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The Children's Cottage

The critical years for developing atttiudes of

self-worth are best enhancedby u learning
environment that offers such opportunities for children in the home
as well as in the school.
Each child needs to progress at his own pace and style of learning
through various stages.
Encourage,but do not pressure,learning.
Respectchildhood and know that certain
achievementsmust be met before a child will be ready to move
ahead.
Becauseall aspectsof growth are interrelated, consider his
intellectuaf physical, emotional and social development.

Consider the VTholeChild.

author unknown

Tonight we will be discussing:

A variety of things to lcrow about the preschool age child

Discipline and setting llmits
tearning styles
fuven intelligences that a1lof us have
Cognitive development of the presdrooler
A few things to understand about young children.

They:

1. operatein the present time

2. areconcretein their thinking
3. have selectivememory
4. arenot abstractreasoners
5. absorb information at a non-verbal level, attending to tone first, content
second
6. learn through interacting with their environment
7. internahze behaviors which they experience from significant people in their
lives
8. are intent upon self-mastery
9. areinnately curious--you cannot stop thdm from leaming and adapting for
better or worse
10. are one-on-onewith their environment. Language has not yet fully developed
to mediate their perceptions of the world.
11. are not able to delay gratification for long and are aware of immediate
consequencesof their behavior
12.require clear, consistentlimits in order to bring order to their chaotic
perceptions of their world. Thuy searchfor rules.
1"3.thrive when their discoveriesand accomplishmentsand goals are taken
seriously by adults
14.becometrustful when responded to with loving consistenry
15. develop independenceand initiative by experiencingtheir own competence
16. acquire self-confidencewith their emerging awarenessthat they can trust
themselvesto take care of themselves.
A FEW TIPS . . . . To EncourageAutonomy
1. Let children make choices.
"Are you in the mood for your grey pants today or your red pants?"

2. Show repect for a child's struggle.

"A jat can be hard to open. Sometimesit helps if you tap the side of the lid with a
spoon."

3. Do not ask too many questions.

"Glad to seeyou. Welcome home."

4. Do not rush to answer questions.

"That is an interesting question. What do you think?'

5. Encouragechildren to use sourcesoutside the home.

"Maybe the pet shop owner would have a suggestion."

6. Do not take away hope.

"So you're thinking of trying out for the play!
That should be an experience."

. . . . Instead of Punishment
1. Expressyour feelings strongly--without attacking hislher character
"I'm furious that my new saw was left outside to rust in the railtl."

2. Stateyour expectations.
"I expect my tools to be returned after they've been borrowed."

3. Show the child how to make amends.

"What this saw needs is a little steel wool and a lot of elbow grease."

4. Give the child a choice.

"You can borrow my tools and return them, or you can give up the privilege of
using them. You decide."

5. Take action.
Child; "\Atrhyis the tool box locked?"
Father: "You tell me whv."
 "Play" or Meaningful Activity or Montessorf s "wotV'

It is through play (meaningful activity) that the child learns. learning is not imposed
from without, but comes from within the child. This is abasic tenet of Montessori's
philosophy. According to Silberman (cited by Erby), Piaget also believes that a child
teacheshimself. "Piaget's most important contribution has been his demonstration that
the child is the principal agent in his own education and mental development. . . .
through an enormously complex and continuous process of interactionbetweeen the
child and his environment that begins at birth. But the critical factor is the child's own
activity in assimilatinghis experiences and accommodating to them." Erby continues,
"Given the proper conditions, children prefer educating themselves to any other
occupation. However, there is a distinctionbetween the work of an adutt and that of a
child. An adult works to obtain some goal following the law of minum effort and to save
detail. As he works he does not look for gain or for assisstance.He does not become
weary with toil. The drilds work is that of producing the adult he will become."

"Education is not something the teacher does . . . Individual activity is the one factor that
stimulates and produces development. This is not more true for the little ones than it is
for the junior, middle and upper-school children." -Maria Montessori

"Dolly's school would be better if

they didn't have that ladyup front
taling all the time."

\OJ KHCU,trlirf O5C,A.( SAJq 'N gTH tH 6

lrJlLoE51lg/t{,AA|{?
Authors:Medication,
TV arebadfor kids
O INTO ALMOST any
elementaryschool in
Americajust before
noon and you'll seea slowly
moving line of children outside
the main office. Ask and you'll
be told thesechildren are wait-
ing for their prelunch dosesof
medicine- medicine that
helpsthem sit still, pay atten-
tion and do their work. If this
soundslike a children'svercion
of "BraveNew World," in fact,
Richmond,Va.,psychologist
DavidSteinsaysit is.
Stein is one of a small but
growing number of mental
health and medical profession-
als who are joining arms in the
battle againstwhat is becom-
ing known as the "diseasingof
America's children."
The term refers to the
alarming rate at which Ameri-
can kids are being medicated
for attention deficit/hyperactiv-
ity disorder(ADD/ADHD),op- .
positional defiant disorder
(ODD) and the relative new-
comer to the bunch, childhood
bipolardisorder(CBD).
Dr. Dave,as he is known bv
the thousandsof parentswho-
becamedisciplesafter reading
his first book, "Ritalin Is Not
the Answer,"has releasedvet
anothersalvo in the medication
wars, this one titled "Unravel-
ing the ADD/ADHD Fiasco:
SuccessfulParentingWithout
Drugs" (AndrewsMcMeel,
$14.eD.
Dr. Daveis nothing if not an
iconoclast,and his latestopus
Justone moreprogram.
Do the drugswork?
It took weeksfor the kids to
In theshortterm, completelydetox,following
which they beganacting like
yes;in the long children - curious,eagerto
learn, imaginative,creative, .
JOHN ROSEMOND
Affirmative Parenting
haul,nq.Forthe cheerful and funny.It was a joy
parentwho wants and a revelationto watch them
rediscoverthat which had been
is nothing if not provocative.
Most psychologistsand pedia-
nothing more than all but lost.
tricians truly believe to get through the It hasbeen25 vearssince
ADD/ADHD is a biologically Winnwarned of tfre effectsof
baseddisease.Steinsays daywithouta major allowing childrento watchtele-
they've been taken in by bad
researchfundedby the compa-
hassle,a drugis the vision- any telwision, mind
you - and it is painfully wi-
nies that make the drugs kids ticket,but five years dent that if hervoice washeard
are taking. in the wilderness,it was heard
Do the drugs work? In the
of gettingthrough by few.The 'boob tube" hasnot
short term, yes;in the long the dayis five years only changedwhat it rpans to
be a child, it hasevenchanged
haul, no. For the parent who
wants nothing more than to get
of goingnowhere the way a child's brain devel-
through the day without a ma- fast. ops,how a child thinks and
leams- and all for the wome.
jor hassle,a drug is the ticket,
but five years of getting TWenty-fiveyearshasbeen
through the day is five yearsof classiccritique of the damage more than enoughtime to cal-
going nowherefast. televisionis doing to America's culate and catalogthe damage
; , foithe parenfwhdqredC*-' children. televisionis doing to America's
to get somewherewithout kids, families and culture, and
The first edition, which my Winn has done exactlythaL In
drugs, Stein has a parenting wife and I read in 1978.
plan for the ADD/ADHD child. brought addition, she'saddeda broad-
about great and lasting side on the negativeeffectsof
Called the CaregiverSkills Pro- changesin our
'gram, it has garneredrave re- ' family. Shortly early accessto computers.
thereafteq,we unpluggedour
views from hundredsof par- Warning:Reading'The
televisionand gaveit away. Plug-In Drug" could behaz-
ents who regularly visit and
participate on my Website: Our children, 10 and 6 at the ardousto your family's present
time, went throughclassic
www.rosemond.com. lifestvle.
withdrawal - obsessingabout
Somebooks are merelyhelp- television,hatchingdevious
fuI. Dr. Dave'sis full of help. fohn Rosemondis a fami$ psy-
plots to watch televisionat chologistin North Carolins-
Anotherbook that hasre- otherpeople'shouses,having Queshonsof generalintprest
cently caught my attention is meltdownswhen their plots
can be sentto him at PO.Box
the long-awaitednew edition of were discoveredand thwarted, 4124,Gastnnia,NC 28054and
"The Plug-In Drug" (Penguin and when all elsefailed, beg- throughhb&b siteat
Original,$14.00),Marie Winn's $ng to be allowedto watch www.rosemondcom.
 America:,the
land
of fatandsugar
ByMaryAliceDavis
_ "Nobody in the world could eat
TTqOD -SAFEry recenttyra_ 'A highlyrefined th€t much food," roared the father
cheted
f-{ up in the Top t0-Wor_ of two hardy sons whose ages put
I ries,what with E. cbli threat_ them somewherein "the voraci6us
eningthe nation'sbelovedburger years."
supply
{*ing in_ve1tqry of the array of
modernanxietiei,we're stirrei to
wonder:Will our food productskill
us quickly(ethal formdof foodpoi_ - Dr.
sonin$ orslow$ (carcinogens, dho
lesterol,etc)?Thenalongcomesan to seewho canaddthe mostzugar
evenmoredisturbingquestion:Can and caffeine,giving the produ"cts
what Americanchildrenare eating ntrmesthat frankly stresstheir pri_
evenbe consideredfood? mary mission:Surge,Jolt, I(rank,,.
erc.rne oldreconlmended pick-me-
t1pdosgof Dr pepper"at tb, 2 and
4" certamlyseemsquaintwhensuck- trere's
..9 dooF theeguivalentof a six_pabi, ing to Dr.
rn ae gfiernoonis common. physician
A recentNewyork Timesstoryl' health.%
aboutthespeeddrinksphenomenon fattv diefi
clreq.a.scnootpnnopalwlo
whobanncd,
banned.
fl:"9,1_'1T:l
mengn-octane !1l1!ra,
beverages fromcam:''
pus after studentsweit into a two_
fised gulpingbingethatIeftttreri.s6.':
theynearly
deshoyed
fh9',
@
cmrorenare coqsgming.the studv
[iK1*
M?alq/hilq
suggesm,ls mainly_taL_4gd
sugar. legesareenterin!into
,_,,o1oyT snuhavrngboubleimag_
Pediatrics, the study says tde aver_ ln{g-wnat a servingof vegetablJs
ageyo-uthqueriedin a telephonesur_ lp$ ti}",g-thi",Hitf a cuf is one_
third of a Cokecan.a cup is trvo-
vey of eating h{itr ** letting 4t) thirG of a smallJolt-
percent of theday's energr sufply
rrom sugar added to food and drink
and from fal That's four times tbe
recommendedlimit of I0 percent.
The.averageAmerican eachyear
con.sumesnearly 149 poundi of
sugar and otler caloric sweeteners.
(this excludes caloriefree srpeeter:r
ers.qgh as gsp"g$m$, acotafiag 6l
 why lO pets can provide a healthy arena for
vour child to leam about spons_
manship ancl teamwork through

Pets group organpation like horse anci

tlog sht-.,ws.

Are For chil<Jrenin cides, aparrmen$ erc.,

popular pets now include luards,

Good snakes, various repdles, birG, fish, fer-

rets, heclgehogs, and even frogs.
Althr>ugh some of these may not give

for the tail wagging, warmfuzzylove, rhey

do provide hours of fun and enioy-
ment.

Kids Knowing comm()n problems specific

for that species may help clecicie if that
pet will be suited forvour householcl.
T<-romany times people purchase per
byMarlme Stegel, based on emotional whims without ful_
lv understancling the responsibilirv a.s-
D.VM.and s<;ciateclwith that panicular pet, Taking
KathrymKuok,author of the time to properly research vour pet
to be sure it fits into both vour familv's
Redirecting
Children's
phvsicallife srvleand economic sirua_
Behal'ior . jr)n is iml)()rtant.
An imprctper selectir>n could be ciis_
ome of our fonclesr memories ()f estrous. Cenain species are high mecl-
4 Pers have a way abour them that
ical maintenance. For example, Sharpei
being a chilcl are about pets. I re-
unites the familv in a c<>mmonlove
member dressing up ()ur patient clogs hal.e a high inciclence of eye. ear.
cat for hours r)fl end, putting him in ancl skin clisease.Iguanas often suffer
The lifb long iessons vour chilcl will
long baby cloll gowns ancl bonners. pers lrom merabolic bone ciisease,asa result
lclrn inclutlc uiving anctrcceiving
can be extremelv valuable to vour chil- of inaclequate sunlight and calcium. A
uncondirional ltlve. nunudng. and
clren. They don't talk back like siblings little research can save vour Fami_ly mon-
honorine all other lives.
cio ancl they clon't boss you arouncl like ev ancl heanaches.
aciults do. Here are 10 gooci reasons Pets teach our chilclren valuable life
why pets are goocl for kids.
6 Pets teach chilclren the cvcles ctf life
Iong lessons. TI-revprovicle aclciitional
ancl cleath. Often the flrst clearh a
love, protection, and enjovment for our
chilcl experiences is the death of a
1 Thev are there for your child un- chilclren. Some of their hilarious antics
per.
conclitionallv. lffhether vour child is zrrewell wonh taping ancl sending into
in a good mood or a bad mood, the world most fiinniesr video program.
that pet doesn't care. The per still
7 Pets can be eclucational. The selec_
tion of a pet shoulcl include re-
makes itself available to be pettecl. Marlene Siegelis a Doctor o|Veterinary
.searchinro the personaliw. man-
carried, pia,veciwith and sometimes .lledicine. Sbebas a pritate practice in ltttz,
agement, and the requirements
sat onl Florida limited to vull animak/exotics. Attcl
necessarv for sustaining the pet.
Ler your child assisrin rhe invcsrige- in addition. sbeis a cenified instructor of the
2 Thev are almost aiwavs available. "Redirecting Cbildrm's Behauior,'parenting
rion of rhe pets naturel environ_
With parents being so busy, some-
menr and diet. The librarv. inremer, couTse.
rimes chi.ldren come home to a par-
locai veterinarians, ancl pet stores Knthryn Kuok is tbepresidmt of the
endess environment. A pet can
are good resources for gathering Inteftailonal Network for Cbildren awt
make it feel iike the child is nor
information. Families. Sbeis also an inteftMtional speak-
coming home to an empry house.
Thev can provide hours ofhealrhy er ard the autbor oftbe book an^dcourse
8 Pets are similar in size or some-
enrenainrnent and companionship
times smaller than children. Thev I
forvour child. :,

are. therefore. a less rhreatening

3 A per reaches responsibiliry.

rhan looking up ar adults or older I{AVE Ycu V'S'TEP
Responsibiliw may include feeding,
siblings all day. evR
bathing, medicating, prevenrative ' 'RE€ENIEIL-!F,'
I'realth care, exercising, grooming
9 PeLsare excellent for shanng ar
"show and tell." Volunteering with
ancl of course, cleaning up rheir
their pet at hospirds rrnd nr-rrsing wwwm-On1s5soriiory
MCSSCS.
homes is an exceilenr lvav to give
back to vourcommuniv. Our newe.mail addr€ss is
unr:wschild@aol.com.
 Bedfime
Wifhouta BattJe by JaneBluestein,Ph.D.

What's bedtime like at your house? Do She told me how she was able to change she wouldn't budge-"
vou dread your child's reaction when you some of the bad bedtime habits she had Anna and Amy got into some rather
annotmce it's time to put on pajarrras?Are created early on in her parenting careet intense power struggles until Anna real-
your evenings disrupted by his resistance 'nWren I was little, bedtime was a hit-or- lzed how her inconsistency and lack of
to spending an entj.le night in his own miss thing. Sometimes someone was boundaries were creating ano-r,r'in situa-
bed? While bedtime precipitates con- there, but most of the time we just tion for them both. Armed with a com-
flicts*if not actual crises inmanyhouse" dropped in our tracks when we got tired mibnent- and a fer,r'new skilb-from a
holds, I have found several parents r,r'ith enough. Therefore, I had no idea how to rccent parenting class, Anna initiated a
young children (age 7 or younger) who "do" bedtime when Amy was born. She simple, new bedtime routine. Amy was
report hat'ing few bedtime problems. The leamed quickly that if she fussed enough, to put on her pajamas, brush her teeth,
secretforthem was sefting and maintain- l'd pretty much let her do whatever she and get into bed on her own. Knowing
ing consistmt routines and clear bound- wanted. Sometimesit was no big deal- But thatAmy loved being read to, Arrna prom-
aries. there were times when I really needed my ised her a sbory as long as she was in bed
One of the parents I spoke with, Anna, evenings to make a call, get some work by 7:45. After that time, she was willing
is the mother of a six-year-old daughter. done, read, watch TV, orjustbe alone, and to tuck Amy in and kiss her goodnight,
but the storywould have to wait r:ntilnext
time.
Gattins
tue tu Mt Anna also said that she was planning
to watch a specialshorvat 8:00and would
KeEptttc rautinefatly corsbtent, htt ffi clnirzs aboutlittle parts be unavailable for the rest of the everting
af tlu routines.For exantpk,lsu wigl* let yaur child choo* hisoatn A:nv could stay up if she wanted, as long
as she stayed in her room.
washcloth,which story shewantsyat ta readto hn or which paja- Anna announced bedtime at 7:30 and
mashezoantsto rseor. gave Amy a five.minute waming ten min-
Establisha routine and stickto it- Bedtimeitilali tttight includc utes later. "Of course," Anna reports,
bathiflg,blnshing teeth,putting an pnjanas,reading,saying "Asrywas still up and inherclothes,play-
?royers, ing in her room at five hll eight. I wmt in,
snugglingnnd caddling, talking about the iby, ar naking plans
for kissed her goodnight, and went down to
tomofisuJ.
watch my show."
Discussroutines,tties andlimits, md.any changesbfu, ttwy rc- Ten minutes lateq,Amy had changed
curWhenyour childrenbroatahmdof thnewhah erpeet,thq ate clothes, brushed her teeth, and was inbed
muehbetts prqared to eoop*ate. ready for her storv. "It was agonizing lis-
Keepit simple.lf your childten nrenot uxd to a Mtime routine, tening to her call me. I felt iike a real mon-
ster refusing to go up and read to her. I
start of with oneol tuo rifuals rnd granuaily inctew fin eomplex-
sat in my chair with my fingemails dug
ity. Bepreparedto dtangeroutinesasyour chMren WcomeoWi ana into the upholstery to keep myself from
moreindqedilent. going up. I was so upset that I barely re.
Besureto start ear$ enoughta allotpthnefot thc wholewutine- member r,r'hatwas or, tt e TV, but I foiced
Keq bedtine (and tlu time childrett startgettkg ready bed|the myself to stay there."
for The follon'ing evering, Anna repeated
sflm&exctptfor rareanil spcial ocssins.
the procedure with similar results. Bv the
Iilany parntts report tlwt varticipating in firc routine with tlstr chil- third night, Amy managed to ger in bed
drat not anty helpslcep thechildrenon tosk,but atgpaltmpsfor oalu- in time forherstory. Only throughAnna,s
abletfuu for shaing and interdcting. consistencv,and her willingness to follow
Idf,keit clearfomtle start thatyour chlldrenhmetheiroumfuds through on the boundaries she set, has
and ydo yoa- AII of theparentsinte,vimtd strongly tecommiled Amy become more independent and self-
managing at bed time. " I har.e to stav
rc! alloaingyoar chil*en to slep withyon. arvare of the time and be willing to go in
Abooeall, cmsistmq is thcrule. gfifuen Imrn newfuhnoisrswt ffi and rcad even tvhen I'm exhausted or in
tlwir parentsrequcstthemelearlyanitfotlwt through consistaztty. a bad mood. There are a lot of nights it
would be easier to just not bother. But I
knovr' her improvement at bedtime is on-lv
REPoRTER 9? Winter 199?, !bl. )Oil. l{o. a
 as good as my consistency. Besides, this hetped the child feel even morc safe. A
time togetherhasbecome one of the most mother in Chicago followed a ritual for
special and important parts of our day-,, several weeks which included sweeping
Another couple confessed that their the monsters out of the closet and into the
three'year-old son refused to er,'enstay in
Barage for the night.
his room, often ending up sleeping on-the
John and Elena, parents of four chil-
couch, in the hall, or in their bed. I asked dren under ten, decided their children
Tami Gerrard, president of fthool Str-rff could choose their own bedtimes. Thev
in Denver and.rnother <lf two boys aged were very strict about "after B:00,,being
three and five, what she recommended. time for Mom and Dad. Although the par-
"I'd suggest getting one of those little ents spent sone time each er.'ening
with
gates to put across his door and tell him thechildren, the kids werepretty well able
that he has to stav in his bedroom, even if to get ready for bed on their
own. Each
he doesn't stav in his bed. He can come had become self-regulating, and
even bv
out of his room in the morning, when the age of four were able to decide when
Morn and Dad are up." they were tired enough to go to bed.
"If the;rgo through whatever theirbed- When asked how ther childrm could
time ritual is, puthim in bed, and tell him resist the temptation to stay up all night,
goodnight, they can expect that he will the parenb laughed and said, ,,The alarsr
fuss as soon as they leave. Let him fuss goesoff at 6 a.m. either way. It
doegr,t take
for about five minutes and go back, iust Iong for them to figure out
hor,r. much
to the door. Say,'Adarn,we've alrcadyput sleep they need."
you to bed for the night. you can,t come
According to these and other parcnts,
out of yourroom and we can,tcomeback several key ingredienb need to
exist First,
in. Wb're here and we're all going to sleep an established bedtime routine,
regulady
now.' Then just leave. If he fusses again, begirudng at a specific time,
is essential.
vvait another five minutes and repeat the Clear and consistent
boundaries about
Process." what times and spaceswere off limits to
"After he gets used to the idea that kids alsohelped.
Add to thatan acknowl-
they're not going to let him out and edgment of thechild's feelings
(including
they're not going to corre in, thev can start the night time fears they
usuallv wait to
increasingthetime,maybe to a tenminube spring on you at
four in the moming and
wait. Thmi foliowed this process Ior two the empowennent
of allowing children
nights with her own son when he was 14 the freedom to make
many of their own
or 15 montfu old and still in the crib. Bv cho,ices,and you've
got a recipe that can
the third try, he was sleeprng through the make bedtime
another peaceful and re-
night." warding part of vour dav.
But what about kids whose sleep is
intemrpted bv bad dreams or monsters Aboatthe author
und.er the bed? Learure Hassett, mother Dr. Bluesteinhasappeared intenutionalluasa
of a six-vear-olddaughter,said that allow- speaker andtalk-slwuguest,includingsmaalaV
ing Brittany to sleepwith themmeantno pedrdnces exp€rton)rlatbnalpublicra_
asa grl,est
sieep for anyone. They ultimately found dio, TheDovidBrannetShou,TalkNr,osTetni_
that rvalking the child back to her own sion. The Vicki Showand The Oprah Winfrey
bed, spending a few minutes with her in Show. ShewastheKeymote spealerat tllt iggT
her room, and allowing her to leave the NCM-EConfermce in SanDiego,Catifornia.
i1
light on.was usually cornforting enough. ^ .She tlteauthoro! 21st CenhryDiscipline.
parentsina prissttre
Eeira Successfrtl Teachg,
Another mother from Corpus Cfrrgti, Caoker.Parea!,. Teens
andBoundaries.
Texag solved the ,,monster,,problem by est, md ler lat_
Wnlors.t_Aelterc.and Mrs.McC
fiiling a spray bottle with witer and re_ ts MakingaDifercnce. aswellasnumeiarr, *c*
placing the label with a sticker marked, zinea*iclcs.Dr Bluedeinatrrxntly headsInstiuc_
"Monster Sptay.,'The mother told. her tionalSupportSerxices, lnc.,a consultingandre-
four year-old son that the store guarafl_ source frm in Albuquerque, 'iie.a''
I"Ienci.
teed.one sguirt would get rid of ariy mon_ You can contact Dr. Bluestein at I9Z5luan
ster.in existence.Simply leaving UreUottte Tlb_o,N,E, ?t:iteB-2J9,Albuqtwqtre,NM.BiI12,
o.n,fty USA.1.-800-588-1.960, fax 50i323-90+5. e_nait
s
ryn night table acknowledged the to: 71643. 7034@comp useroe,com
child's fegl and provided enougf, secu_
riry*to gethim through thenight.-On par_
ticularlv difficult evtnrngs, a night light Bedtime Without a Battle
and a chair in front of the cloiet dior A l995' I.9.S. Publications
 PressuredLearnitg
DoesNot Work
by faneRust
Signpostedin the rear windoutof a mini-oan predictabletwes of personality traits. The ittle ambition in his own life. The
with an infantseatclearlyaisible-"Fttture Physi- most corrunontrart ot tneseparents$ tnalQ! the child. In thi
ciston Board." extreme to be moie interested in
hievement than in artistic or
Fiaeymr old Susanis highly concerned abottt parents
doingher work to perfection.An error toill bing complish his achievement. This parent wants
on lrystericsthot mny last thirty miruie; Susan a "super kid," usually in academics.He views jobs or homemaking and child-rearing
showslittle naturalability with numbersandfew through their children'sparticipation in sports
problemsolaingskills. Her parentsreferto heras or in other competition" (Miseducation,p 37).
their "little math genius" anil haaedecidedthnt this viewpoint, the parent is easily drawn into This attitude leads to the general demise of
shewiII bea medicaldoctorsomeday. the theoriesof early learning and IQ enhance- childhood play. tn his book The DisaPPear-
ment,but@ ance of Childhood, Neil Postman says/
Eight yearold Peteris requiredto practieehis seewhat is best for his child. hegls maga- "Children's games,in a phrase,are an endan-
soccerskillsforahalf houreoerymorningwithhis Zine made the observationthat this parent is geredspecies"(p.S).In this way eventhe es-
father, He wiII alsospendat leasttroohoursprac- "often misled by the promise of early reading. cape into play is denied to a pressuredchild.
ticing eueryeaening. Whenaskedwhy he prac- The are not deve Play is seriousbusiness.Gamesarenot for fun,
ticesso much,he responds,"My father says I menta materi- but to be won. The oneswho do not win are
haae to be better thaneoeryone else." failures. The parent who is living vicariously
through his child seeshimself as a failure if
"TheAmericanchildhasbecome thc tmwilling, the child is seenas a failure. Pressurewill be
unintendedoictim of ozteruthelming stressbornof great to avoid this imagined failure.
rapid, bewilderingsocialchangeand constantly frit-o-FeTabest no mitter what the cost,
rising expectations.Children,thesedays,areun- notfor thechild'sdevelopment or esteem, but Why PressuredLeaming Does Not Work
der extraordinarypressltreto achieae,to succeed, for his own. Pressuringa child to perform at an acceler-
to please."(Youngs,p. 27). ated level rarely createsthe successfulindi-
vidual that the parents envision. -Pressuring
The Orieins of Pressure GT oossessionand a status does not work. It does not allow the
Childhood is disappearing from theAmeri- ThE image the child projects must be one of
can culture. It is no longer a time for play and first-class,top of the line. Elkind notes,"Much
fun, but is insteadtreated as seriousbusiness. pressurecontemporary parents feel with re- fian". ffre *iaetv accept"a a
spectto dressingchildren in designerclothes, all have staeesor levels that each
teaching young children academics,and giv-
ing them instruction in sports derives directly
fromtheir needto usetheir children to impress
Elkind calls thesechildren "hurried." Others others with their economic surplus"
call them "super kids." Whatever label is ap- (Miseducation,p.77). Elkind alsowrites, "In-
plied, they are pressured. troducing preschool children to sports like think-
Anv areais open to pressuredachievement, skiing is in part symbolic. The small child will Pres-
waddling about in ski boots that take up a
third of his or her total weight is making a tellect. JaneHealy writes, "Well-intentioned
statementfor his parent. The statementis one parents may unwittingly short-circuit the
sivelv done bv the parents. It starts at an earlv not only of conspicuousconsumption, but also pathways to skill development by forcing
aFe, sometrmesat birth or even before. and of conspicuousconcern:'How concemedwe learning" (p. 26). It hasbeen found that these
continues until the child can take no more and are that our child get a head start, that he be forced skills are limited in their value. Re-
quits.
Parentswho oressuretheir children do so
in order to fulfill needsin their own lives. Thev
maintain that they only want what is best for
the child. They want them to be successful The early learner also tends to exhibit
and for that they need a head start, a jump on if any,of his ac- marked decreasesin later learning ability
the others. c6mplishments will be good enough for long. while his slower peers will eventually catch
In up and pass him. One long term study on
navenoam- reading skills found that the child who started
earlier has an initial advantageon the reading
testsusedto assesspupil progress,this advan-
tage disappearedby the time the children were

[f Rreonrrnsz Fall 1997, VoI. )Oil, No. 3

 in gradefour (Elkind, Hurried ,p.34).Another
study showed, that pressured children who
increasedin IQ dramatically during the first
all normal lna
before it is
child can damage the still forming brain.
Healy puts it this way, "It is possibleto force
skills by intensive instruction, but this may
cause the child to use immature, inappropri-
ate neural networks and distort the natural
growth process. Trying to speed leaming over
unfinished neuron systems might be some-
what akin to racing a limousine over a nar-
row path in the woods. You can do it, but nei-
ther the car nor the path end up in very good
shape! Moreover, the pressure which sur-
roundssuchlearningsifuationsmay leaveper-
manent emotional debris. (Healy) "There is
an order in which leaming is programmed to
take place;while it canbe encouraged,it need
not be forced" (Gardner,p. 24).
If the area of achievementis physical, such
as dance or sports, the child will likely suffer
injury that will prevent any serious future par-
ticipation. If the injury is not physical, it will
be mental. @apressured child
*iusintplyffi
_:F=t+-
While pressuredIeaming ultimately does
not work, the pressuredchild will attempt to
Children must not be rushed. Pressureto
pressured
doesnot work. Ronald Gotz stated, "The child ment oriented ways tend to be unable to think
will learn only when he is developmentally for themselves and have little regard for their
ready. He will learn only what is appropriate own ability to choose. Thesechildren alsotend
to his state of development" (Healy,p. 69). to suffer "bum out" when emotionallv thev
cannot continue on the path they have b"en
The Effects of Pressure traveling. They might reach a point where
Attempting to acceleratea child's develop- they refuse to play the game or practice and
no one is going to make them do it. This will
occur as the child ages and begins to rebel
agairst the pressureand the people who do
slow to be the pressuring.
ured Children who have beenhurried carry scars
The from the trauma of losing the natural time of
development. Childhood is a vitally impor-
sleep disturbances,fear of failure, addiction tant time. It must never be considerei *uit"d
to television, depression,a senseof useless- time. The child is growing and learning ac-
ness,alienation from parents, general arxiety cording to inner leadings. No one can change
and stress,and stubbornness.The child may these leadings. To deny them is to deny the
also refuse to be pushed anyrnore and may child a part of his life.
"make leaming or not leaming his particular
barricade" (Roiphe,p. 191).The later problems The MontessoriMethod: A Non-PressureAp-
include all of these(depression,stressand the proach to Education
behavior they produce are especially long last- Young children can be successfully taught
ing) plus "pseudo independence" results without pressure and the damage it causes.
when the "child must deny his legitimate de- Method was set up to teach
pendency needs becauseself-sufficiencyhas without t works wfifeach child as
been expected too early" (Maynard, p. tZZ- an individ
124)).Other are a lack of loyaltv or sensitive
commitment to ner directives." The Mq4tessori classroom
nal activitv and suicide. child
i Method does not advocate
sex and the use of drugs. . Marie Winn writes, learning. MaritTl6friffit
"The diminished emphasis on fantasy and
play and imaginative activities in early child-
hood education and the increased focus on
early academic-skillacquisition have helped na
to changechildhood from a play-centeredtime
of life to one more closely resembling the style
of adulthood' purposeiul, successlcentered, teract in a abilities.
competitive. The likelihood is that these pre-
school'workers' will not metamorphoseback The children also develop true independenEe,
into players when they on to grade as opposed to "pseudo independence," be-
school. This decline in play -ou"is surely one of cause their dependence is not denied,
but
the reasonswhy so many teacherstoday com-
ment that their third or fourth graders act like
tired businessmeninsteadof like children" (p.
8 1 ). assistance of lessons and ma
"ftggqgred children suffer from diminished
social skills. Becaus@.
ffi.r-.ty expected tb be 'ahead, of tireir
peers in intellectual or social skills, they are
often competitive and egocenfricin theiipeer
relationships"(Elkind, Hurried. p. 140).,,They
are often seenas rude and ill-mannered, but uct that is im
in reality they do not know how to treat people
or get along with them. Thesechildren are is on the ch-ildand his work, not the teacheror
regardedas "badly brought up" (p. 141). the schedule. Montessori recognizedthe im-
Children who were pushed in physical ar- portance of a pressurefree environment, She
eas may also have health problems such as ith children, adults
joint or bone trauma. It is likely that these
children will be "overly dependent upon
adults for guidance and direction" and that
their senseof autonomy will be lessened"
(Elkind, Miseducation,p.114). Children who Becauseof this
are coachedor instructed in formal, achieve- view, adults
Rrponrrn 97 Fall 1997, Vol. )O(I, No. 3
 empqv that is to be filled through their own
efforts, as something inert and helpless for
which they must do everything as something
Iacking an inner guide and in constant need
of direction. In conclusion we may say that
the adult looks upon himself asthe child's cre.
ator and judges the child's action as good or
bad from the viewpoint of his own relations
with the child. The adult makes himself the
touchstone of what is good and evil in the
child. He is in-fallible, the model upon which
the child must be molded. Any deviation on
the child's part from adult ways is regarded
as an evil which the adult hastens to correct.
,{n adult who acts in this wav, even thoueh
he maybe convincedthat he is filled with zeal,
love, and a spirit of sacrifice on behalf of his
child, ressesthe
ment of the child's own personality,,
(Montessori,p. 15).This is a good description
of the modem parent who is prone to pushing
and rushing his child. Montessori felt this type
of parentingcouldbring about',seriouspjy. i
chic disturbancesthat have their origin inj
chiidhood"(p. 11). Part of what makes the
Montessori Method a desirable education sys.
lll Rt".*"*oo Er-t iooz r7-r wr
'
tem is the fact that it does not pressure and
the normalization process can free the child
from many of these psychic disturbances.
In conclusiory it is clear that undue pres-
sure to excel or perform does not benefit the
child. It servesonly to fulfill some need of the
parent. His attempts to satisfy this need leads
to misguided parenting. A study by Burton
White shows that, "Inbringingup healthy,cre.
ative and self-assuredyoungsters, the amount
of time and money spentby parents is not the
important thing. What matters is how the
ents rnefiEelves are rn [te. Most simificant
is number one in significance (Brown, p. 173).
lane Rustis Montessoricertiftedin Eartv Chi6hood.
i,fl4i'illttfltite
V.,
*)
ry
St. Martin's Press,New
pany, Inc., Reading Massachusetts,19E8.
Elkind, David. Miseducation: prcschoolersat Risk.Alfred A,
Knopf, Inc.,New Yorlg 1989.
Gardner, Howard
Toronto: Little, Brown ana Company, f'e8i. -
Glove, fohn A. A Paren{s Guide to Intelligmce Tsting. HoJv
!g llelp Your Children,s Intelletual Dwelopmmt. ilelson
HalL Chicagq 1979.
Gotz, Ronald E. M.D., ph.D. and BarbaraA. Gotz, M.D. car-
ing for Your Unbom Child. Briarcliff Manot New york:
Stein and DaylPublishero/Scarborough Hotse, tW.
Healy, fane M., Ph.D. Your Child's crowing Mind. Gaden
in City, New York Dciubtedayand Corrpany,tttc.,:'91Z.
Marzollo, Jeanand ElizabethSulzby ph.1i.,r,jtents l,fagazine.
July 1988,Column 63,Number 7.
Maynard, Fredelle.Pmnts Maguine. April 1989,Volume64,
Nmber4-
McCall, Robe* B., PILD. palents Magazine. Decenber 19gg,
Volume 63,Number 12.
Montessori,Maria. TheSecrctof Childhood. BallantineBook,
New York,1956.
Postman,Nei!. The Disppearance of Childhood. Delacorte
Press/New York 1982.
Roiphe,Herrran,M.D.andAnneRoiphe.ymr Childt Mind.
ftuo/Marek, NewYorb t985.
,.,1t Ygmt
. pantheon Bcoks.
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l. Thepencilrestsonthefirst
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penci.l,
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finsers
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Paentnos.5
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 Sun at the rnjddle line; go left around, Stait at the mjddleline;slantdownto Startar the middleline;shnt down to
down to the bottom line, around and the bottomline,andswingup. tvtake
,A rrp to the beginning;close;retracr
LtL dovm,and suringup.
,,:
tL a dot abovethe letter. r the bottom line; retraceup; aake a
hump to the right, andstop.
[Down,anda monkeytail. Add a dot.J [Do"m, up, anda roof.]
[Around, down, up, down, urd a
monkcy tail.l Srarrat the middleline; stantdownbalf Starta little belowthe middleline; go ,
,,' a linebelowthebottomline;hookto up to the fiiddle line;go lefr around, ''
Start at the top line;slant down to the
f theleft. Makea dot abovetheletter.
ll
A
bottomline;gorightaround,up to the \J IDown,anda fishhookunderwater.
middleline;curveleft andclose. Add a dot.l
s down halfway;tbengo right around,
downto the bottomline;curveleft
and stop.
U down, around, up into
$ltgnstart, a start' ardundleft, anda snake
tumrny.J start at the rop rine;srantdown to the [r:1"
Starta little belowthe middleline;9o ,L r:!"flffi'j;'ixT.lg11lffi, ,,",,.,the
top
rine;
srant
down
tothe
up to themiddleline;goleft around, ,g to the bottom line, andsvringup. ,D bottom line, and swingup. Makea
doy to the bottomline;curveright [High stan, down, up, srnalltummy, ,+ crossbaroo t't. middle
/n line.
L, andstop. ud a monkeytail.J U [High stan, down,anda monkeytail.
[Cuned start,around,down,up, and Cross']
stop.J ,, start at the top line; slantdown to the
line,and swingup' start at the middteline; slantdown ro
. Startat tbe middleline;go left around, vI l-o-l':t
IHighstart,down,utd a monkeytail.] the bottomline;curveright;slantup
dowato the bottom line, aroundup to
line;retraeedown,and
*, top line; retracedowa,andswing start at the middteline; srantdown to ,t/
) ,:rff#:dle
{*,r9" the bottom line; retiaceup to the mid-
[Oown,over,up, down,anda monkey
fAround,down,up high,down,and a dle line;makea hump to the right; tail.l
noakey tai!.] .-^ _ slantdown to tbe bottornline; retrace
tfTLup;make anotherhump
to the right; Stan at the middleline;slantright
Startbetweenthe middleurd bottom slantdown to the bottom line, and down to the bottom line; slantright
Enes;curveright up to the middleline; swingup. l/ up to tfremiaae Une.
{F left around, down to the bottom lDoim, up,bump, hunp, anda mon.
U- ine;e.rrvr rigirt rnd rtop. [slant right down,slantright up.]
ls.y ra!.]
lCurre up, around,down,up, and
scp.l at.Jre
sran middre
rine:
stant
down
to ,, , ,*il|,H illlx*t:Ht-:,ru"
i:irebottom line; retracre
up to the mid- ltJ,/ tothe middlelin ,r"o".. down;curve
Ser: a [rJe belowthe top liae;go up lhe;make a hump to the right;
n I" rigbt; slantup to the middleline.
- to tbe top line;go left arpund,slant r y,_1_"1 to the bottom line, urd [Down, o"rr, up, down,over,up.]
to the bottom line. Makea " $nng uP.
-adosnr
+ ciossbar on the middle line. [Dorn, up, hump,anda monkeytait.]
t Startat the middteline; slantright
:Ctri.ed irigh stan, arou:rd,down.
eoss-j start atthemiddle rine;so reftaround, )d' fi:r:$nt:|rTff'.1m,!.
the bcttom line, aroundand
Sart at the middleline;goleft around, Un f*t::
up to the beginning;close. [Slant down and a monkeytail. Cross
dcwa to the bottom line, aroundup with a siant']
[Around,down,up, aadclose.J
ts i.h€middieline; close;retracedown,
- Start at the rniddle line; slant down to
fi d. gohalf a iine belowthe bottom Start at the middle line; slant donm
j iice;book to the left. the bottom line;curve right; slant up
r half a line below the bottom line; re.
:*=:nc, dowu, up, down,anda !ish- ,, , to the middle line; retracedown, and
if) trae up; go right around,down to the
asck.=rier water.l 'Ll no half a line below the bottom line;
f bottom line, and close.
' v Hook to the left.
[Down under water, up, around, and
Startat tha top liae; slantdown a tummy.] [Dovm, over, up, down under water,
to tire -Dottomline; retraceup haifway; and a fishhook.J
.l_ *.*e a !:umpto the righr,andswing Start at the middle line;go left around,
Start at the middle line;make a bar to
4 "P' down to the bottom line, around and
the right on the middle line; slant left
IHigh start, down, up, and a hump
with a monkey tail.]
n
t1
v
up to the beginning;close;retrace
down, and 9o half a line below the
bottom line;hook to the right.
z down to the bottom [ne; make a bar
to the right on the bottom line.
fOver, slant down, over.]
[Around, down, up, down, and a
backward fishhook under water.]
 Annie Schlechter
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tJ ttt\ :rsoberi'g fact:DespitecheetTortsof educarorsover Berhesda, MD,:rnd conductedbv cheNarionalReaclingpa'el,

I I the last25 years'o'e-third of our country's
for-rrth-graders conclude<J that a combinarion of rhe rrvo
c;tu'rrc'ad'This was revealedin the 20()0 National is che icreal
Asseisrne,rr fo, ,u...rrtli-;;;;;;"rr.uction 'rethods
' canc_rhar chldren,iho,,"
"nd*perhaps rmpor_
:"*;t|lff:T*"ffi:(*l; *;:;l:",Hn:il,r...,r.Ttnli
*€' rdrr ucrow wna[ s
taught
phonics 'rore 6rsr
n,ake
signin_
cant garnsin reading and spelling. These
considered thc level of fintlings reinforce whar
'rrnirnunr
' "'$:ff':$::::t;erieve \\lrole-languageleanringwas al
rrrese the ;::::':'i.',.T;5:,T;;,T':i:;
lo*r.or., p",,t;;;;;J;;; rage in classrooms of the UnitedStares.
I' cornr'trniries
'.. dispute
alonsstanding over horv'Bos. schoolstodayare refurningto iffi,::
Til'.".:J$, :l'#;
:'j:'T-:?:i*:**n':fl::: phonics-firstreading instruction, schoorswithaphonics-rocuse
:ilffi3::'.."ri,flfi,l*ll butwith
amoremodern
approach.
il:''1,:.:"il?,T;*5:.H."
ingoutwords'whiie
othershavetoutedrhe"wholelanguage"Firsttnitiadve,
approach thac emphasizes learning words he hintedt.#rtiJlfilr*r?:1
by sight and
"- .oor"'*r.
based reading insftuctior 'randcfe reading ft:,*:
fr; - pane-lrePolt.
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wher.e,rvgvebep -' . '
(,*r 'iLar9r
_,u^"_d"-*;efrtibngrlmayendthedebate;*t""aforall.A
studv, oo-'i'i,,ion.auv r.r'0"';r;;;,:; #:"Y:,**"5X;':.""rilr,d,i!i"il".rion unrirthere20s,
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 rnechanical clrills, which thcy said resuited in dull, word-bv- sr.rit,lnd now wirh rhe Nrtional lleading panel studv,schools
.,vord relcling that tatrght childrcn how co sound our words br.rt nationrvide lre prin'red to shift toward phonics-first instruction,
nurde their reading lessf-luenrand, sonte argr.red, lcsstun. Over
:-'-:.- "
the rrext 50 years, cducators tlip-flopped berween advocaring 7=,,..,.3.,i.::li-: :_.i-,ll- l-_:
phonics :rnd chauipioninq I variety of orher approaches that Thor-rgh nrnv see phonics asold-flrshioncd, todav's instruction
ertrph:rsized relcting for ureauing-Srartiltg in rhe '-10s,for c'xarn- rs nothing Iike rhar of our parencs'gencrarion."'We'rc not ralk_
ple, one of thc nrost popr-rlarr.nethodsof reading insrr uction rvrs ing :rbout having kids hunched over workbooks," savsLouisa
the "look-say" approach,in r,vhichkids were raught ro menlo- Moacs, Ph.D., a reading expcrr who helped Cllifornia rervork
rize u'ords bv sight, r.rsingrcpetition-based rnaterialssr.rchas tlash its curriculurn. "The shift conres borh in horv rve'rc telching
carclsancl D i ck u il Jat rc-stvlc'prinrers. phonics-n-rore Jcrivelv, using glmes anclsongs-:rnd ivhen."
Afcer R.rrdolf Flcsch clescribedthe faiiure oilook-sav in i.ris While she and other experrs stressthar rherc'.sno "one sizc
I955 book, ll'hyJolrtttr1, Catr't Ranl,phonics stlged:r conrebeck. fits all" rnethod, rhey do rc-cornmenclrhlr teachcrsgive kids :r
Bur in che carlv '70s.a new theory enrerged:whole language.in bigger dose of phonics up fionc. This becorles rl-rc;rnchor tbr l
rvhich enjovnrcnr of lirerature is rhe rnain soal. The nlerhod, balanced rcading progranr. "Contrarv to rhe clainrsof ,"vholc-
n'hich encorrmgesstuclertrsco gletn nrcaning fronr contett ;rncl lar-rguage propollenrs.phonics docsn'cinhibit relc.lingflucncv or
iliustrationsand ro skip over irnfamiliar words, bccame so pop- rednce r child\ love of books," Dr. Moars savs."ln ilct, wc tincl
ul;rr that in t 987 the statc of Californir rewrore icslanguage-.rrrs rhe opposite. rhat a skilled reader is nrore able ro enjov reacling."
curriculum to nrandatervhole-languageinsrruction. "Phonics today is nruch nrore intornred than rhe phonics bi
For che last 15 or so years,reachershave rended toward rvirole vesrcrdav"egreesLucy Calkins, Ph.l)., direcror of rhc l{elc,ling
langr-rage. teaching phonetic elcmerrrsonlv as thcv conrc up irr and'Writing Project at Columbia Universitv'.s TeachersCollcge.
text. lJut proponcnrs of r.vholclangulge ran inro troublc wlren ''Wc no longer ccach lccters
;rnd sounds in isoi:trion." Ncrr,
str.rdicsshowed rhat Califbrnia's reading resr scores had plurn- .rpproachesshow kids how ro recognizc
rttcteclunder that approach. In i 996, che pendulunr srvung rgain, blends. plrrerns, rnd word farnilics rnd
#DJ l:r:l"li.-:-
lnd Calitbrnia overhauled irs curriculurn, this tirle ',vith explic- terch thc'r ro be ;rcrive.rc'sourccrirl fd giflltJ:8:?t
it phonics requirer.nenrs.Stateslike North Carolina and Ohio- rvord_solvers,Dr. Calkins savs.ln kindcr- for .Helping
y^our
Chilci
rv irich had also rdoptcd whol e-lenguagc programs-follo',ved garren.
childrenlearnthei.;";i;" ffffi:S,rtj::;-
00
aiphabet lnd also have lessonsdesigned
to
raise awarenessof rhe sounds found on cheir spelling
in*words: hsts,use thenr in
rhyming, clapping our rhe syilables a sentence,and then list
in a othe, *ords thev
word.while speaking it out know with che same sound.
loud, and
Dreaktng words apart into
chunks of
sound and then putting chem ', i:i3.lai-ra :ri-1, :-:l_l
back i_j3ti( -;i-i
together (/t/ + /ain/ = fain). Afer decades of debadng
the pros .rnci
For first- and second_graders, phonics cons,ofwhole language
and phonics.,,vc
now invoivesmore rhan merelyieft_to_ now know that children
need a balanceo[
righr_decoding,Dr. Calkins says.,.We both ro learn co read. They
need ro make
want kids ro come ar a new word from sound-letter correspondences
all to decode
a:Cl:s, so we help thern iearn to word structure and nrust
recog_ have access to
nize base words, sound patterns, level_appropriate
and prefixes.,,A lesson on the books ofall genres.
op sound, for example, starts offi.rrrodu"lr,g And there'sone more thing
ro simple
that rnrt.rl'IiLrence in kids,
.wnvl,.li{r,/urarndpup "nlaren readin_g
success:
cimesp,
alcf nlen moves o.r ro-prograrsively
er wordssuchasoperator
and,opp"ririor.ilrrIrri; ,n",, ..rsi;-;;'*"*i'P-e-4j-r-e-as!krg'tsF-grwrfh=f rulifl'*tb^
hard_
incorpo_
raterhesoundin classreading,rd;;r;;;;;

T:::'0"*r:ringgames.c;ifi;;,;;::?,il::'.i::i::.:::i
::i1:11;:,1;;il;""l:l;Trii:fii:Til:".
j. *. id:.rur,,".io a".Jnu..,.,i
plenryofwriting providing
;:#:l-" :ai,,,^.J.^:-
richand,ri*rr";;;i;";;.H;:H:T:]""
*.iri.rg ir-orr. ofthe mosr "n on tH
rnd
_opportunitjes,since
rlgorous forms ofpuning
phonicsi.rro pr".ii...
homework assignmentsask Good phonics STE'HANIE HUNT isa
students,i-*ri*..", freelancewriterin Ch".l";;;;;
the words livesr.vithher husbancl
and threedaughters.
How to tell w/aet/eeryour
cbiDl apeec/aid rwrmal
'1Tbctpuck ia w&l"
a)'' .i.'r i
| ,Avc u fo nad
"I wintpa4h*tLi
"frIyfezta ia co0.""
iien a tinytot ma kes speech
-migtalces
lik e these, parents
.ard more likely:to
charmed.than.
But when such rnistakes persisf or new
onesarise, parbnts maywonderwhether
their chill's language. development is
"on track,"
Throughout my career as a Speech-
l,anguage Pathologist (SLP), parents
-
have repeatedly expressed certain con-
cerns: Is my child's speecManguage be-
havior normal?'What should I e.1p99t
from my child'at this stage a.;3oi-
"e
ment? Should I taLe await-and-see ip-
proach or seek professional assistSoc:5?
This article will help you answer some
of these guestions about your."iJvin
child; by diicussing the five basii jf&
cesses of speech and language_skills:
articulation, Ianguage, fluency, voice,
and listenirg larrrditory processing, .
Articulation
Anticirlitidn,is the., abiliqr to'spea^k
dearly and inte[igibly. It is normal for a
child to go through a process of trial and
error before their articulatiorr slcills
emerge and mature (e.g., saying "wed"
for'red,? "diddy" for"kitty," and "cah"
for."car'). Sowhat shouldyou do ifyou
obse#C such behaviors? Ilere are some
thinpto keepir min& :
., nat& t'ut *b.,' s"^i:
"ouoi"
r.g*::,,ftf:
,*:iti:t;..i.-';
i:t,
o'',
-r; t.v"w'
then
"
pbyqrcal or congenrtal
i,' ,.- :i
b y Ka theri ne L. Marti n. Mr.A .
problems, such as hearing loss and
cleft palate..
. Tbe numtrer of aunZa in crror. The
rnore speech soun& your child has
'difficdlty with, the more likely it is
tn", .5. will be a candidate for speqch
therapy. One way to judge this is to
be observe hovl intelligible or easily un-
alaimed. derstoodyour child is to aperson who
doesnt know her. The more speech
sornds that are in.error, the more
likely it is thatyour child will be mis-
understood.
Resist the temptation to forceyour
child to say a word correctly. Rather
than sa$ng, "No, doo't say that, say varieqz of enriching experiences from
simply model the correcr pro- infancy onward.- opportunities to
-"
duction for him after he makeS'an play with toys and other objects, to
error; by repeating his senienci but listen stories and songs, topla;rgames
saying it correctly. Cbildren need re- (ma"keupyour'own), and to interact
peated exposure and awareness with people iather than television or
of speech sounds through watching, d1s 6qmiuter. Everyday tasks are op-
listening and feeling how,iertain portunities to learn, so talk, talL., talk
sounds feel in the mouth. Your eoal at rroo r"a .aoorrd rrou: ho*
"booe*h"t
rhis stage is basic awareo."", oJ, o"r- things feel"rhat they do, how-they
:. .-t : ^1 ",
fecprodnctioni ':. :: ale used, :nd their physical at-
tributes-size, color, shape, etc.
l,.anguage . Remember that comprehension of a
Behaviors you might see in a child concept (receptive language) will al-
with language difficulqr include incor- ways &velop, before expressive lan-
rect gramrnar ("Me qated apple);'iising guage.,So;, ifyoir. :want your child to
an improper na.ure for a concept (e.g. #ord %allrii he will,firsi,have
"ay'the
a,llilg a horse a cow), or''ramb-ling- (a todevdop a.nsunderstanding ofwhata
Iistener can tell the child'ii'talking'itr and
'bd[.is"drrough.sb-eing;touching
sentences but finds it difficult to make balls;
pldyi"gjdth '.
sense bf what the,i:hild.means). It is i - . r , =, : , , , . ., ;j '. . : , , , , . . : . , ..i ..
normal for a child t6 make such Bnam-
s,l
t
 ':
,i lems in chil&enisvocal nodules. (Some
toddler ftirth to 2years, 9 months) is
.,'| people referto them as ',screamer'snod, ,
in need of early intervention fol a
ules.) Theie are small bumpd that de;
signifi cant developmental speecf,de- .
velop on the vocal cords wfien.their.,re :,
lay, phone this prograrn, *hi"h p*-
I stressedwithexcessivescreaming,
shlut_,,, vides intervention forall kiir&
ing oi loud tqlking. Vocal nodJs make
cial needs. Santa Clara County "f"""_ (SOO)
'l the voice sound hoarse and/or breathv.
While it! narural f"" ,404-590A "r No. Sania Cruz (8gl)
'462-1274.
to iioit In Crcntra C.."t"
or use her voice in a loud" manner,
"hild
espe_ .,jy-glenizcFe+" "o,roti.,
,
cially during play, the kev is th. _ceU..e! c_48F4(800)_
"rrroiot 28L-3U23, canprovidereferalstoap- l
:f
fu: the vocal cords are stressed by -l
propriate services.In Al"-edac""t ty,
I these behaviors.
Ifyourchild's behavior and voice fits the Family Resource Netwbrk, (510) .
this desci.iptior:. l:e first step is to ta-ke . '- :M 7 - T S 2 2 , c a m p r o vi d e r e fe r a l s.'
. Euiiic acboola. {.Jnderthe Indiviouals
hin to'an e+r,'oo". aid throJlipecialist
(ENT) for''lrn evaluation of the vocal Wiih Disabilities Act, eligible chil-
cords. If vocal nodules *. d;;J dren ages 5 to 21 can get.speectt/
the ENT may recoruneod ,,rrJcal ru_ l4ngqege therapy. in public schools.
j A prieatc Spezb-Innguagc Patlolo-
moval. Regardless ofwhether srirgery i"
-jE-a*Youcan-pieTe;Js-fr;AlE;
performed, the next step should:bJ to
contact a Speech-L,anguagepathologist American Speech-Language Hearing
'
tor a vocal hy$ene program" designed Association, (800) 558-8255. a
to elrmrnateorchange the behaviorsthat Katberine L. tlIartin, &[.5., it a certi/iz)
caused the vocal nodules. Ifthe behav_ Speecb-Language Patbotogi^ttanl author o/
ior is't cha"nged, the nodules will fbebookDoes .&V Child Have a Speech
comingback. !9ep Problem? (CbicagoRzoiewPrud, 800-8E8-
Follow these steps for better vocal 4741, I99Z 816.95). Comments? Dmail
, vrriters@bayareapaient.com,
hygrene:
. Ifyour child is suffering &om
an up_
per respiiatory infectionor cold, tei-
porarily reduce or avoid intake of
chocolate add milk products, espe_
cially if.the cLild is recov.ring Flm
vocal lodules. (Adults shoul-cl
use of tobacco and caffeine.) "Iso
1:juge-
Chocolate and increase the like-
-ilE
lihood of throat-clearing,
you go_utu*1lf-sto brush your teerh, whicb
comeback ic;'thekilchen a.rrdfeedthe "slams- the v^ocalcords togetier. Dr{rrk
plengr of water,rtoo:.
. Train y.our chilil.to avoid
. - using the
'+eice it improp.r loudness Iivels
(shout'.g s1 'alLi.g loudly),.ar im_
proper pitch (e.g., t"lking like Minnie
Mouse) or at improper quality (e.g.,
excessive Marilyn Monroe-like
breilhi negs).\,r6;"es areu t desipned to
U.p""[i'J bey<inaill;i rli".Jli-1t".
I Avoid eom.petiqg. wir-&.lou+Inachin-
-'ery-or gaikgr8srnaadie;iir?cn *"""
,childdg.eo"to or te llese
"r"ttieirdqri
ihe'dstancebetween hei and,therfrS-

f lc.l:t+r*'*,*r":*l**a_ulil,.J",::::-..:.-:.*,'::-;.;
T::gffi
passedawaya mo-ntbagq and I
found this cokrmnof yours in her
boxof "specialthingsi I'hope you
will print it again.A lOt of parents
shouldseeit. ; Charlottein
Mountain, Wis.
Dear Charlotte This essaywas
orignally preparedby the policed*
partmentof Houston,Texas,and ap-
pearedin my columnbackin 1959:
Tlvelve Rules for,Raising :.
Delinquent Children
1. Begi4 in infancy to give the
child everythinghe wants. In this
way, he will grow to believethe
world oweshim a living.
2. Whenhe picksup bad words,
laugh at him. This will make him
think he's cute. It will also encour-
agehim to pick up "cuter" phrases
that will blow off the top of your
headlater.
3. Never give him any spirituai
training.Waittill he is 21, and then
let him "decidefor.himself."
4. Avoiduseof the word '1rrong."
It may developa guilt complex.This
will conditionhim tobelieve,late4,
when he is arrestedfor stealinga
caq,that societyis againsthim and
10.Takehis part again* ne1g!;,,
bon, teachersand policemen.Thejt'
are all prejudicedagainstyourlClild
ll. Whenhegetsinto realtror$lg
apologizefor'yourselfby saying,-"I',.
nevercoulddo any.thingwith himf '.
' L2.Preparefor a life of grief;*.'.
. Youwr!.!e apt to have it.
he is being persecuted.
' 5. Pickup everythingheleaves
$ingaround-books, shoesand r
clothing. Do everythingfcirhim so
he will be experiencedin throwing
all responsibility onto others.
6. Let him read any printed mat-
ter he can get his handson. Be
careful that the silverwareand
drinking glassesare sterilized,but
let his mind feaston garbage.
7. Quarrel frequently in the
presenceof your child. In this way,
he will not be too shockedwhen
the homeis brokenup later.
8. Give a child all the spending
moneyhe wants.Neverlet him
earn his own.Why shouldhe have
things as tough as you had them?
9. Satisfyhis everycravingfor
food. drink and comfort.Seethat
everysensualdesireis gratified.De-
nial may leadto harmful fmstration.

Childrenneedyouto be must sometimessay,"Nq I won't

help you, You can do that on your
own" and stand firm in the face of

theparent,notaftiend
the child's demandthat his delu-
sions of helplessnessbe acknowl-
edgedand indulged.The Fuly lov-
ins parent is wilins.fi-6ffiEi
words. to causehis child ftustra.
donJasenimAfrevmEate-re
Knows
+
ruscruloooesnotKnow
whats rnhF owribesfEtenilst.He
@ood
qecuilonano relolcesm a Da(lone.
r-

ffi
bound in the heart ofthe chilf
JOHSTROSEMOND (Proverbs22:15) and that only a
AffrmrativeParenting strolg love can exorcisethis im-
pruoence.
The parent who understands
ttratJEfr
i:eari-iEl3te@EEiatso
-unoeNlanostnal a leacer cannot
thinks he needs

Whenthe chiidlS qq adult, the

@
discioiineareoneandthesame.
F{ewill questionbecausehe can,
but he is not likely to rebel in self-
destructiveways, eventhough he
especiallythose that are "undevel-
" hlbelsA-be$ss,ixe
in old-fashioned
t.+
cruo
.-....- neeosa Darentwno N a
friend. & everything in parenting
EeElfi season.Tdccintusethe"
seasonis to confusethe chiid.
IGep alwaysin mind: You are
not raising a chiid. You are raising
an adult. What sort of adult do vou
want?

True love strengthens.True love

 ,2 .

sfihb
$E?

fuEe
#i
5ruEqi EF
3*.
Eg!
os.=
.o6 o)
otro,
o 6-o
=.6=

;€;
F€F,
X rf ,
C I Fo
(',6p
83
air

$gN
Cv.GZ

F6g u
f
E
i :e
'E lr;
I$sg ',8; jH ;i
{ ,,EF ;;:
3E Hi; fils ;lg
I
EI{f *i i cs ;i
f r l ?F Fi r F i i
; ci c'j
 May 1995

The Freeclomof Responstblltty

by Chn'stopherA ckerman

n essenttalasnectof our work

respectfulbehavinrrtcecnor f,reoarethe chilC
as Montessorians is to oromote
Ior successfulrelationshiosanvwhere.Free-
the develoomentof resoonsi-
dom of self-expressionis imoortant;equally
bility in children.How we do
so arelimitsbasedu by-
thts i s an ongoi ng chal l enge,
productof our lifestylesis a cloudof guilt too
one that has not gotten easierovertime in an
often hovering over relationshipswith our
Americanculturethat often failsto encourage
children.Working.separated,or divorcedpar-
such growthin individuals.
ents are particularlyprone to this type of
stress.Also, many parentsare truly ambiva-
Familylife todav is more harried,fast-paced, lent about how to go about imposinglimits
separate,and dislointedthan lifestylesof the when theirgoalisto experience ',qualitytime,'
past. As a result of this instabilitv.we see with their children.
morechildrenlackino consistentparental guid_
ance and attention.We see more children
Childrenwho areqiventhe maioriwof powe.
raisedby the electronicmedia child,care sys_ i! the family are not haoov
campers.Their
tem. We seechildren withoutthe orerequisite
b

necessarvto healthy,confident,well_rounoed
rn charoe.As Montessorians.
this is often the
da\/al^nmani
::-lL:g greatestservicewe canrenderthe childin our
classrooms.
In short,in greaterand greaternumbersof
children,we see a linoerino stateof immatu_ It is how
we go aboutthis work of heipingthe
rityandlackof abilityto assumeresoonsibiliw.
childIearnto assumeresponsibility, thatis our
Often this is accompaniedbv a crioolinqper-
most tmportanttask. we often have to alter
fectionism,an overblownfear of failure.and
behaviorpatternsadoptedat home. Also.a
an assumed that keeps Vounq childmay
'n2rleqracv be tremendorrsly ambivalent about
c!.19lg@lojrg!.c-lhese are some effects totto*t.g ow dlr.
that our societyhas had upon children.as I
have observedin nearlytwenty{ive yearsas
tiveiy resistwhat is good for thenr
an educator.

As the adult,ourjob is to havefaith in what we

Thereare few conceptsmore misunderstood
do, as well as in the innerresourcesof the
and abusedby the "Me Generation',of par-
.hild. We!qg-!9-!9|jgyg__Uet every chitd
A entsthanthe issueof freedom.In the nameof
n""0.@
fre"do.n, par"nts haueci-ilffi
Practical their own
'-nany self-discipline,simolv hecausethere can be
no true and lastinghanninpssin lifewithout it.
dren fundamentalvalueslike disciplineand
Newsletter responsibilitv.
lt's hardwork beingthere con_
We must believethat we are not over-burden-
ing smallchildrenwhen we leadthem in this
sistgntlv.withr-hildren,quidino,correcting,
direction.We must know that in our work as
for settino timits.ana
Montessorianswe offer a great service to

NAMTA Memberc sronalattemot.

anotherhumanbeing.We try to guideher or
him to what is the truth.

It amazesme how oftenI hearyoungchildren

fob Bulletln page 6
speakto their parentswith utterlyinappropri_
This is often an internalstrugglefor the adult
in the classroom.Like parenrs,we too can
ate rudeness,andthe parenteitherignoresor
sheepishlytoleratesthe incident.
lqnoringdis_ continuecl on the bllowing p4ge
 page 2

. . . Freedomof Responsibility
continued
more easily let things slide, ignore
inappropri- butcouldn
ate behavior,and hand over an inordinate
t-"9:Ithth".ei"ins
degreeof power to the child.But it is
the adult
who must takechargein the Montessoriciass_ t.

tne ru,S-slid
safely__home._

Observing in a Children,s House classroom

&S_features.Thp.ri.""rresssincerEli-oZG
nrm once aqainfor a lob well done,
recentiy^,llgi!4 ess_eda scer.re that wo
nderf ullv
wttheend
oi rnetrtessontogether,the directre!*ffi A.whilelater,@
--.--
a youngoov,.tact-orot@- ptcture.Finished,he qot uo !o rettrrn2 hack.r
oj cqloredmarkersandsoiltedthemoutail
the floor."Thisl,,I thought,,,should
be inter-
rlfused.whin
--
ialk
r nrs olrectress,knowingotherwise in
an e._
.r"T!$"9t""".r".tt
rr perore. He became tearfullyoostratJiii

exptainedwhy it was necessaryanOoffeGE

to
!r-.
his 9irectress rendered a oreat
-nerpJacrge@
consume a iot oi time and en€rgy and . e *, . . t o t h i . . h l | d . l t w o u |d h a ve
there
were numerousother childrenthe oeen tar easier,and easilviustifi_
directress
noped to get to in the not_toodistant qOie, had she simplv ,,helped,,
future.
Still.she never lost patiencethroughout.) J-ackroll up and ,et rrS.

a
%nson-6iiffi, ambivalent
As the aclult,our job rrapsec
ogwr - g]lrreproce1ggtthe ctai,tfii thet"rche-
Into a twisted blob. Jack esiatatea
ni.
is to have faith in what
we clo, as \ruellas in cirrectress
rema@

the inner resourcesof !r -t[e chilq,became

a catatustin tfrelEnGi

the chilcl.We have to the:?l, Jackwatk".r;

healthier
believe that everyr This is
child neeclsand wants
to attain responsibility
This type of encounteris what
and self-cliscipline, we shouldsee
in a Montessori classroom.Lhances
to the rug rack.More goJ
simply becausethere that it would not havehappened "rn
in most other
can be no true and :::lY',@
Iastinghappinessin, s:iourd
ii'?q,iaci<
iln?ry't'acl'<slour @,.o"- _
, o.ss'sttnecniulru
life without it. .n'e|_-
o*n inne,,.esouiiGjEiin po*ei to, oeueL
ili,

canfrnud on thebllodnggge
 page 3

. . . Freeclomof Responsibility
continuecl
opmgnt of a responsible self. Here was an pline.In combination
with an increasino
ahility
exampleof a trainedMontessorianpracticino
the philosophy in the spiritof selflesslv
oivino tE algllegical process that results in reaL
to the childwhat was trulvin hishpstinterests freedomand happiness.We assisteveryone.
She investedgreat energy in helping.Jack
expenencethe effects of assuming,rather
9jjgl owlgSnpqae. ^l^itgl!!spath-How
we do this effectivelyis part of the ongoing
thanavoiding, responsibility.Heractionswere l e a r n i n g p r o c e s s o f t h e d e d i ca te d
an expressionof love. Montessorian.
At what age clo we
begin? Accorcling school-teacherobserver,mignt have wit_
At what age do we begin?Accordingto Dr.
Montessori,bv2lz to 3 vearsnf aoe iustabout
to Dr. Montessori, nessedthis scene and iudgedthe directress
-everychildis not onlv caoable.but cJesirolsof
as too strictor overbqarino
by Z1/zto 3 years of aboutsucha minor
rolgg up_!-!g. The observer might
bernqresponsible. Obviously,this is within
qgas certainparameters, which expandas the child
age, just about everyl teel that such a young child neededmore develops.We don't expect four-yearoldsto
directhelp,that littleJackwas almostbeing
chilcl is not only persecutedby this powerfuladult;he should
crossa busystreeton their own, for example.
Butby ageseven,the averagechildis capable.
capable,but clesirous have been free to leave the rug as it was
insteadof the big dealmadeover it.
of being responsible. In many ways it's a lot easierto practice
these idealsconsistentlyin the Montessori
m" Al*atr"a. crassroomthan in the home. parents are
""rlW,
takenthe popular view that iittlechildrendon;t often faced with more
truly compromising
reallvneed to be so resoonsible. They have situationsthan are teachersin the preoared
plentyof time for that laterin life;for now we worid of the classroom.Teacherscan assist
should let them enjoy the freedomsof child_ parents
by learninghow to communicate
hoodas longas possible. Simplyletthemhave these principles,suspending
some of our
fun doing as they nleaset![iayiew soundg own judgments.
and realizingthe tremen_
tempting.In praccice, though,it oenerallvGEG dous differencesthat come
into play when
to unhappychildren-rhekindwho usedto be our relationship
to a child is one of parent.
refenedto.as "spoiledbrats."When we treat rather
than teacher.
childrenthis way, we allowthem toEGi?
slrenqthenbehavioraloatternsand attitudes
that can onlv maketheirlivesmoredifficultfF; ffectivesupportof these ideascan
olderthey become.The adageaboutold dogs be difficultto come bytoday.Mon-
and new tricks is applicablehere. Look how tessori qg|ggj5jan atso_hejg
hardit is for manyof us so<alledgrown-upsto
changeour less responsiblebehaviors.Being
taught responsibilityin no way lessensthe well as
child'sexperienceof joy. In fact,it increasesitl ,h.r,MoiG Oi"g 0. ,
srtuattonsand circumstances.Above all. we
can asststparentsin understandino that one
lsn't this so much of what our work as
oJ the greatest serviceswe can render our
Montessoriansis about?And Sinceallchildrel
chi
0r" not th" sa.", *. onb s i b l eh u m a nb e i n o s .
inciuffi
-
tne partrcutar
needsof eachchild.We don,t Cltristopher Ad<erman is cunently Academjc
-expectail childrento be capableof the same Head at Old Colony Montessori Schoot in
thingsat the sametime. Massachusetts.He hotds a B.A. in
early cht'ldhood educadon and AfuII diplomas
from the Washington Montessorl Institute
But all childrenare capableof orowino in (pdmary)
and the Centrc Intemazjonale Studi
InOependence. resoonsittilitvand cplf-.iic^;- Montessodani (etementaD4
in Bergatno, Itaty,
 I'I{O PATgS

-- A CHILDTS-EYIIVIFrf

,ar"Qv,
I want to beloag and have
I w a n t c i i g n i c y and wor:h! i wanr significance and capabiliryt
I want to o v e rcome l reaknesces and eu:,ounc dlfflculties !
io Consiructive. Livlng by ir-ay of To Obstruccive Llvlng by l*ray of
soc:ar. inieres: Ito-IYlcoin3t
-\ i4-
t-
I f eel capable; I have
i feel aorleh;r. i:r.ferio::
a plac e; itn respected;
I feel excluCed-- vicii:r-
f c,an tal<e pa;t; I feel
e n cour aged; I Cai AeASU; e uD. 1:ed-- pushad dor*n-- cils-
respecteC and CiscourageCt
g5

QA9
I In abl.e t,o contribut,e ! I have to schene and
I like to cooperate i
fl ghtl I have. io be
L can eone to grips rrlth ,r r-i.6,: .|
areful noi to let
problers anC sol.ve then!
l.ten bcss me! I auc:
I cen inprove ! I can hel A3OLT IT
conquer, Bet even,
and prolect uyselil
I eanrt;rake a:siakes

itoi{ I REG.LCJ:

Soeeti:res i rake rg. F Ar t

3
NAIJ-.IA],
F- ^
U \l l t,) .6i
t- r t^
U i - r \'- .1J
"+r
- ^

r
ognr z e lgnc;e I neve: : ake nisiakes.
nj.s:akes , bu: fher t
then ! i just. have bad luck!
1ea:a froe -,hen. t
are a:ains: ael
I f .lA.l59

I
!W *\/AL Rgj,lRls Al:"J
ccNs:QTJENC:S DINJ 7 qU\,(:\:-C

l-ha r pu! - e. lt pe o p i e i n n y l l f e a re
..rs i!-rna?-.-
l/ (,.I| |
\l
The inporiani people in :ny 1i.f e ai-,va1.,s
a cco u n: able anc i c o n s i s te n t. Ih e v W/ seem to \rant ihir€s r.helr vay. Cfirn
co n si i er t he r igh rs o f o th e rs a s they seen Eo Ee to be $ndependable and
n
ve 1 i as E heir ow n , T h e y s h a re t.h e \ lnconsistent. They push ;le E:ound or
, / pI* tn rn g and k eep i o c h l a ;= e e re r:s I else they b=ibe ne. They reall;l con'c
/
, u ra ke , s o i : es p e c t th e n a n c i j c e e p J cale about n;r rights. Thel' want. all
/ t o th e agr eei: ent s , to o , (n ro s t o f th e ri ne)l lr
:.1e" saj ; If I do w hec -Jr e; r ask, ilr s
Iraen i don, e I lrnow what I have :o do and j us. to get someLn!:l g :-:o: t he: r . I
ltts rry responsibili:7 to do it. I know reel l y i ont t l i sten i o t her r but jus- .
thls beceuee I was in on the plannin3 be- aani pui ate tl ren. Ii rs not Ey i€e \
f orehand e ,nd h elp ed t--
o dec ids t \ . inoc
--;--- . t ci i i :y
sponsi to :.;-E :ove Eh: €s: \

l, DiSCOLTRAGEiENI
,*COIJP'AGEIENT
People :eeogrize n:/ stlen3ihs. The1,

v'''l
Pe6p
Lpre praise rne lf I neet !.hei:
believe in ne and appreclate ne for ianCarCs
s
siandarCs. :he.r D;oC ne.
. Other,rise the.r

;g | ?tt?l ^'"'^
nyself I Ei:he: vev. ihe.r donra :hink nucn of :nr
?e. j:If J1 tr!
-toc consi
cons i istent,
t,ent,
l o1i
o;i cal
cal :3ea: : : ent anG
TcGS v ' I encoura:,e=
S CeE/.r'{ enCOUr ei c ai a = o:e r eq?ec; '
I ai
ni ;ht
:nt froi a th
nove fron:::i
:rove s si'de io
sid e r |I ?
? ? 1T ?
? t
I taaar l
 here are seven g.pes of situations
in which tempertantrums mav
occur. Most tantrums take olace
whenFtrrchilct is

situations

out ofhiS own control In rhe lasr rhree.

last three
---
more orscnmlnatlon ln

municate somethine to vou.

One of the pitfa.lls of dealing with
temper tantrums is that they confront
our need to have things uncler control.
As a resuit, we want to get the situation
handled as soon as possible rarher than
taking the time to determine why our
child is acting the wav he is and meeting
his needs. Most of us were brought up
with rhe arlitude that a misbehaving
child was a bad child. Sfe tend ro reacr
as though our chi.ld is bad insread of
realizing the his misbehavior is simplv take the situation gerrinq worse before Hunger
tn.ing to communicate somerhing to us. it gets berter. It mav also take rimeairl
Vhat to do
It is our iob ro derermine whar rhat is several applications before she uncler_
A Meet child's need
ancl responcl accordingly. rtn"aiin"r *ZGi?6ffi .-
flere are some general don'ts in Ir is "o"-
i*po*"nit7GGF A Minimize all ralking rhar mav Iead rcr
'erv
- with tantmms. Don't overpoR er
cteaiing the time to knowvour child's signals in conflict.
your child (i.e., hold him down, punisE order ro be effective during remper
Example
or rhrearenhir"). 8't o! tantrLlm situations. For example, if
him or argue orget into -ake-fun
a debate. Don't vou trv negodating wirh a child who is Give vour child something ro ear as
dea.lwirh the rancmm in public. Vantinq hungrv, tired, ill, or hvpersensitive, soon as possible, even if it is nor a
,vou scheduled snack or meai time.
ro avoid embarrassment adds to the ten- will be fighting a losing battle. If you trv
s negoriarion with a child who is testing Illness
a Pnvare prace tr*a u oumffi you, mav lose rhe respect of your
-vou What ro do
helDful Ofte.tmanagffiffin child because he mav be asking for
assist this process. Inform the manager you to hold to a boundarv_vou,ve set. A Meet chi.ld'sneed
of the situation and request that she However, negotiation works well with A Minimize ali talking thar my lead rc
nicelyaskyourchild to quiet down to chilclren who feel overpowered or ar.e conflict
avoid disturbing the customers. Make fi:usrated. Refer to the foilowing iist to A Hold or rock you child.
these arangements without your child,s determine what to do wirh each form
awareness. of the temper tantrllm.
Example
Inordertoknowhowtoredirect a _ ._ Give your child medical assisrancewhen
temper tantrum, it is important co deter- 't'augue necessary.
mine what is the cause of the mntrum. What to do
Htmersensitivity
One of the suggestions on rhe follow- A Meet child's need
ing list is to leave the room when your (i.e.,clotbes,
fcnQ abrupt cbanga)
A Minimize all taiking rhat may lead to
child has a tantrlrm. If she gets out <tf Strhatro do
conflict
conrolandhysterical*i::1,::t-.::, A Removeobiecrcausingsensidviw
A Holdorrockyourchild. as
the room and you feel strongly opposed quicklvaspossible
ro chis mettrod, r,vone of the ottrer Example
A Minimizeall talkingrhatmayleadto
suggestions. However, realizg q4at if vou Take your child to bed or a quier a.rea conflict.
have been giving in to your child, it malz to resr as soon as possibie.
Examples
if you child's shoe is too tight, loosen
it quickly. If it is agarment, take it ()ff
Sometimes these chilclren are sensitive
to an)'thing scratchy, like textures of
clothing or labels on clothes
If your child is sensitive to abrupt
changes, sive advanced warning, or e
choice. "Tommy, we'll be leaving in
10 minutes," or "Would you like to
leave in 7 minutes or 10 minutes?"
Testing
What to do
A Do not give in
A Bring child ro self-quieilngspace
A Leaverheroom
A Dotheunexpected.
Example
These are non-negotiable boundaries
that you have set and vour chilcl is resr-
ing vour limils. You can discern this
wpe of temper tantrum because vou
will feel manipulatecl.
Feels Pouredess
What to do
A Refu.seto negodare untii the child has
calmecldown and is r'espectful
A Acknowleclgeanger
A lfin-win negoriaie
A Brainstorm solutions
A Cive chilcl a sense of power
A If negotiarion isn't possible,fantasize
with chilcl about his unfulfillecl desire.
Examples
''Vhen
.vou calm clown, I will be willing
to discuss this with vou" or "Please use
your negodating voice."
"I understand that r,,ouare angry."
"I want,vou to win anci I would like to
win, too. How coulcl we work this out
so we could both win?"
Together write on a sheet of paper all
possible solutions.
ID-AMERICA MONTESSORITEACHERSTRAINING
Early Childhood Montessori Teacher Education
Infant and ToddlerTraining (Birth - 3 yrs.)
Early Childhood (2 l/2 - 6 yrs.)
ElementaryI (6-9yrs.)
A
ilEr
Ask yourself, "How can I give my child
more power in an appropriate way
right now?"
"Yes, I w<tulcl like ice cream, too. Two
sc()ops with hot fuclge, nuts, whippecl
cream ancl a cheny on top. \What woulci
you have?"
Frustration
Gbildrcfeeling
oueruthelmecl
tuitbthetask
at hand)
What ro do,
A Check vour expectations- are thev
too high?
A Break down the ta.skinto accomplish-
able steps
A Make sure child knows how to foilow
the direction.s.
Exarnple
If vour chilcl is having a clifficult time
with attencling to homework, break
it down into lO-minute segments of
homework end thcn 5-minutc seg-
ments of plav, 10 minutes ctf home-
work ancl 5 minutes oFplav, etc.
Do this until rhe rask is complete.
Setting a time for each segment of
time makes it easier ro foliow.
Ternper Tantrurn Prevention
You can minimize the frequencv of
temper anrLrms bv raking a few
necesstuy precauuons.
1. Knowyour child.
Leam to cliscem how vou chilcl acts
cluring certain situations. For exam-
ple when you chilcl ge$ hungrv or
tired, cioes'she become irritable ancl
less cooperative. Knowing vour
child will help you determine which
intervention to use when vour
child is having a temper ranrrum.
2. Schedule appropriarely.
Because of our busy lives, we often
over schedule events. This creates
tension in our family. Tension
Omaha, Nebraska
Do mare thanjust teach . . .
inspire learning
For information write or call:
10730Pacific Street, Suite 234
Omaha,NE 68114
Phone:402-393.1311
makes fenile grounci for temper
tanrLrms to occur. Allow yourself
enough time so that vou don't have
to hurry. lX/henever possible, have
vour chilcl get school clothes,
books, etc., ready the night before.
3. Look for patterns.
Look for parrems that precipinte
vour child throwing tantrums and
fincl ways to intervene cluring that
pattem, For example. if vour pre-
schooler throws a tantrum while
vou run errancls, affange to do.vour
errancls without her or take her
with you ro the park before you
run the crrands.
4. Make agreemenrs ahead of time.
Children will do best n'hen they
know what their limi6 are ancl know-
ing rhem in advance is even better.
For erample, if vou are going ro the
store and,vour son usua.llvwants to
buv things, tell him before enrerinq
the store how much money, he can
spencl ancl <;n what items (you mav
noi wxnl him ro spend it on canclr,.
but vou woulci be willing to spenci
it on a book).
5. Notifi ,vour chilcl of changes ahead
of time.
To avoiclconflict, we sometimes
clon't tell our chilchcn about changes
in plans unril rhe lasr minute. This
makes our chilcl feel or"rtt>fcontrol
ancl can leaci to tantrLlms.
6. Nurn:re yourself.
Take dme to nurture r.ourself. \X/hen
vou feel like r.ou have l-ncl time for
vourseif, vou are less irritable, more
sensitive to the neecls of situations
ancl less likelv to over-react.
Katbnn k'ols is tbe Presidatt of the Interna-
tional netuorkfor Cbildren and Families
and theautbor o/Redirectingrhilclrens
Behavior Sbeis also a national speaker and
u,orksbop leader. For more information
call 800-257-9002.For afree pampblet on
"10Kevsto SuccessfulParmting" send a
self-addressedstamped mtelope to Inteftta-
tioral Network for Cbildrm 0 Families,
P.O. Box 7236,Gainesville.FI 32605.
il-lifiiii il
ut
 PlainTafkAboutDearinp#jtltrheAngrychird
Handlingc hildr e n ,s .a n g ecra n b e p u z z l i n g ,
d rai ni ng,and Respondingto the Angry Child
d i st r es s ing
f or adul ts .In fa c t, o n e o f th e _ u j o , p r oU t" rns
d e alingwit h angeri n c h i l d re ni s in Some of the following suggestions
th e a n c ry i " " ti n g , that are for dealing with the
often stirred up in us. lt has been angry child were taken from fhe
said-thai'we as parents, AggressrveChild by Fritz
teachers,counselors,and administrators Redl and David Wineman.They
need to remind stouiO be consideredhelp
ourselvesthat we were not always ful ideas and not be seenas ,,bag
taught how to deal with a of tricks.,,
angeras a fact of life during our own Catch the chird beinggood. Tertih,u
chiiOhooO. We were led rniu what behaviors
to believethat to be angry was to pleaseyou.Resoond. p-osltjye-
be bad, and we were often !o ana,"infor."looj
mlde feel guilty for expressinganger. o*rylor jl&*arnu1tni"" "f1o.11*,ll
!o orr""i find countt-e5s
It will be easierto deal with chihren",s ople4glLtlgs*d-u.u
angerif we get rid of l g the,C9v tq makq sggfu qm"r.nentr.as,,lJ
this notion. Our goal is not to repress
ings in children-or in ourselves_but
feelingsand to help channeland
or dJstroy angry feel_
rather to accept the
direct tn". to constructive
"ffiru;#n*r.1;:[t
you were in a hurryto get.out
tient while I wason
to play,,;,,youwerereallypa_
ends. ;,1,,
9.f.onel,; gl"Jyou sharedyour
1!e,,1
snackwith yoursister,,;
.^i _ like theway
others";and,,Thankyoufor telline iorlr"
ableto thinkof
i#l-i:.tt,'f
cnndrenacceptablewaJlglglples, ly happened.,,
th! l.ti
"Oout
whatreal-
in,,r*ir@
I
;:"-v" "= ",=-yesgsa signof serious'orobG-s:
3.tway:!9YfI9fus s,eriog1O.1o_btgry&"f:t,qrta
thprrchn,,r.{
Similarly,teacherscan positivelyenforce
with statements
good behavior
like,,,1knowit *ai aifficJt for you
to wait
o y.ourturn,and l,m pleasedthat you
-eJ-q9 w
991119-{a"!3*!tg?!.dIt h respect. coulddo it,,;,,Thanksfor
Io respond, _ ,_ effecilvelv-to
_.,__..,.".y ." o;;|ill,i'.acci.,o sittingin yourseatquietly,,;...yeu
L^a^..:__: *"ruif,oughtfulin offering
"yelty gfagl_ess.lv€
bgttEv_iotin to helplohnnywith hisspelfing,,;,,Vo,
*ori,"a hardon that
Wru[hqlrdy-ha.v_e
t riggere d a n o u t b u E t
7 _ - *- **- :
;- .:- - ' - ' ! !q r ' r ' q Y ' rq Y c project,and I admireyour
effort.,,
:g
teem,andfeelirreiofi" '' : ' oj_it
:__-,_*- -_-. .*s-oli!.!g$ may be relatedto anxi
etvq_b9!1!:!!qg!Lonso*v*e1-ryhrqh"t"l,eii;i[h;i"1-rJep1lo_1.
just thebehaviorThe,,!clorinr;
*,:ffififffiffifrf.l.
h;:;;;;anned andcon_
Angrydefiancemay alsobe associated r','1."l. Eventhou
gh this 6u6""ut;;;; ;;l;t*"il;tt:
with feelingsof cfrildmu,st
dependency,andangermay be associated recognizethat ii is tnapp;;l";;.
with s"dn"rs rrovtde physicaloutletsandothei
depression.
In chitdhood,anser "nd aliernatiyes.
;;;;;;;'are veryclose tant foi Chitdren lt is impor-
to oneanotherandit is important
""; to f,, r phvs
to,ur".L", thatmuchof andmove,n icar exerci
se
whatan adultexperiences assadness isexpressed
e"i:i;,#;j"T:::'f : fi
asanger. by a child
Manipulatethesurroundings. Aggressive
behaviorcan be
Beforewe lookat spe.cif encouragedby placing
ic ways.
to manageaggressive in
.children tough,temptingsitua_
angryoutbursts, and tions.We shouldtry to plan the,urrounaing,,o tf,utcertain
severalpointsshoulAbe [ighllghted;
thingsare lessapt to happen.S_t_qgg:pfgh|Sn-
activityand
lggresslon' substitute,
Ti"I*^o^"^lv-re+gl-est*ei'-d u rnor""ffiffili
temoorarily, $ffi;:
^"r"
ffi j;'i:1:il
i',IX"t.;rt"":g trqj.n"]A
conf ining.
UEtllrni,aswAIb ; ;h)" ;', "*. rnaybetoo
oi.e.
!Iogqlty_
o Angerandaggression Usec/osenes
s andtouching.Move physicallyclos.er
do not haveto to Sr_e
otherwords,in rookingat aggressive be dirtywords.In *'g-:e#:I: Fl ";'i,ytudi'nOr_ergl9l*.
behaviorin chirdren,
we mustbe carefurtod.istinguist
u"t*""nJehavior that in_ t"r+:t .rtted/d5q. rj,,,.rH_
dicatese.motionat
probtems-and *;;j;; jrat
is normat. .- .!tpl,g: f Chitdren natura||y
unery
j1,a;3{i.3c_Vttlr chitdren, our.
u.iionr'rhoutd g^,: l1y::j9:lu.'" *nui in-"vffiins, andtheadultis
,,"
v?tg1!y.t-hg bemoti_ oftenannoyed at beingb"th;;l. v;"].r*in,LHH;
needtoprotect andto teach,;;iU1;ffi"
punish.parents childenwho areemotionallydeprived),"",
andteachers rarno*';-ii,ii,i;i',r,;J ,, needmuch
aCceplhli orherfeetings,y [i thou
re_rVesuri;;
;#;il:
moreadult involvementin their
interests. ,Cchild aboutto
gr; An ilAI .usea toy or tool in a destructive
way is sometimes_easily
3q9si 1idilngs. aoutt mighi;;;;:;;,pre, ,,Letme stoppedby an adult who expressu,'ini"r"rt
tetlyouwhatlome chitdrg" in havingit
i"JrrJJ"i"'ul,*"r,r" likethis
to tetlc.hitdren
shownto him. An outburst,fr;rn
;;-"i;L, .r,ira strussling
.._:-tj1:?lenough
une_cgeotable wi"iO"iuu,ors wefind with a difficultreadingselection
Wemu-s! leagftthemu..uoiu-Cr" *ays .u" U" pr"""nted by a car_
rngstbe found of c-o_g ing adult who movesnearthe
cfrifato sai, .Show me which
I_9.^,r,ol,*uys t" .o,nn.'.,-ini."te
what we ex- wordsaregivingyou trouble.,,
pectof them.Contrarvto .^^,,t,,
^^;:^:-
notthemos
t"rr".,i,"J.lr',::: * il#,::[?.H1,:
we expectof them. Hil j;
al problems,however,may have troubleacceptingaffec- _?_t-.jng"::f-lg!g re--plg3gu
t"eyg"r-d
U59,,Bro@tse:*aAd
tron. canbeusedbothto star,t
andt-o_$g-.p
b_gh-iyior..
Thisapproacfr
E4!ete-nsion throughhumor.Kiddingthe child out of a ![o 'H_r9jl3'qffid&!i&s[ W;;,s t knowwha
t
tempertantrumor outburstoffersthe child an opportunity the chi l d l i kes-w hat bri ngshi m pl easure- and we m ustde
to "saveface."However,it is importantto distinguish be- l i ver on our promi ses.
tweenfacesavinghumorand sarcasmor teasingridicule. Say "Nol" Limits sho_ullbg-slggly*:Igbffg_?ld *e_1,
.lgl!_e4.Children:!'rou14!e free tg_funqtiol-wilhin tho_se
Appealdirectly to the child. Tell him or hslbolyjteulesl liqlts.
andaskfor consideration. Forexample,a parentor a teacher
.rrivl"in'a cttitdscoopeiationby saying,"l knowthat noise Ellthe child thatyou accepthisor herangry{eelings,but
you'remakingdoesn'tusuallybotherme,but todayl'vegot
gffi o_tlte
to put theirangryfeelingsintowords,ratherthanfists.
a headache, so could you find somethingelseyou'd enjoy
Build a positive self-irnage.Encouragechildren to see
doing?"
thems,il/e;as\ral,Gdand valuablepeople.
treH,-ltg:ligttll-elp-tlg*sn-{-d-gds:Bd$s.ss*-qr Use punishmentcautiouslyThereis a fine line between
a stressfulsituation.We often fail to realizehow easily punishmentthat is hostiletowarda child and punishment
youngchildrencanbeginto reactproperlyoncetheyunder- that is educational.
standthe causeof their frustration.
.ModelappropriatebehavigrParentsand teachersshould
!,)ry p hysi caI ru 119 1 all y-.g*ql!-[d
in1 o"_9999jo_ OeyJs: esan- be awareof the powerfulinfluenceof their actionson a
ggl*l-o*_qogp!-9!e,ly lhathehas19!e nfvsica-lly 19t1tlirc"d..sr* child'sor group'sbehavior.
removedf rom the sceneto preventhim f rom hurtinghimself
Teachchildren to expressthemselvesverbally.Talking
iij6l[e1;,Thlsm.ay slsglleave fq,csllfo,rt|" Sti{ihtsi;i
straintor removalfrom the sceneshouldnot be viewedby '; heipi-a ctritaTav{offii-anAffi;; rea;cesTiiin g out b;
havior. Encourage the child to say,for example,"l don'tlike
thechildaspunishment but asa meansof saying, "Youcan't
your takingmy pencil.I don't feel like sharingjustnow."
do that."In suchsituations, an adultcannotaffordto losehis
or her tempet and unfriendlyremarksby other children Cood disciplineincludescreatinganatmosphere of quiet
shouldnot be tolerated.
tlrnl"s9:-slff_iff i!J_e-Eng'Gu6-
"e"{--..9tr"_.'iiHilsndsr,tfi
Encouragechildren to see their strengrhsas well as their ing. Bad disciplineinvolvespunishment which is unduly
-treip-mem
,S@ dG;Tmt tfid An reaC6, ttnii -'
hg.'[e"-d ineppr"pp_iiiis."r
n-it-li,;-itd#_""{iffi"nEye':
goals. .lel-l-gsirls-3rg-illn9hs*slgs_s_bil9:irtsely
I

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: ir{r

!rr!l
:.::.r,'

'::.::t:

Over the next fer^rdavs,I r

R- .- - .- ri
ngbir?e!l l i
T ima tn nlacn
| ln ta t-
r i J i r-nn<l
t iit I tt I up. OK?Thereis only applejuice"i6 ,a??rlr^ll L^-er.,
l e l t" :l t
'gi i
rt I vA: ttEu! ll4tur ^,,^-
svca

wasit oK.\,Vhen
I askedir it *"F1ff;ffifiliio*"0.
Bv SNone EsLe
I rurned my attention to droppingthe OK after suggesrions
As I settled in for a picnic lunch wi-rlr my children in the mid-
dle of what promised to be a long, hor summer day, I noticed
another family claiming the shade of the tree nert to ours. Three
boys, about ten, six, and three, clamored for bagels.My interest
was piqued when the bo.vsbegged for a yogurt. In a voice that
commanded attention, the mother stated, "There is on_lyone
yogurt and two spoons. There are three ofyou. This is to be shared
I had been operating unde if I wasunder-
iairlv Anvpigs wiii lose their turn." She then laid down and closed
her eves,while I waited forWorldWhr III to commence.
smilg 3n4 coopetate. In truth,
To my disbelief, the ftvo oldest took the spoons and passed
the yogurt one bite for each of thern and nvo bites for the
youngest. No one screamed that the baby was getting a double
helping. They enjoyed that yogurt to the hitt, scraping out ri.recup
with gusro. rlieanwhiie, my chiiriren were siiii bickering abour the
choices I had offered.\Mhat secret did the mother possessto instilt
that kind ofcooperation? Could I go over and beg for an hour-long
farewith his 12-year-olddaughterlaid lilt thg maxim rhat "chil-
parenting class?
dren are not reasonable."I was snie ttrin-.{a$1oper parenting,
On the drive home, I revier,vedhorv I might ha."e haldled the
understanding,and patiencewould crgqte"reasonable" chii-
same situadon. The biggesi ciifference i couici finci i,vasin the
dren. Now after 17 years in the tienches-'r{rith3itchildrenI
mother's approach. She laid out a plan and the consequences and
believethat he was right. Thereare momgntl when no amouitr
then stepped out ofthe picture. Her pian had not been detailed but
of explanationor patiencewill swaya rewed-up threeyearcid.
ratherdescripriveof the factsand her expectations.
My life took on a new dimension'wllenI rem.ored*OK?"irr;.rn
lv'hat would I ira'.redone? First, I
'.nrouldhar.rgap6llrglzed lbr myvocabuiary.I can now saii through'Sn-iF:E{i{r+'iihir,'" ic:;:
oniy har.ing one vosurt; then I would have begged.for approva-I. ,,Is
year old. I ha.ieleft behind the da!-so.f;lixJ5***up p!*erio..
that OK?" I lvould have asked.This mother had not evcn e::plained
OK?"and the whine that follorvs.Sucha lfttlelVg$*yet rhe
rvhy there 'vr,asonly one yogurt. I lvould have repeatedly looked for
porverii r,vieldsin a parent/childrelationshipcan be tremendous.
assurancethat I was still a wonderfui mother, even if inept at pro_ 1-
viding for them. Then I would have apologized for onl-v having tlvo Sandra Eble is a teacher by trade and mom bi ctio.E*"t$t3 and- her husband.
spoons, again repeating, "Is that OK?" Was this hci.,,rny ccmmuni- Will, have three girls-M'Liss (u), Bethany (15), Katis.{l3Faftl three bovs
Wlliam (11),Jesse(8),and Sandy(4)-all homeschootetiTr.q Fut m EastStsoudsb;rg,
cation was breaking dollrrr? Pennsylvania. ,. -
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28 MorHrnrNc TnEAnr op MorsERrNc nao*.njffil-H9gi
 Is Obedience
Enough?
by ]ane Bluestein,Ph.D.
(originally co-authoredwith Lynn Collins, M.A.)

Johnny, stop that!" andhe does!
"Sally, getbusy!" And shedoes!
"Cubby, Karery feed the dog and clean up
your room!" and theydo!
No arguments. No hesitation. Complete
obedience. Every parent's fantasy, right?
Sure, it sounds good, but look again. ln-
cpe{ence and what you get may be
children grow up to be order takers or deci-
sion makers, most parents would select the
latter. With all those inJluences a child might aren't good for him? Whathappens when the
encounter in today's world, who in his right
mind would want a child to be good at sim-
ply taking orders? Yet many of us create
parenting environments that encouragejust
that. Despite the goal to raise independent,
responsible children, we'll usually admit that
the kind of obedience described above
sounds rather attractive at times. Seemslike
it would make life so much easier, doesn't
it? WelL perhaps for the moment, but not in
the long run.
While it may not be evident to the parent
who is fuazzled.from repeating the same re-
quest 100 times, there's a big catch to having
an obedient child. Most of us were raised to
believe that good parents have obedient kids.
So why wouldn't we encourage obedience
in a child?After all, obedienceis unquestion-
ing compliance with the requests of people
in authority, which is good, isn't it? That's a
great lesson for kids to leam if the people in
authority are bright, moral, caring, and able
to always consider the child's best interests
along with their demands or requests. But
kids can give the same kind of power, value, evaluate
and importance to strangersup€€rs, dates, or
others who might not be quite as invested as
you in your child's well being.
Kids are often exposed to a variety of
people in uncontrolled or unsupervised en-
vironments very early in their lives. It's hard
to predict which ones they are going to per-
ceive as an authority. It's likely to be a dedi- the
cated teacher, caring Aunt Harriet, or a con-
cerned police officer, but it's just as likely to
be anyone who is big, strong, attractive, or
popular.
Even well-meaning people can inJluence effective these techniques were, it,s
kids in negative ways. For examplg what
will happen when a conservative teachertells
your daughter that "nice" girls aren't pushy?
(There aren't too many of those nice, non-
pushy girls making it in CorporateAmerica.
And there are a lot of nice, non-ass,.rtive
women being injured in relationships be-
cause they never leamed they might have to
stand up for themselves.) If your child is
dedicated to pleasing and obeying how well
will she be able to evaluate the personal rel-
evance of this information?
What happens when Aunt Dorothy, for
whateverwell-meaning reason,tells your son
to quit taking his vitamins because they
babysitter tries to make your children do
something they are uncomfortable with and
then threatens them to keep quiet? When an
older friend offers your chitd a cigarette?
When a girlfriend puts sexual pressure on
your son? When one of your son's buddies
suggests that to be a man he has to get high
with the boys? What happens when it,s time
to make a lot of decisioru that will affect your
child's future and well-being and you ian,t
be there to direct his or her choices?
Being a loving and concemed parent with
the best of intentions, you probably answered
those questions by jaying, "I hbpe they,d
make a good decision!" But the question is:
How will they make a
ren with the skill
yyhocaninlluence
Themain
to
she
ve reaction,
perienced as chiidren. And considering how
no won-
der that so many of us simply pick them up
anduse them with our ownkids. But atwhat
cost?
If you're h.ti^g a hard time letting go of
the idea of raising obedient kids, you may
be stuck in something called all-or-nothing
thinking (sometimes called black and-white
thinking). If so, you may suppose that the
only alternative to having your kids obey is
having them disobey. Not so!
you want your kids to obey.
Children who behave cooperatively-in-
stead of obedientl l€ason
look the sarneas obedient behaviors. For ex-
ample, the child who makes her bed so that
"Mommy wont hit me," and the child who
makes her bed "because now I can invite my
friends over", a1eboth making their bedi.
Only the motivation varies.
ative child can remain "safe" in
ing abl.eto use the p
TV, have dessert, or spend time with you, for
example- will available until a cer-
Obedient children quickly learn-Fat they
are safe, accepted, valued, and worthwhile
outcomes of their
displeasure).!q qlher because these
are therefore far less vulnerable to

ient children
them. few parents would say they wanted
helplessor irresponsible children, yet it may
be hard for an obedient child to tum out oth-
erwise. Jhe third-gradet who explained to
her teacher that she was squintinq because
else's
matized by having to choose which of two
dittos to do first, I had to wonder how they
would handle other decisions that could
have a far more profound effect ontheir lives,
like whether or not to get high with friends,
becomesexually active, or stay in school.
A lot of these kids had a hard time con-
necting their choices with the outcomes. I
frequently heard things like, ,,Shemade me
; one of the
up to
Another
children is that
focused on other
their own
senior cheated on his SAT tests becausehis
father threatened to disown him if he didn,t
score high enough to get into Stanford. The
fear of his father's disappointment out-
weighed any intemal inciination toward hon-
esty this student may have harbored. In an-
other instance, a little girl nearly bled to
death, because she was afraid to tell her
mother she cut her hand using knives she
was not supposed to use. And how many
kids have cut class, gotten high, or had sex
simply to avoid being ridiculed or reiected
by their peers?
some senseof control in one,s life, kids ir'ill
oftenrespond@
cortls
way, of patienG, affilIG
with au- sometimes your children will make decisions
thority figures like parents and teachers than
ev-erhappens with peers). An example is the
college freshman who decided to hitch-hike
across the country because her parents
wouldn't be able to find out what ihe was
up to. Or the eighth-grade boy who told his
counselor that he had decided to flunk
middle school to show his parents that they
couldn't "push me arouna and make me do
things." Thousands of children leave home
BEPOBXE.gT Fall 109? Vot trYr T$^ o
each year because they have no mechanism of control in their lives does
in the family to negotiate a better way of liv- I That
ing with each other.
;;;
On9 nf
Ona of +ho
the arguments
.--'*^-r- f^-
for raising obedi-
-^:^:-- ^L^r:
making is best
ent children is the assumption that your chil-
dren will obey even when you,re not there
to tell them what to do. For example, many
@its that work for
q"*-"tr will discorrrage their children from everyone). Tf," p.,qpor" of this skucture is
drinking, although they kgow thatwith any to. create a homl in which everyone_kids
reasonable contact with the outside world, andadultsalik*-believethattheycountand
theirchildrenwillencounteralcoholatsome have a chanceto meet their needs.Empow-
point in their lives. In all likelihood, you ering children wllhiLlllqit uuo*rffio
won't bearoundwhenyow childis offered Gaa;imarroffiir
an opportunity to get drunkwithher friends.
Will she not be tempted especially if partici-
patingpromisespeer approvaland accep-
whom will your child be obedient
Jlnce?.To
if you're not there? ffiCJoGarnE?iffifter next time.
l chillren hpndleindependent a Ute
iing dep.g4dson ttreT;;EE: ufr
difference,
Deer to see
readlless. Think of it like learningTo
swrm, which many ddldren leam beforethey
walk or talk. They gain a real senseof con-
poor choices,continue in destructive behav-
ioq,or do things they honestly don,t want to
do, if their seU-imageisn't dependent entirely conridence.we certainly
don,t just iFi6Tv
upon what other people think and e*p".i. babiesinto the water to sink or swim, but
And when these children do make a poor neither do we bar
them from the pool until
choice, they will probably see the,,egari,oe they are 18. Opporfunities
are provided as
outcomes as the result of their choosing,and soon as they are
ready to handle them, with
be far more likely to make more poiitive encouragement and a watchful eye from par_
choices in the future. ents or other adults. As they gain skill and
Your kids can still cooperatewith you and confidence, we
let them go a little bit farther
develop skill at making good, independent on their own.
Becoming a responsibledeci.
decisions at the same time. Regardless of sion-maker
happens in much the same way.
your children's ages, you are in the perfect Start with small choices,but don,t ovei-
position to build decision-makingskills.
]ust whelm. One mother got so excited that she
started offering her 4 year-old a number of
.lgj.g.r regarding his lunch. Now starring
with "peanut butter and jelly or bologna;
isn't bad.
But once the child opted for the former,
she hithim with "chunky orsmooth,,, aswell
a commitment to as choicesabout which type of
bread, what
commitment kind of jelly, how to cut the sandwich, smsts
on or off, and what color plate. By the time
lunch was ready, the kid wasn-t hungry any-
acceptance,because
wants her
children to
etablehater found that her kid would eatjust this bathroom, but it has to be cleaned.Which On the surface, this may sound like a
about anything as long as she had some in- of my chores are your willing to do in ex- "soft" approach to raising your child, but
changeif I do this chorefor you?" The mother
reported that the girls had taken over the
vacuuming, the laundry, and washingher car
mitrnentbv askine her every week. Not a bad deall In addition, look
into thepot, and at the model the parent provided. By her of-
fe{, she showed that it is possible to meet your est part of all. If you've decided to quit nag-
needs without powering or hurting one an- ging your kids to come to the dinner table,
other- that trading. compromising. and ne- and have explained that you'll call them once
There are many age appropriate choices ggtlalbgare clearaltematives that can leave five minutes ahead of time, you need to be
available to parents that are easy to overlook everyone feeling like a winner. willingtoeatalone.@!rygllgfollovl
in the course of a busy day. But it'll be rare Make sure you offer specific, limited throuqh on whatever other limits vou've set,
that you won't have opportunities to offer choices.If you decide to simply ask your whether that means allowing them to come
choices-from, "Which t-shirt do you want child what he wants for dessert,be prepared in and reheat their dinner up to a certain
to wear today?" to "How do you plan to to whip up some Baked Alaska, as one child
spend your allowance?" requesteciwhen the parent wasn't mo€ Spe-
The objection for many parents is about cific about what was actually available. Let in, or join you for breaKast in the rnoming.
time. Sure,ifll always seemeasierto just plop them know, clearly, what their choicesare. And you need to do all this without warn-
your kid into a sweater than ask him to pick Also, make sure that one choice is iust as ings, asking for exclrses,or saying, "I told you
which of these two he wants to wear. And -and available-as so." None of this willbe easy,and most par-
for sure there are kids who would just assoon r klcts it thev want ents report that it sometimes gets worse be-
outgrow a sweater as make a commitment. of course,it's iust as OK fore it gets better.
"no" as "ves""). And don't offer cookiesor Parents who offer choices and see good
,<
ice cream for dessertif you want the kids to decision-making as one more skill they can
eat fruit. (How about "peachesor bananas" teach and encourage in their children, will
instead?) Offering more and less desirable eventually be rewarded withbetter decision-
choices is a set-up that depends on your
your children choicesabout when they'll do children's ability to read your mind, and their connect
the work (before dinner, after one hour, be- need to people-pleaseby making a choice of the most im
fore your show comes on), or where (at you'll approve of. make and how thosechoices
Mom's desk, in their room, at the kitchen
table), for example. Given certain other con- ve never atlons, and trom
tingencies ("As long as you get your work chanceto do so
done..."), you might offer options, such as Simple, concrete choices at first, and don't
studying with a friend or listening to music. overwhelm.Backup, if necessary. As they
Even with chores, which can beein earlv get more proficient- regardlessof their
on and should be shared among everyone in ages-offer greaterresponsibilityand free-
About the author:
the household, Eremore input vour children dom.But in all cases, be preparedto follow
have as to who does what, the more likelv Dr. Bluesteinhasappeared internationallyas
Itt
_J
a speakerand talk-shoza guest,includingseaeral
thev are to cooperate.You might offer choices doing so,you will be building decision-mak-
appealances asa guestexperton NationalPublic
ing skill and rcsponsibility by allowing your
radio,TheDauid BrennerShow,TaIkNewsTeIe-
r rooms children to experience the consequencesof
wantto do toni aision, The Vicki Showand TIw Oprah Winfrey
their choosing.
Or you can present to your family a list of Show,ShewastheKeynotespeakerat therecent
rocess
l'iCME Conference in SanDiego,Califurnia.
things that need to be done in the house, and
pass the list around several times so that ev- threatening) choicesto occur.Imaeine. for ex- Sheis theauthor of 21,stCentury Discipline.
eryone has a chance to choose the chores they ample, that you have promised to read your Being a SuccessfulTeacher, Parentsin a PreF-
want to do. You can ask each individual to child a story if he gets into pajamas and sureCoolcer. Parents. Teensand Boundaies.and
pick a room to dust, or promise your kids brusheshis teeth by 7:30.If dawdling at bed- her latest, Mentors. Masters. and Mrs.
that if they get nine of these ten chores done time is more need-fulfilling thanhearing the McGregor:Teacherc Making a Differctrce.
asweII
by Wednesday, you'll do the one they leave story,he probably won'tbeready, even if you as numerousmagazinearticles. Dr. Bluestein
off. cunently headsInstructionalSupportSercices,
give him a S-minute warning at 7:25. While
One parent found a great solution to a se- he doesn't get a story on this night, you can Inc.,a consultingandresource frm in Albuquer-
rious problem by offering a trade. She was still tuck him in and kiss him goodnight. Al- que,NewMexico.
quite disturbed by the constant conflict over low the consequence to occur without naq- Youcan contactDr. Bluesteinat 1"925luan
a dirty bathroom, a chore she had assigned TaboNE, Suite8-249,Albuquerque,NM,871L2,
to her daughters who did anything they USA. L- 8A0-68 8-1.9
60,fax 5A5-323-9045. e-mail
the
could think of to avoid this chore. She de- to: 74643.103A@comytsera e.com
cided that a positive relatioruhip was more otrer to trv again tomorrow ff necessarv,look
important than who did the chore, although for a more need fulfilling motivator, like a
the fact that it had to get done was not nego- sticker for his tooth chart (a calendar) or be-
tiable. ing able to stay up ten extra minutes if he,s Is ObedienceEnough?
She proposed: "I know you hate cleaning ready on time.
O 1995.I.S.S.Publications
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re ce ir ec lno t r . r ining .
necessilfv en ri chi n g c\frerienccs ilr e;rrlv ch i i.l hottci.

Thosechildrenwho receivedpiono /
Theirsfudiesindicote thot rnusictroining
keyboord troiningperforrned34L higheron generotesihe neurqlconnectionsusedfor
testsmeosuringspotiol- temporot
obstrqctreosoning,includingthose
thqn others. necessqryfor understondingmothemoticol
-Oility
concgpts'
Th csc iilrrJi.ss ir r r . lic . t c f hat m t r s ic ur r ic lr r c l'
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ttt' ttlr
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t rt ' t t t ' . s cicttt-c l'llrtrr'lt. r it r s t hr ". t r glr t lr ' r t

t hi c r r ir r r ir r '. - i l . '" . . ,
| . i . r _si i r r a c l r i l t i 's t {t . r . c i . L r r r r t , r r t .
lgos ,v,',1z1 Kl,r<:\rrr5it'ct)utrttutrl
o cr,ititrtr!r/r.(
rir)).r,/r/.irtiNrtr:i, j..titr(it!tr)y:
 Iffinsfui^t1rctrr
gyle
rhild'sler:rmtrg
3y GiNTFEDERAS sryle...ou can suggeslsruciynabir anj
LearningSvstems
-r',,,van ;aha'.lorsin dasstharwrilmaxmrzeieanl-
'',Vhenschool rng;crenriai. suchas:
srara.Siily ,*ril have nerv
::crnas.:1ewnotebook, and may-bea Auciitory learners:
iew gym uniform.i{e'll be e<citedby the
f:ccurage sruci-uing wirh frienosani
:rs.vancioid facesin the room and mai.r
reeci heip locusingon whar the new iiscussingrhe matenai.
reacneris saying. .\k her ro describewhar she learnt:d
Bi.runcierstanding the sensesBilly rends :n cassloday.
io use mostwhen he absorbsinforma- Sii nearthe front oi rhe ciass.anri iis-
!ion. ive can equiphim with soaregiesto ten careruilyor use a raoerecorcier.
helo him concennareand succeed. Offerio quiz him aloud on hmewcrk
or betorean exant.
.Learning styles Useinda<carcisto quiz on vocabuiary
Eiucarors :accgnizerhreeprimary worcisor key facts.
iearningstyies:auditory(hearingi,visual ,?enteducationaitapes.o tapesof
{seelngl,and tacde (feeiing).Whileeverry boois shes readingfor schooi.
sii.rcienr
airsorbsintormadonusingail rhree Visual learneis:
senses.each has a primarysensethar
shapeshow he or she leamsbest. Encouragehim to sit near the :-ronr.
Auditory learnersunderstandinfor- away from distracdons.and take gooci
;nadon besrby hearing.They prefer ro noles.
:ark. iisten and arpressemotion. Visuai 3uy nighiightersio emphasizeicieas.
tearnersprocessintormationbest when key iermsand phrases.
:hev can 'see' it. Theyrememberfaces. Encourage herro cieveiopiiss.gaons.
Jemonsirarions. picilresand chansro organizeinforma-
ciransor graphs.Tacdle
iearnersiememberbesi what they've iion v$uauv.
;earnedii rhevcan touchobjecs or as- Rentclassicfilms.tiimswith hisroricai
scciarean acdvitywiih the subjecl f,lois or geographicseningsconespono-
Parentscan determinetheir chiid's ing wirh his studies.
learnrngsryieby usingthe followingcuu. Encouragehim ro stuciyaione in a
C:rcielertenthar aopiy,then torai ail fu. quretpiacewirh no intemrodons.
Vs. and Tsto seewhich is mosrfreouenr. Thciile Learners:
Learning styles quiz fuk her to draw tirne lines,maos.ii-
!. kefen hearingor iistening(A) iusradonsof ideasto organEeinrorma-
2.DoocilesiV) tion "manuaily.''
3.Moveslipswhen reading(A) Suggest.thar he experimenrwith non-
''move" in ctass..sucn
4.Likesto hearselfand othersraik iA) disrurbingwavsto
S.Erpresesseifwi*r gesuresancibociy as cioorilingor squeezing an eraser.
movemenr{T} Ercourageher to changepositionsof-
6.ls ouier:doesnot talk at len$h (V) ien whenreading,ancitake short break
T.Fdgetswhen reading{T) that reouireactiviry.
S.Prefersto haveideasdemonsrated Erableherto "do' assignmensas pro-
;ecs:- a demonsnarion nrher than a pa-
9 .Ren:er-nbers facesbut nor names ?eL
rVi
1O.Tries :hingsour by touching(T) Ginr Fecieros is execuliuedirec:oroi
11.Neecjs :he Sg'iuonLearningCenrersin ',Va,nut
frequentbreairsrvhensnrd';-
CreekanciDanuiiie
-
12.Sruciies weil wiih friencisiA)
l3.Sruciiesr,veilalone iV)
1.1.Remembers ph9'sical eventsor ac-
:iviries (T)
i"l dici...")
15. Remembers r715u6l sr7gn15i"l
saw...")IV)

T^
r u !ontir
-^-;;.- ;i ' ioui Susp l c :ons . es K .ou:
..:"li.iciio recarl an e(Derience. Does :e ccse
:l!s eyes :cr a rnoment of focus on :ne
soundsiA)?Doesshelookoff in ihe cirs-
lance anciCescribe the sights,.\i :? Cr.
joes ne usegesures.tr hisrvhoiecoo',..
:o teil ihe srorytT j?
Doesy-curchiidshowan auciior:. ;i-
sual or tacliiepreierence? You :nay wanl
:o passthrsinforrnarion alonqlo ucur
cnild's ieachersor counseior.
School and Siudy Straiegies
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-
 Multiple Intelligences
Put Into Practice
Hon'ard Gardnet professor of
cd u c at ion at Ha rv a rd C ra d u a te
School of Education, has authored
several books about multiple intelli-
gence. This article arrsivers important
questions about thc fact that human
beings clo not have a single, fixed iry-
te l l igenc e. T t , c c ,r' e rs (l a rrl n e r' q
(Checklev, 1997) current thinking on
intelligence, horr' children learn and
horv thev should be taught. This ar-
ticle also gir.es an example of how to
integrate different methods of instruc-
tion into a spccific area of studv in
order to meet the needs of our stu-
d en ts' different intelligences.
as thc human abiliw to solve problems
o ; to@
rn one or lnore cultu.res. fi a culture
'ffiaproblem
or createa productin a particularr.vay,
Gardnerrrould stronglv considerthat
abilitv to be an intelligence.The iniel-
ligences identified bv Gardner
(Checklev,1997)are
(1)linguisticintelligenceis the capac-
itv to use language, vour native lan-
guageas rvell as other languages,to
expressn'hat is on \rour mind and to
understandother p)eoplg,
(2) Iogical-mathernalls4linlelligenee
is understanding the underiving prin-
ciples of some kind of a causal svs-
tem such as a scientistrvouid do and
the abilitv to manipulate numbers as
a mathematicianrr.oulddo,
(3) spatialintclligcnceis the abilitv to
form a mental model of a spatial
r.r'orld and to maneuver and operate
using that model (sailors,engineers,
surgcons,sculptors,and painters)
(4) bodil), kinesthedc intelligence is
the abilitv to soh'e problems or to
fashion products using one's rvhole
by Dr. Cinger Kellev McKenzie
bodv or parts of the body (dancers,
athletes,craftspeople),
(5) musicai intelligenceis the capac-
it-vto think in music,to be ableto hear
patterns, recognize them, remember
and manipulatethem,
(6) interpersonalintelligenceis under-
standing other people (teacheq,clini-
cian, salespersorypolitician),
(7) intrapersonal intelligence refersto
having an understanding of ,vourself,
of knorving'tr.ho you are, rvhat vou
can do, what vou r,r'antto do, how vou
reactto thingl and u'hat to avoid, and
(8) naturalist intelligencedesignates
the human abilitv to discriminate
among living things as rvell as sensi-
tivitv to other feattrresof the natural
r,r'orld.
Each Student IIas Capacitiesin All
Eight Intelligences
Multiple intelligencc thcory cha1,
lenges the view that inteliigence is
something vou arebom rvith and vou
can't do much about it.
(1) Eachpersonpossesses all eight
intelligences.Multiple intelligence
theorv is not a "tvpe theorv"' lor de-
termining the one intelligence that fits-
It is a thcon'of cognifir'efunctioning,
and it proposes that each person has
capacitiesin all eight intelligences.
Some people appear to possessex-
tremelv high levels of functioning in
all or rnost of the eight inteiligences.
However, most of us arehighly devel-
oped in some intelligences,modestly
developed in othert and underdevel-
oped in the rest.
(2) Most peoplecan develop each
intelligence to an adequate level of
competencv.
(3) Intelligencesusually work to-
gether in complex rvavs.
(4) There are manY r,t'avsto be in-
REPoRTER99
telligent rvithin each categom
AssessingStudents'\{uitiple Intelli-
gences
Bv observing children rve can
leam how childrenlearnbest.Thefo1-
lowing are examplesof hon'different
children leam through different expe-
riences.As Montessori teachers,rt'ho
are frained to be good observers,rve
needto be alert to assessing studcnts'
multiple intelligences.As vou readthe
following descriptions record r+'hich
ones identifv each student in vour
classroom.
(1) Linguistic Intelligence-The
strongly linguistic (Armstrong, 1994)
student communicatesto others in
highlv verbal r4/ays;spellsrrords ac-
curatel_y(or if preschool,does devel-
opmental spelling advanced for his
age); appreciatesnonsenserhvmes,
puns, tongue tlvisters;readsa lot of
books; enjoysword games;enjoyslis-
tening to the spoken lvord; and has a
good memory for names,placeg dates
and trivia.
(2) Logical-Mathematical Intelli-
gence-Thesestudents ask a lot of
questions about how- things rvork,
compute math prohlems in their
heads quickly, find math computer
gamesinteresting,enjov working on
logic puzzles, playing chessor strat-
egy games,and like to experiment in
a way that showshigher order cogni-
tive thinking proc€sses.
(3) Spatial Intelligence-Thesestu-
dents report clear visual images,read
maps and charts easil,v,daydream
more than peers,enjo,v,art activities,
enjoy visual presentations, enjov
puzzles,build three-dimensionalcon-
structionsfor their age,getsmore out
of pictures than rvords rvhile reading,
and doodles a lot.
Fail 1999. Voi )O{III,\o.: p
 (a) Bodily-Kinesthefic Intelli-
gence-These students excel in one or
more sports (or if preschool, shon's
phvsical prorvess advanced for their
age), fidget t'hile seated for a long
time, cler.erlv mimics other people's
gestures, loves to take things apart
and put them back iogether, often
shorr"s skill in crafts, har.e good fine-
motor coordination, cnjov working
lvith cla.v or other tactile experiences,
have a dramatic rvav of expressing
themselrres, and enjoy mnning, jump-
i n g and s im ilar a c ti v i ti e s . A fe u '
months ago I rvas obsen'ing tn a 6-9
classroom and one boy' (Trent) was
busy working throughout the room
using concrete materials rvhenever
possible.He was talking a lot and his
favorite comment r,vith a cute reflcc-
tion in his voice was, "Don't push
vour luck",
(5) Musical Intelligence-These
students tell you lt'hen music sounds
oft-ke'g,remembcr melodies of songs,
often have good singing voices, play
musical instruments (enjovs and
progresseseasily and quicklv on thc
Montessori bells), have rhythmic
ways oi speakingand moving, sensi-
tive to environmental noises, tap
rhvthmically on a table, and uncon-
sciouslyhums or singssongs.
(6) Interpersonal Intelligence-
Thesestudcnts eniol' sogitlizing rvith
peers,seemto be natural ]eaders,give
advice to friends, seem to be street-
smart, enjoy clubs, have a senseof
empathv for others, like to plav
games, enjov teaching others, and
have trvo or more close friends. In a
Montessori classroomrecentlu I ob-
serr,'edone bov (Corey) rt'ho decided
he would be the student rvho lvould
greet all the visiting students that
came to his classroom from another
locai lMontessorischool.
(7) Intrapersonal Intelligence-

Read math prob- Talk about basic Read book on irr- Write about your Write about the
lemsinvolving irr scientific prin- vmtions own invention social conditions
*d#=ffi ventions ciples involved in that gave rise to
:f;#ffitr specific inr.ention inventions.

Learn math for- Createhypothesis Read book about I,Yrite word prob' Creata timelineof
mula basis for an for developing logic behind in- lem based on in- famous inven-
invention new irwentions ventiorg vention. tions.

9ketch geometry Draw invention Read book with Labelcomponents Plan mural show-
;l* involved ininven- *rowingallwork- diagramsof inven-
tion i.g p"tts tions
of drawn inven-
tion
ing inventions in
historical context,

,;'=* dt'''$:i;
Create invention Build own inven' Read instructions Write inskuctions Put on a play
to measure physi- tion based on sci- on putting to- lo build your own about how an in-
cal activity entific principles. gether an inven- invention using vention came to
tion scrap materials. be.

Study math in- Study xience be. Read about back- Write lyrics for Listen to music
volved in inven- hind invention ground to inven- song promoting about inventions
:a tion of musical in- electronicmusic tion songp- Tot* thertewirwentiorl. at different histori-
.+i4 stRrment Henry' cal periods.

:ii$_f;$ff Study grouplooks Form discussion Read about coop Write aplay about Hold discussion

':ffig into math in-

volved in specific
invention
gmup science be.
hind invention
erationneeded for
developing an in-
vention.
the invention. Put group about how
on the play by the inventions cameto
class. be,

l:*. *ffi{iil C.leate own word

probhnubasedon
Develop self-
study to examine
Readbiographyof
famous inventor-
Write personal au- Think: If you
tobiography as a could inventatime
'1 inventions basis foraninven- "famous inverrtor" machine, where
tion would you go?

Write about wind As a National For-

Go to zoo and Go to nature c€fl- Go to natrrre c€n-
charger used in est employee creat€
studymathinven- ter and draw an ter and readlitera-
'1i':t'19, agdclrltural€nter. an invention that
n,
tion usedthere. ocistinginvention. ture available
ir,;:ltj
about inventions- will make your iob
t:., :t.

RFPoRTER 99 Fall 1999- Vol. )OilII. No. 3

 t3 Inmgsto Remember + some -oI tne Dest tetnlorcenlent colles wncli yuul'
AboufReinforcingposiliveBehqvior child experiencesthe positive outcomesof rnaking
good choices.Haviltg accessto tlte phorteor'l'V at
+ WaLchtlrc tendency to focus 7:30 becauseshe finislred lter homewcxk ott tiltte,
oll errors, nristakes,
llaivsalid onrissiolrs. Dclibcratclyltxrk for whal your going out to play becauscshe cleanedup lter roonl
child is doing right! (lt's easierto recr:gnize beforeher friends carneovel',or getting to eat dilurer
anclrein_
fbrce positivebehaviorwhen you startnoticiug wittr the rest of the faruily lrccauseshc got ltottteon
, it.)
t' Resistjuclging time are all positivecorlsequcuc:cs tltat reittlorccyour
or colrnectingyour child,s wor.thto an
acccnrlrlishrneut.Insteaclof saying .,you,re child's cooperativebehiwior.
so good
becauseyou maclethe honor roll,,,
try .All right! you * Reinforcersmust be nreaninglulto a chiltl, Saying
nradethe holror rolM know how
hard you workecl "You picked up all your toys! Norv you get to iron!"
this selnester.,' (lslt't she good and worfhwhile
even will probablydiscourageyour child llortt everpicking
when she cloesn'tmtike tlrc honor
roli?) up lrer loys again(unless,ol'coursc,shelovesto ilon),
* Use a two-steptechniqueto 'Now you car play with tlrenr again tornom'ow"ol
recognizea behavioror
accornprlishrnentwithout reinforcing "Now I can tuck you in and readyou your story" will
clependence,
people-preasingor trre need for probably be more effective (but only il'playing rvith
approvar. First,
descril:ethe behutior (withctutjnaging the toys tomorrow or healing tlre stoly is nurrc rnean-
tlrc belnvior
or ttrc worth of 1tc)urchild): ,,I see you ingful than not picking up the toys in the lirst placel).
got the car in
orr tirne," "Way to go! yrru got alt your
chorcsdone,,, {' As behaviols becorne lnore intenralizedand auto-
"You flnished y<tur hornework.,,
T.ltentcll lutw tlte matic, they also self-reinforce.'Ilre ucecl frrr )'arrr
positive lseltuvior pays oJ!
fot. your chilcl; *you can reinforcementdiminislres.Acknowledgethe lnsitive
horrow it again ncxLweckerrdif you,tl
Jike,,,.,Now anyhow-it's alwaysnice tcrbc irp;rreciated!
y()r.r
canyg-!1-l
TV 1or.g:_rln-l*.gruserhephone).,,
+ Watch out for overkill! Chilclrenare
* Recogrrizepositive naturally suspi_
lrehayior rtljer it;r;;;;- ciousol'"5-dollal.reactions" ,,1O_cent
Resistthe tcmptatioltto ffatter.your to events."Go
chilclinto ceop_ aheadand celebratea major brcakthrouglror achieve_
eratingby tellingher how tleal,
snlarlor braveshe is. tnenl but simple recognition ancl acknowledgrnerrt
(Once she acts neat. sntart
or btaye, then nckuorvl- are probably enough for most day_to_claybehaviors
edge: "You arganizedyour
toys beautifully!,, ,.yoll and accon4rlishments.
ligured that out all by yourscll,l,,)
* ll'you give a conrplinrent,do so withoutan agencla.
+ l)on't recoglriz.csolltc(ntc [f
clse,s bclravi<;rto trv to you tell your child tlrat her hair looks pretty, don,t
motival.eyour child to clo ttre
sanre.,.lbu, ,,rt-,r,u Ioad the statementwith an expectationthat she spencl
Mabel writes her thank,you
notes right away,, or nrore tirne on her appearance,implying ,.See?Why
"other kids your age
arcn't afrairrof ghJsts,,wilr onry can't you look this niceul.l the time?"
reinforceresentrnent,inadequacyandiornpetitivcnes.c.
* lf _vonwaul to tell
r Avoid using contlitionar
allpr'var as reilrfbrcerrrent. -vourchild she'swonderful,tell her.
Just watclr the tendencyto connecther ..wonderful_
Cornmentslike ..I'r
ness"to sornethingshe has done...you're such
chores,,
or,.rrove
;:,:',"i:::?J::iJjL::"ilJ,: kid." Period! Let your chikj know how anclwhat
a neat
suggestthat you wouldrr'tfeel you
this wtiy otherruise, appreciaLeabout her. Give your complimelrts
thatyour happiness
andlovedepen<I upc,lyourctrilrl freely-and frequently!
doingtheserhings.
* Don't give a complirnent as a
Avoidpresuming way to introduce a
howyourchiltl feels,slroukl
f.eel<lr complaint: "lbu played that piece beautifully.
mustfeel as a rcsuh of the Too
accolnplishrnent(..you badyou're not cloingso well in math.,'you
mustbe proud. . . .,,,,youshould may think
feelhappy. . .,,). you're sayingsomethingpositive,but it's
Theexperience mayhavcan entirelydilTerenr a surc bet
tnca,l_ your child will hearit as an attack.
ing andvalueLoher,
+ Stny in the prcsent.praisirrgprevious
behavior(..But
ytltt lt.t'ct/lo be so lteat!") is crilical
nnrl rnrninrrlnrirre
 Thesestudents display a senseof in-
dependence,have a realistic senseof
their strengthsand vr.eaknesses, does
vvellwhen left aloneto studl; marchcs
to the beat of a different drummer,
have a good sense of self-direction,
prefer r,r'orking alone, accuratelv ex-
presstheir feelings, and have a high
senseof self-esteem.
(8) Naturalist Intelligence-These
students ate verv comfortable out-
doors; choosebooks about animals
and ecosvstems;nurture lir.ing things
(plants and animals); recognizespat-
terns, colors, and classifications;au-
tomaticallv usessensesto explore the
enl.ironmcnU observe patiently;
touchesand explores" yucky things";
enjovs collections of rocks, minerals,
shells,etc.;seeksmusic related to na-
ture; usesbinoculars,telescopes,mi-
croscopeswhen observing; grows
plants; photographs or sketchesani-
mals, plants, habitats; makes crafts
and projectsusing natural materials;
and enjoys hiking fishing, mountain
climbing, r'isiting the zoo, camping,
sailing, etc.
Multiple IntelligencesPut Intcr
Practice
When children display inclina-
tions tor.r'ardspecificintelligences,the
cnvironment should be enriched so
each student can learn in many dif-
ferent n'avs. lVhat ciassroom Direc-
tors need to do is to observe and un-
derstand each child so more of their
learning in school can take place
through their preferred intelligences.
To continue,teacherslink the multiple
intelligcnceswith a curriculum io-
cusedon taking knowledgeleamed in
school and applying it to real life ex-
periences.
The chart on page 4 (Armstrong,
7994)isan exampleof horv one theme
iike "The Sfudy of Inventions,'canbe
planned for each area of multiple in-
telligcnceand can cover all zubiect
areasin the curriculum.
It is important that all students
have the most challenging and suc-
ccssful methods possible to learn
through their strongestintelligences.
Once we know the strongestmultiple
inteliigencesour students display, we
should encourage learning through
the students' best methods of leam-
ing.
Conclusion
Multiple intelligence theory is a
theory of cognitive functioning. Each
person can develop each of the eight
intelliE;cnccsidentified by Howard
Gardner (1993).If a child has a strong
musical intelligence, the teacher can
drarv upon that strength, if need be,
when we want to teach the child
something nery. CiassroomDirectors
need to observeeachchild so more of
their leaming in school can take place
th rough their preferredintelligences.
Bibliographf
Armstrong, T. (L994).Multiplg Intel-
ligences in the Classroorn.
Alexandra,Virginia:Assoc.for Su-
pervision and Curriculum Devel-
opment.
Checkle-v,K. (September, 7997). The
First Sgven and The Eighth: A
Conversation vr'ith Horvard
Gardner.EducationalLeadership.
55(1),8-13.
Cardner; H. (1999).Multiple Intelli_
gences: The Theory in practice.
Nerv York: BasicBooks.
Glock, J.,Wertz,S. & Me1'er,M. (lggg).
Discovering the Naturalist Intel-
ligence:Sciencein the Schoolyard.
TucsoryArizona: Zephyr press.
Goleman, Daniel. (199i1.hmotional
Intelligenc-e:lthlu it can matter
more that IQ. New York: Bantam
Books.
GingerKelleyMcKenzie,Ed.D. is As;so
ciateProfessor,
Departmentof Edttcation,
and PracticuntCoordinatorfor Elemen-
tary Montessorilnterns,Xaaier lJ.niter-
sity, Cinciwtati, QH. Sheis a N.C.M.E.
certiftedhlontessori teacherin Esrlv
ClildhoodsndElentmtaryEcluctztion nnd
tt Consultsntfor publfu and Tsrioate
Montessorisclnols.
These students display a sense of in- through their strongestintelligences.
dependence, have a realistic sense of Oncewe know the strongestmultiple
their strengths and weaknesses, does
well when left alone to study, marches
intelligencesor-irstudenti aisplay, r"e
should encouragelearning through
uJ,au,*
to the beat of a different drummer, the students'best methods of learn-
have a good sense of self-direction, ing.
prefer working alone, accurately ex-
press their feelings, and have a high
sense of self-esteem.
(8) Naturalist Intelligence-These
students are very comfortable out-
doors; choose books about animals
Conclusion
Multiple intelligencetheory is a
theory of cognitivefunctioning.Each
person can develop eachof the eight
intelligences identified by Howard
ffi National Centerfor
and ecosystems; nurture living things Gardner(1993).If a chlld has a strong MontessoriEducation
(plants and animals); recognizes pat- Certifiesthat the following peoplehave
musical intelligence, the teacher can
satisfactorily completed the teacher
terns, colors, and classifications; au- draw upon that strength,if need be, training program of instructionaccord-
tomatically uses sensesto explore the when we want to teach the child ing to the principlesof Montessoriedu-
environment; observe patiently; somethingnew. ClassroomDirectors cation and are hereby granted certifi-
touches and explores "yucky things"; needto observeeachchild so more of catesof competency.
enjoys collections of rocks, minerals, their learningin schoolcantakeplace
shells, etc.; seeks music related to na- Montessori Earlv Childhood
through their preferredintelligences.
fure; uses binoculars, telescopes, mi- Education(Ages21l2 - 5)
croscopes when observing; grows Biblioeraohv:
plants; photographs or sketches ani- Armstrong, T. (1994).Multiple,ln!91: NCME/Atlanta
mals, plants, habitats; makes crafts ligen c e s in t h e Cla s s ro o m. StephanieFarrow
and projects using natural materials; Alexandra,Virginia:Assoc.for Su-
and enjoys hiking, fishing, mountain pervision and Curriculum Devel- NCME/Lake Forest.CA
climbing, visiting the zoo, camping, oDment. Wayne Barnes
;,
sailing, etc. Checkley, K. (September,1997).
NCME/New Mexico
Multiple Intelligences Put Into Con v e rs a t io n wit h Ho wa rd ValerieArmenta
Practice Cardner.EducationalLeadership. Michelle Fleury
When children dispiay inclina- 55(1),B-13. ElizabethHulse
tions toward specific intelligences, the Cardner H. (1993).Multiple Inrelli- Lori L. Long
environment should be enriched so gences:The Theory in practice.
each student can learn in many dif- New York: BasicBooks. NCME/Utah
ferent ways. What classroom Direc- Clock,J.,Wertz,S.& MeyeaM. (1999). Kathy Cieslewicz
tors need to do is to observe and un- Discovering the Naturalist Intei- JenniferCottam-Petrick
derstand each child so more of their ligence:Sciencein the Schoolyard. JessicaCox
iearning in school can take place Tucson, Arizona: Zephvr Press. CarolineEverett
through their preferred intelligences. -Emotional Kerry Eyerly
Goleman,Daniel. (1995).
To continue, teachers link the multiple Intelligence: Whlr it can matter Britney Peterson
intelligences with a curriculum fo- more that IQ. New York: Bantam SuzanneRosenthal
cused on taking knowledge learned in Books. Montessori Elementary
school and applying it to real life ex-
Education(Ages6,9)
periences. GingerKelleyMcKenzie,Ed.D.is Asso-
The chart on page 4 (Armstrong, ciateProfessor,Department of Education, NCME/South Carolina
I994)is an example of how one theme and PracticumCoordinator for Elemen- Carol Macdonald
like "The Study of Inventions" can be tary MontessoriInterns,XaaierLlnirser- Lynette Watson
planned for each area of multiple in- sity, Cincinnati,OH. Sheis a N,C.M.E.
telligence and can cover all subfect certifiedMontessoriteacherin Enrly
areasin the curriculum. Childhood andElementary Edtrcntion and
It is important that all sfudents a Cons u lt a nfto r p u b lic a n d p ria a t e
have the most challenging and suc- Montessorischools.
cessful methods possible to learn
 ,,*iiii;iiltii;i+
.E

A b_eh,yll rn pl9g"{ggg,_tffig_q9
bt+i" it ?."_grk g{tqglglg
{vaitn g to be rviredinto a mind. The experiences of
cfiildhood,=pioneering
- ---Aiiauits:foi iesearCtishows,help foirn the brtids
musicand maCh,Ianguageand emotion.

ffiwmfm
By SneRoNBpcrsy night; you feed him, holding his gazebecausenature
has seento it that the distancefrom a parent'scrooked
OU HOLD YOURNEWBORN SO HIS SI(Y- elbow to his eyesexactlymatchesthe distanceat
blue eyesare just inches lrom the brightly which a baby focuses.Zap: neuronsin the brain's
patterned r,r.'allpaper.ZZZI: a neuron amygdalasendpulsesof electricity through the cir-
from his retina makes an electrical con- cuits that control emotion.Youhold him on your lap
nection with one in his brain's visual cor- and talk . . . and neurons from his ears start hard-
tex. You gently touch his palm with a wiring connectionsto the auditory cortex.
clothespin; he grasps it, drops it, and you And you tirought you were just playing with
return it to him with soft words and a smile.Crackle: your kid.
neuronsfrom his hand strengthentheir connectionto When a babv comesinto the world her brain is a
.
jumble
thosein his sensory-motorcortex.He criesin the ol neurons,all waiting to be woven iirto the
'+.-____'
FE B R U A R Y rg, rgg6 N rw sr,l 'Err 55
 r:s
tr#
ie.$€
fi9$
lj,,
'.}l
f,l
til
tentiql, u4prggelSlSgd-ai
E[ nilg}t one day composerap
songsand do calculus, erupt in
as surely as a prograrnmer at a
keyboard recon-figuresthe cir-
cuits in a computer.Which l<e.Jrs
are twed-which experiences a
chi.ld has - determines whether
Wayne State University, that
"they cancompletelychangethe
@ really notice the world, and
By adulthood the brain is
;---.i--,f
crisscrossed with more than L00
billion neurons, each reaching
out to thousands of others so
lhan the number of galaxies in
the known universe-that qive
the brain i[s unriva]ed-powers,
The traditional view was that
the wiring diagram is predeter-
mined,Iike onefor a new house,
by the genes in the Grtilized
!':i ii
;: s egg.Unfortunateiy, eventhough
rii11 {
half the genes-50,000-are in-
,1l volved in.the central nervous
'l
system in some way, there are
.: , 1 not enough of them to specify
: the brain's incomparably com-
j .r----:i-
4dng," says did not occurin adult catswhoseeveswere
Carla Shatz shut. Conclusion:there is a short,iarly pe-
Berkeley: riod when circuits connectthe retiaa to the
56 rvBwswesx F EBRUARy
rltcssor I
and a
once w
The LogicalBrain
sKrLT:Math and logic
LEARNTNG WTNDOW:Birth to 4yexs
WHATWE KNOW:circuits for math
reside in the brain's cortex, near those for music.
Toddlers taught simple concepts,Iike one and
!lmY: do better 1n:riath.Mus'iclessonsmay help
develop spatial skills.
\ATHAT Wli CANDO ABOUTrr: Play counting
gameswith a toddler. Have him set the ta6le to
learn one-to-onerelationships-one plate, one
fork per person. And, to hedge your 6ets, turn on
a Mozart CD.
that gave birth to this paradigm in the
1970s,Torsten Wiesel and David Hubel
fould that sewing shut one eye of a new-
born kitten rewired its brain: so few neu-
rons connectedfrom the shut eye to the
visual cortexthat the animalwas blirrd e'oen
after its eye was reopened, Suchrewiring
visual cortex, When brain regions mature
rg, rgg6
Head Startare so often evanes-
cent: this intensive instruction
beginstoo late to fundamentally
rewire thebrain.Andtheymake
clear the rnistakeofpostponing
instructionin a secondlanguage
(page 58). As Chugani asks,
"What idiot decreed that for-
eign-language instruction not
begin until high school?"
Neurobiologists are still at
the dawn of understanding ex-
actly which kinds of experi-
ences, or sensory input, wire
the brain in which ways. They
know a great deal about the
'circuit for vision. It has a neu-
ron-growth spurt at the age of
2 to 4 months, which corre-
spondsto when babiesstart to
peaks at 8 months, when each
neuron is connectedto an as-
tonishingL5,000other neurons.
A baby whose eyesare clouded
by cataractsfrom birth will, de-
spite cataract-removal surgery
at the ageof 2,be foreverblind.
For other systems,researchers
know what happens,but not-
at the level of neuronsaad mol-
ecules-how Thev neverthe-
less remain conhdent
- that cog-
nitive abilities work much like
-
parsimonious in how it con-
ducts its affairs: e mechanism
that works fine for wiring vi-
sion is not likely to be aban-
doned when it comes to circuits
for music. "Connections are not
ormrng wrli)/-nrlly." saYs uale
Purves of Duke Universitv. "but are nro-
r1oted-byjcliyjly.
Lan$ua$e: Before there are words, in the
world of a newborn, there are sounds.In
English they are phonenressuch as sharp
ba's and das, drawn-out ee's and ll's and
sibilant sss's.In Japanesethey are differ-
ent-barked hit, merged rrlll's. When a
child hears a phonemeover arrd over, neu-
rons from his ear stimulatetheformationof
6'M
 edicated connections in his brain's audi-
rry cortex This "perceptual map," ex-_
lains Patricia Kuhl of the Universily of
y'ashington, reflects the apparent dis-
mce-and &us the similarity-berween
runds.So in English-speakers, neuronsin
re auditory cortexthat respondto "ra'lie
u from thosethat respondto "1a."But for
rpanese,where the sounds are
elarlv identical, neurons that
:spond to "ra" are Practi-
rlty itrterrtrined, like I
Researchers find evr-
lence of these tendencies
(as shown by
less involved, mothers; at 24 months, the ing, the amount of somatosensorycortex
sap had widened to 295 words. (Presum- dedicated to the thumb and ffih finger of
ibiy the findings would also apply to a fa-
ther if he were the primary caregiver') It
didnt matter which words the mother
used-monosyllables seemedto work. The
soundof words, it seems,builds up neural
chcuitrv that can then absorb more words,
early in life, the ones for music
endure. Wayne Statds Chugani
playedtheguitar asachild, then
gave it up. A few years ago he
started taking piano lessons
with his young daughter. She
learned easily, but he couldnt
gethis fingersto follow his wish-
es. Yet when Chugani recendY
picked up a gurtar, he found to
his delight that "the songsare
still there." muchlike the muscle
memory for riding a bicycle.

Math and lo$ie et UC Irvine,

Gordon Shawsuspeetedthat all 1:
ll
higher-order thinking is charac- i,,,
terized by similar patterns of
neuron firing. "If youre worle
ing with little kidsil sayl Shaq
ffi.;l:,il1ff#:,::f;
|2 months," saysKuhl, "infants
"yotfre not going to teach them
higlrer mathematics or chess.
rave lost the ability to discrimi- Qut they are interested in and
rate sounds that are not sig- can process music." So Shaw
rficarlt in their language, and and Frances Rauscher gave 19
*reir babbling has acquired the The LanguageBrain
sKrLL:Language
LEARNTNG WTNDOW:Birth to 10 years
children -eiven.ng pulig les-
WHAT wE KNow: Circuits in the auditory sons.asshownin their abilitv to
cortex, representing the soundsthat form words,
are wiredby the ag*eof 1. The more words a child ffres and eoFy patterns of
hears by 2, the larger her vocabularywill grow. qggcaloEJacks. The mecha-
Hearing problems can impair the ability to match nism behind the'"Mozart eF
fect" remains mu*y, but !@u
soundsto letters. that when children ex-
WHAT wE cAN Do ABour rT: TaIk to your child-
a lot. If you want her to master a secondlanguage,
introduce it by the age of 10. Protect hearing by
treating ear infections promptly.
Kuhl's work also suggests
E
relatedlanguages suchasSpan-
ish and Frenchare easierto learn than unre- much as creatinga computJrfile allowsthe their use in
Lated ones: more of the existing circuits can us€r to fill it with prose. "There is a huge
do doubleduty. vocabulary to be acquired," says Hutten- Emotions:@
With this basic circuitry established, a locher, "and it can only be acquired through controlling@
baby is primed to turn sor:ndsinto words. repeatedexposureto words," birth.Glarents take oyer. Perhapsthe
The niore words a child hears, the faster strongest influence is what psychiatrist
she learns language,according to psychia- Music Last October researchers at the Daniel Stern calls attrmement-whether
trist JanellenHuttenlocher of the Universi- nnan caregivers "play back a childs inner feel-
ty of Chicago.Infants whose mothers spoke muslc ings." ff a baby's squeal of delight at a
to them a lot linew 131more words at 20 puppy is met vrith a smile and hug, if her
months than did.babiesof more taciturn. or examined with magnetic resonance imag- excitement at seeing a plane overhead is

F E B R U A B Yr g , r 9 g 6 Nnwswrrx 57
 mirrored, circuits for these emotions are SCHOOLS
reinforced. Apparently, the brain uses the

Why Do Schools
lsrul8 resuolrsc-.oaDy rs Pr'ouu
a slyscraper out of Mom's best
and Mom is terminally annoyed-
F-lunkBiology?
BY LYi'UNELLHANCOCK were expert puzzlemnsterq,
Pnlg- [,0 qercen!hieher
child for life. [$be-pgLtern that counLs, t@
ald; t " " ' ho@ f IOLOGY IS A STAPLE AT MOST spatlal mtellEence-tne
i'ii?---n-.r
Stern'sstudies,a babywhosemother never American high schools.Yetwhen it abiliby to visualize the worl
matched her level of excitement became
extremely passive, unable to feel excite-
comesto the biology of the stu-
ment or joy. dentsthemselves-how their
Experience can also wire the brain s brains developand retain knowl-
'talm down" circuit, as Daniel Goleman
describesin his best-selling"Emotional In- edge-school offi"cialswould rather not pay
telligence." One father gently sootheshis attention to the lessons.Can first graders
crying infant, another drops him into his
crib; one mother hugs the toddler who just
handie French?What time should school tion is often the first "frill'f
skinned her knee, another screams "It's start? Should music be cut? teacherswould pay greater to be cut when schoolbudg
your own stupid fault!" The first responses Biologistshave someim- attention to childrenls emo- ets shrink.'Schools on aver-
are attuned to the child's distress; the oth- portant evidenceto offer. tional connectionsto sub- agehave only one music
ers are wildly out of emotional sync. Be- But not onlv are they io- j ects.'lArado_uores&sa-teacherfor every500chil-
tween 10and 18months,a clusterof cellsin nored.their findings,areof- @ dren, accordingto the Na-
the rational prefrontal cortex is busy hook- ten turned upsidedown, ebjgl!9lv(dd,"says tional Commissionon Mu-
ing up to the emotion regions. The circuit Force ofhabit rules the Frank Vellurino, a profes- sic Education.
seemsto grow into a control switch, able to sor of educationalpsycholo- Then there'sgrm-dn-
calm agitatiop by infi-rsingreasoninto emo- gy at StateUniversity of other expendablehour by
tion. Perha;is parental soothing trains this New York at Albany, "and mostschoolstandards.Onl'
circuit, strengthening the neural connec- we isnore more as well." 36 percentof schoolchildrei
tions that form it, so that the child learns Platooncesaidthat music today are required to partic
how to calm herself down. This all happens "is a more potent instru- ipate in daily physicaledu-
so early that the effects ofnurture can be mentthan anyotherfor edu- cation. Yet researchersnow
misperceived as innate nature. tuned into brain research. cation."Now scienlists
Slressand constant threats also rewire scientistsargue,not only know why. Music, thevbe-
emotion circuits. These circuits are cen- would scheduleschange, lieve. trains the brain for
tered on the amygdala,a little almond- but subiectssuchas foreisn Llgb"t f"!q!- thitrlQtg.
shaped structure deep in the brain whose ' .---------.-.-_ Researchers "f the Univer-
at
job is to scanincoming sights and sounds
Irytr-egueelselry, .
mlch
Would be oftered tn sity of California,Irvine,
for emotionalcontent.Accordingto a wir- lAusic.
Ylsscer-sblldrcn. studiedthe power of music
ing diagram worked out by JosephLeDoux and qym would be dnily,re- by observing two gloups of
of NewYork University,impulsesfrom eye quirements. Lectures. work preschoolers.One group
and ear reach the amygdalabefore they get sheets and rote memoriza- took piano lessonsand sang nough confirmed this by
to the rational, thoughtfirl neocortex. If a daily in chorus.The other
-uon wouio De replace watching rats at his Univer
hands-on materials. drama did not. After eightmonths sity of Illinois at Urbana-
and project r aork.And the musical3-vear-olds Champaign lab. One group

The Windows of Opportunity

PRENATAL BIRTH I YEAR OLD 2 YEARS

,i
?]p
r{i '4.
lege of Medieine, more circuits attend to

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le.arnrnC"last unlil Making mattersworse,

*wwffil
gani of W+vne State '
manv kids have trouble
readjustingtheir naturel
sleeorhvthm. Dr. Rich-
uniyeigv3lbil- ,. ard^Allen of Johnsl{op-
dren s Hosnital of kins University found '
Miehigan. that teenswent to sleePat
determined this the sametime whether
by measwing-hugani
the they had to be at school
brains consumption by 7:30a.m.or 9:30a.m.
ofits chiefenergy The later-to-rise teens
source,glucose. not only getmore sleeP,
(The more glucose he says;they alsogetbet-
it uses,the more ae ter grades.The obvious
tive the brain.)-Chi\ solution would be to start
dren s brains,he ob- schoollater when kids hit
serves.qobDleup puberry.But at school,
olucoseat twice the
e.
there'swhat'sobvious,
and then there's
. i i

4sllJa[g-EsLtbe
gegillo"Pubedy tradition.
Usunqbrabge Why is this bodYof re-
as orimed as thev'll searchrarely used in
rcr-bslsJlrer€ss mostAmericanclass-
new irrfomatinn- rooms?Not many admin-
Complexsubjects istrators or school-board
such as trigonom- membersknow it exists,
etry or foreign savsLinda Darline-
chuck their work sheets languageshouldn't wait . Hammond,profesior of
nothing. A secondex- schoolsgoesbeyondsim-
ole exercise.Children andbuild acomplexmod- for puberty to be intro- educationat Columbia
ised on an automatic
el to scale.The smell of duced. In fact, Chugani Universityq,,'Teachers
rdmill. Athirdwas set
the glue entersmemory says,it g far e4sier,fo,r,-an College.In-!ssstsla!9$,
sein a Barnum & Bai- nor qd-
one sensorysys- elementary-scnool cnuo neitherteacher,s
obstaclecoursere-
tem, the touch of the to hear and processa see- r,nTdstrators?re,req\ired
ring the rats to per
wood blocks another,the ond lanpuase-and even to kJrowmuchabouthow
m acrobaticfeats.
sieht of the finished mod- speakit without an ac- childrenlearn in order
:se "supersmart"rats
w "an enormous el-still another.The brain cent.Yetmost U.S.dis- to be cer-tified.\t"l'l
not only aurally but emq- then createsa multidi- tricts wait until iunior worse,shesaYs,decrslons
ount of gtay matter"
nparedwith their sed- tionallv and phvsicallvto mensionalmentalmodel high to introducL Spanish to cut music or S'/rnare
ffi
of the experience-one or French-after the often made by noneduca-
ary partners, says !re_@!g43Lsays unr-
:enouqh. versity of Oregon educa- easierto retrieve. "Ex- "windows'' are closed. tors, whose concernsare
)fcourse, children tion professorRobert plaining a smell," says Reform could begin at more often monetarythan
it ordinarilynrn such Sylwlsterin'A Celebra- Sylwester,"is not as good the beginning. Many edueational."Our sclooi
rtlets; still, Greenough tion of Neurons." as actuallysmellingit." sleepresearchersnow systemwas inventgd,b
ieves,the resultsare Good teacherslnow Scientists4rguethat believe that most teens'
nificant. Numerous that lecturing on the children are capableof biological clocksare set
dies. he savs. show American Revolution is far more at younger ages later than thoseoftheir
- t chi far less effectivethan act- than schoolsgenerallYre- fellowhumans.But high
ing out a batde.Angles alize. Peopleobviously schoolstartsat 7:30a.m., this way?"
and dimensionsare bet- continue learning &eir usually to accommodate With Par WrNcsnr ond
ter understoodif children whole lives,@g-@p[ bus schedules.The result Menv Hacen inWashingon
al\or,r t-no* *ro^Lfiorrol onns,
+auha,{ a Honjcssoci c[a,.ss0oo/y1
;cuits in different regions of the brain mature at different times. at diferent ages.Give-yourchildr-enthe stimulation they needwhen
a result, different c#cuits are most sensitive to hfe's experiences they need it, ind anytfung's possible. Stumble,and all bets are off-

;.-4 YEARS 5 YEARS 6 vrans TYEARS 8 vrans I YEARS

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F EBR U AR I rggG NewswsBr 59

 cells becometrue neurons' They
vgment Fetal movementsbegin at 7 do these
peakbehveenthe 15thand 17th
qrow a fiber called an axon that carries
"[t "ta regions of the brain Eiectti"ul signals. The axon might reach
eks. That is when next door,or it might wend
The orrly to u tt"nion
rtrolling movement start to wire up' to the other side of the
clear across
:ical pJriod lasts a while: it takesup to ib;;" axonal connections that form
which t-iri".'r, it ttt"
r n""it f"t cellsin the cerebellum, Genes determine the
ih" [tui"t cireuits.
t#oit oottut" and movement, to form along which axons travel to
t igh*"ys
i"tional circuits. 'A lot of organization
-"itt

intheworld,"sal's
,vesabout
illiam Greenoughof the I l;l;iJ
tnerr ()Il Lrrs *;:i
;$"JtH';
gnp |d6c l:;;
rsity of lilinois. "Cells-that fire together wire
together,"saYsShatz.
The samebasic Processcon-
tinues afterbirth. Now, it is not
lTifiil-lv spastic move- an auto-dialer that sends sig-
ents send a signal to the nals, but stimuli from thg
ains motorcortex;the more tl',+ffi*1ffi runt".. In experimentswith ."

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e stro.nqqr tf.Ie clr-c]]lt. an'
l[[&@iaitt *l]l ,Uucp-".at
ffi, li'F;*iiii.'f{$ffi fil;.,J#H"f";'?i'x?'+t
plal'rnatesand toys and other
rcGisT; al-' int"xt;nn"lly i#"U grow p5 percentmore
or
raisdeprived
l*'Fi#,"*ffi :1:rr"-,::,t.1*
#**ffiT$'$"'iliTfi
;eor4w'rrearn'[orvark -1Hfiffi'"*,-:Til"t chirdren,
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ully, but never smoothly'

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discover, and manl'
ffi.'3i"ru*iq1i:i:i,f,l
ati" r fQ gainsi-adeafter aloyt
mo:e eru-ironmental th;; t;;. Craig Rameyof the

"J!"rtiffi,r,llt;"i,",xi: ;f*'":*,ffn5j'ffi%-ff;1
The Musical
illi"H"#*'rJh*':'i,i;';: ' ---' -- ----
Brain lf:i''il*H,'ro*'',:i:
wereas-
r'"* rzopoor
rarnilies
i*tl:'ii Hi:;:,il;$:lfi ;;;;;; M;;tu siqned to one of four grouPs:

lHTi-:"ft."i"#'i*::i:;
--
u **1.,..r*Y;
N #*x*m$#",ili;,ffi*
ristr of only a few ad fi'#fr:*
;coutsbreakingtrail: within a larser area of their sensory cortex dedicated to to Sy"rtr, Fom 5 to 8 years,or
weekof conception they.march :;-o;
-"i"u.yo'' . left hand. Few con- nor," all. Whatdoesit mean
;';i-ir," "neuralthe.Imgerl"g ' idiil; on thelr
Ftgl1?-11:: ::::"1':'i^-lli"llir.. "t
i;":.#,;;";'^i"iiionth-old?
to "educate" a 4-m
a cylinderof celtsextend- cert-Ievel pJtiofri"ts begin gl-anng later than the .
tube,,,
LUftar;
io an instrument
rv*r'*'"^"*:"^"^.* Nothingfancv:blocks'beads'
ingfromhead.to rpil..Multiply- tt"tiu,
i, rruc''arLrur
age of L0. Jt rs
ingastheygo(thebrainaddsan as an adult. "t".fi :ffiX1;:#ft3:1#t"Sffi:;
yy+r wE cAN Do ABour rr: Sinssonesw"ith in the6ook"Learningames,"*
;:T$;€ ]:*::t*ffiilff activities
eachof the200-odd
ihe neurons .tr*p i#'iir'" pdt;m"t*"d, m"lodic-musii.If a child
;;;; ;",. which-commands "hiidr"rr.
shows*v J;i;';;;t;d;liinterest' getan f#;
heartbeat and breathing, llalr|.l early.
IleI hand
ffi*"ffS":",:fff:
nealtDeat auLr urcaluur6,
?ll*
1*'1I instrument
lnstrument
- lmo her
into t,curJ. development. In
J"""topir""i. recent pape.,
a recent
In a paper,
the little cerebellum at th,e u,l{ n r"a Frances, carirpLat

#l*:*liiHxTlt"t#;" 1*-e their to-reach I :f"*1.Y*':i:::#**

connection-But -"y

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"""* | fril;;;;;;i,,*"",r,u"*;il;;f;; P,"L'::
I ir,ut.rua,"nenrouedfn:Hrgx as
inAbecedarian
s"*"^.1*,r*;; lp;tgh""Iersstillscoredhigherinmathand
perceptionoriginate.Theneuralcellsarer.
1r*#"ii":rig",hJ.Fh.
sosreat,
andthe&stance
irnall, -that-a1.r'"'lt"#""it'"*,
;'ilh: ffi;,.! il"
Yqil-t|1r:*l
thitiav totheol- I| i::*x*'j*:9:"""Tfi::?l'Hi'trT9":H
d'"".fhechil&enstillretainedan aYeraee
lT#"T,hH.? "T$T":r"#,i';ii | fa.to.y."ril". '"p"ri"',
riy trt" nnrr ro of 4.6 The
points. thechil-
earlier
prefrontal equiv-|
adistance
iortexmigrates Gi"- |
-arent walkingfromNewyork 1,r"" "i"ii#J"J#; -g{irt"r
t;;;;,Jiil;;a;;iJ a'i""+"
i"t" enrolled,
I
themoreenduringthe
to a humarrs 5conferred
says
to california, neurobi-
deveropmental 1 a"'tffi"i' i'*'i.l;q{::g:::*.i.':-:T I *l**":*Xtltl"**:age
"^ ---- --. I ffiHil;.u!';r1;iytjr"luitors-
uruBrsLrvr.rJ B::r'ff,T#'Jiff"l,iirrii*
:i#S"#,? tlr"y ol accornmodate.- _- I L"'??'ii"o"TLli,ll!1, I*vrs ,,",
(226,_r,,,,,,
walken
pages.
University. | *onr-lfr* I .l*"tn tt-u.*ril Isabelle
"'6"i, #i"" they reach their destinations I How doesthe-wiring get sorted out? The I t-a.ss).
F E B R U A R Yr g , r 9 9 6 NBwswrPx 61
v
All of which raises a troubling question.
If the windows of the mind ciose. for t}e
level the news is
the older brain and, like a microseopic
screwdriver,rewire broken circuits.In Jan-
uary, scientists led by Paula Talal of
RutgersUniversityand Michael Merzenich
of UC San Franciscodescribeda study of
children rvho have "language-based learn-
ing disabfities"-reading problems. LLD
aFects 7 million children in the United
States.Talial has long argued that LLD
arises from a child's inability to distinguish
short. staccatosounds*such as 'd." and
"b." Normally, it tal<esneurons in the
auditory cortex somethinglike .015second
to respondito a signal from the ear, calm
dorv:rand get readyto respondto the next
sound; in LLD children, it takesfive to 10
times as long. (lVlerzenichspeculaiesthat
the defect might be the result of chronic
middle-ear infectionsin infancy: the brain
never "hears"soundsciearly and so fails to
drarv a sharp auditory map.) Short sounds
such as "b" and 'ri" go by too fast-.04
second-to process.Unable to associate
sounds with letterc, the children develop
readingproblems.
The seientisisdrilled the 5- to l0-year-
oids three hours a day with computer-
produced sound that drarvsout short con-
sonants,like an LP played too slow. The
result: LLD childlsn who were one to
three years behind in language ability im-
proved by a full two years after only four
weeks. The improvement has lasted. The
trainiag, Merzenich suspect, redrerv the
wiring diagram in the child.ren's auditory
cortex to processfast sounds.Their read-
ing problems vanished like the sounds of
the ietters that, before,'theynever heard.
Such neural rehab may be the ultimate
payoffofthe discoverythat the e4periences
oflife are etchedin the bumpsand squiggles
ofthe brain. For now. it is enouEhto know
,%..
l.VirhMant Hr,crn
Nole: flankssori has nol- &-t-n me-rv*r'^^r.\ or,rra- arrJ -i{,
To aid life,leaving it free' I had always understoad that
however. to unfold itself, that is the M adame M antes sori di spensed with
basic task of the educator disctpline and I wondered how she
MariaMontessori manageda roomfull af children...
On sending my little boy of three to
spend his mornings in a L{ontessori
school, I found that he quickly
becames more disciplined human
There are many wha hold, as I being... The pedagogical
do, that the most impartant period of discoveries involved keve required
life is not the age of university genius but the teachers who sre to
studies, but the first one, the period apply them do not require genius.
They require only the right sort of
from birth to the age of six. For that
is the time when man's intelligence training, together with a degree of
itself, his greatest implement,is sympathy and patience, which is by
being formed. But not only his no meansunusual. The
intelligence - thefull totality of his fundamental idea is simple: that the
psychic powers. right discipline con"sistsnot in
The Absorbent Mind
external compulsion, but in habtts
of mind,which leed spontaneously
Dr. Maria Montessori
to desirable rather than undesirsble
activities. Whot is astonishing is
xhegreat successinfinding
technical methods of embodying this
idea in education. For this,
Madome Montessori desemes tke
Tke child cdn only develop by
highestpraise."
means of experiencein his
environment. We call such
experience work. from'ONEDUCATION"
by Bertrand Russell
Dr. Montessori
helping him to dotninate his environment.
A child's instinctfor work is a proof that
work is instinctive to man and
The most important discovery is that
characteristic af the species.(fromThe
a child returns to a normal state through
Secret of Childhood)
wark. Countless experimentsmade upon
children af every race throughout tlze . . ,f *e showed then exacttryhow ta
world have shown thet this is the most do something,this precision itself seemed
certain detum that we have in thefield of to holdtheir interest. To have areal
. purpase to which the action was directed,
psychology and education. A child's
desire to work represents a vital instinct this was the first condition, but the exact
since he cannot organize hispersonaliry way af doing it acted like a swpport which
witho* working: a man builds himself rendered the child stable in his efforts,
through working. There can be no and therefore brought him to make
progress in his development. Order and
substitutefor work, neither affection nar
physical well-being can replace it. A precision, wefound, were the keys to
man builds himself by carrying aut spontoneous work in the school. (ftom
manual labor inwhich he useshii hands The Absorbent ivfind)
as the instruments af kis personality and
as an expression of his intellect and will Dr. Maria Montessori
ylutl.nJn/^-, r.^ r, q,D/rlrlp-ql
.R