Institute, and getting the information to back up my intuitions, did I turn into a true activist. When I joined CCFC and TRUCE (Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment) I was no longer alone in the struggle. I became part of a movement.

That is what this weekend was all about. I truly felt as though I was part of a great movement.  My conversations with folks from California, Alabama, Illinois and even Sweden fueled my energy and reinforced the feeling that this is a national and global movement. A movement dedicated  to protecting children from the onslaught of marketing. Disney, McDonald’s, Hasbro, Scholastic and Bus Radio are all corporations that have felt the power of this movement, and have made changes in their marketing campaigns as a result. The world is a better place for children because of the hard work of CCFC.

A standout moment was listening to Lenore Skenazy’s keynote, “Free Range Kids: Why Does an Old-Fashioned Childhood Sound So Radical?“ Lenore injected electrifying humor into a topic that can be paralyzingly depressing and added further energy to the conversation. Her keynote will be posted on You Tube, and I can not wait to listen again and send others the link.

Heading this movement are Dr. Alvin Poussaint, Susan Linn and Josh Golin – bearing the brunt of the corporate backlash. They know the rest of us – thousands of us – are behind them every step of the way. There is so much more to say about the summit – stories about integrity, voice, and change. For now, I will just say thanks to CCFC. Thanks for your vision. Thanks for staying strong in the face of adversity. And thanks for giving me a place to turn my anger, frustration  and disappointment with corporations into positive change for children.

Here is where there Internet can be a powerful connecting tool. The Alliance for Childhood used it to gather the expertise of early childhood experts from around the country to issue a Joint Statement from Early Childhood Health and Educational Professionals on the Common Core Standards Initiative. CCFC is using the Internet to share their side of the Disney story, refusing to be silenced, and gaining support through a growing membership and financial donations. Facebook and  Twitter help connect like-minded activists and agencies and help the grass-roots movements gain traction.

For me, one vital way to feel empowered is to surround myself with others who are fighting for children. This weekend, I will be connecting with folks at the City College of New York conference In Defense of Childhood – Play and Active Learning in Urban Schools. The conference is held  “in honor of the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and in memory of Professor Emeritus Lillian Weber, whose work honored the active nature of learning and furthered the cause of equity in education.”

Later this month, I’ll be joining a colleague from TRUCE (Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment) to share our new Infant – Toddler Play, Toys and Media  Action Guide with early childhood professionals at the MassAEYC (Massachusetts Association of the Education of Young Children) Annual Spring Conference.  I look forward to hearing the words and ideas of  the keynote speaker, Dr. David Elkind, author of  numerous books including The Hurried Child and The Power of Play.

In about a month I will join hundreds of others at CCFC’s 7th Consuming Kids Summit in Boston. The theme is Market Values, Human Values and the Lives of Children.   From their website: “The values children learn in the marketplace – excessive consumption, impulsive buying, and unthinking brand loyalty – are antithetical to healthy development, independent thinking, spirituality, community, and democracy. What happens to childhood — and society — when market values trump human values? How can we make a difference? What role can parents, educators, public health professionals, faith communities, and policymakers play in stopping the proliferation of market values, and in nurturing positive values, in a commercialized world?”

Today, I work hard to stave off the feelings of doom and gloom. I am trying to rise above feelings that the job of protecting the best interests of the youngest members of our society is damn near impossible.  The powerful wheels of corporate greed and the one-size-fits all educational movement are bearing down harder than ever. Today, I look forward to the personal connections I will form and deepen at  these upcoming conferences. I trust these connections will help energize and empower me and others in the pursuit of protecting young children and preserving childhood. As my friend and colleague Diane Levin says, “Onward!”

Huge victory, however, for CCFC (Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood). Today I got an update on the Baby Einstein video situation. CCFC has persuaded Disney to offer a full refund on any Baby Einstein videos purchased in the last five years! Click here for more information from CCFC. Absolutely fantastic.

The sad news is that today I also learned of the passing of Ted Sizer, the founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools and the author of the visionary book on high school reform, Horace’s Compromise. Ted was a champion of authentic assessment and meaningful work, and so much more. Tonight I feel the loss, though I look forward to celebrating his life at the annual Coalition of Essential School’s Fall Forum in New Orleans in just a few weeks.

I will always remember the day Ted came to my kindergarten classroom. We shared lunch at one of the small tables and chatted about ideas big and small. He was a tall guy with visionary ideas, but was completely at home in our kindergarten world. Ted was and always will be an inspiring educator.