Early Programs

A Review of Early Childhood Education Programs
By Morgan Hamilton

Pre-school years are a fun time in your child’s life. At this age they begin to develop and learn the skills needed for their future. It’s a phase that passes quite quickly yet it is at this time that they exhibit a lot of potential. Nowadays early childhood education programs are available for children at this age. Parents are now willing to give their children a head start in life. By going through an early childhood education program a child can have a decent grasp of the situation when they enter their kindergarten years.

It would be wise to consider an early childhood program for your pre-school children. It can be an important part of your child’s intellectual growth. The earlier a child is taught the brighter the future for that child will be. It prepares the child for the learning process and the curriculum that are offered in public schools. Many children experience problems as they adjust to the public school environment.

The adjustment difficulty may be due to the sudden change of environment. Children who have been cooped-up with their parents at home can be shocked to an environment dominated by the teacher and the presence of other children. An early childhood education program may be able to help your children cope with the sudden change in the environment and may help them have a greater learning success rate. Another way that you may consider to prepare your children for education and learning is through the Internet.

The World-Wide-Web is packed with children’s games that can enhance their learning capacity in a fun filled environment. In the process of having fun, they begin to develop and learn useful skills they need for their education. Online games can stimulate children from four up to seven years old. This inventive technology can help your child develop learning and understanding skills.

If you are planning early childhood program for your child, then you should consider trying the Internet for games that can help your child. Browse through a number of sites to discover that ideal early childhood program for your pre-school darling. Give them an early head start for their future.

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Learning Early

The Pros and Cons of Early Learning
By Madeleine Fitzpatrick

There are no rules when it comes to teaching your baby. Well, okay, maybe just one rule: make sure to keep it fun. Better not to teach anything than to bring stress to your relationship, whether through the preparation you impose on yourself or the discipline you impose on your child.

There is another important issue that hampers parents otherwise interested in teaching their babies - and that is doubt about the benefits or appropriateness of early learning programs. There are plenty of critics out there, many of them with some valid points to make. Some have written books on the subject; others may be members of your family. We'd like to address the points they may make here.

A highly personal decision

It's one thing to have someone tell you that teaching babies is wonderful. But you really need to come to an opinion for yourself. You need to know all the facts and the arguments for and against in order to reach a reasoned conclusion.

There's so much information out there, and as working parents, we don't always have time to read all of it. This article summarizes the main arguments against early learning and links to fuller articles, in case you want to find out more.

So what are the arguments against early learning? They basically fall into one of three categories:

"Whatever you're trying to teach can't be taught"

The baby or small child you want to teach is too young to learn the subject you want to teach because her brain is not sufficiently developed to handle it.

"You will harm the child you're trying to teach"

You should let babies be babies - and not interfere with the "natural" pace of development - otherwise, you will only cause harm.

"You can go ahead and teach, but it's ultimately pointless"

Sure, the child you're teaching may learn something now, but a few years down the line, there won't be anything to show for it.

Here's a summary of our response to the three main arguments against early learning:

"Whatever you're trying to teach can't be taught"

They tell us it can't be done, but there are countless young children out there already doing it - whether it's reading, solving math equations or playing a musical instrument like a pro.

"You will harm the child you're trying to teach"

It's all a question of balance. The critics assume that teaching involves coercion and that it takes up the majority of a child's time. In fact, all the experts emphasize the importance of keeping lessons fun and free from pressure, as babies and young children naturally love to learn.

The critics believe it must be necessary to force a child to learn reading or math because they can remember loathing similar classes in school. However, it is our view that waiting too long to start teaching is what causes the problem. As children get older, they find learning any new skill increasingly difficult - and tiresome. With her growing independence, there is so much more to occupy a school-age child than there is to occupy a baby.

Whereas you may find it a struggle to get your five- or six-year-old to concentrate on reading or math, you might be surprised to see just how enthralled your baby is at his lessons. For a person who is dependent on others for every little thing, the stimulation that comes from being introduced to words and numbers is hard to beat. Babies have even been known to kick their legs, pant and squeal with delight in response to their lessons.

So whereas lessons at school can be painful affairs, learning in infancy is effortless. And unlike in school, where certain things have to be learned within a certain timeframe - like it or not - a baby's lessons only proceed when the child is in a receptive mood.

"You can go ahead and teach, but it's ultimately pointless"

In fact, longitudinal studies have shown that early readers maintain their advantage through grade school. As for math, children have learned to perform equations that most adults will never manage to do without a calculator. When it comes to music, nearly all of the world's great composers and performers took up their instrument in early childhood.

We are compiling a list of books, essays and articles presenting views for and against various aspects of baby education and early learning. If you come across anything that you think should be on our list, please let us know at the forums.

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Education The

Local Alabama Democrat Wants to Build Unions and Educate the Masses to Vote Neo-Liberal
By Lance Winslow

In Alabama some folks feel as if they have been exploited by the rich white conservatives who they say do not have their best interests in mind. These folks who feel slighted want to make their voices heard and want to know how to educate the people to join unions and move to the progressive neo-liberal side of the political spectrum.

Not long ago someone visited our think tank looking for a way to get money to pay for the materials and organization necessary to get this done. Well, being a nonpolitical think tank, I felt compelled to offer the following advice:

One thing we have discovered here at the Online Think Tank is that to really be able to debate this topic, one has to understand the alternative point-of-view first and understand that other perspective. Thus, you might like to read Ayn Rand's:

* Atlas Shrugged
* Fountain Head
* Anthem

And Milton Friedman's "The Right to Choose" as well as DiLorenzo's "How Capitalism Saved America."

Next, I asked the gentleman from Alabama; "So tell me, How much reading have you done on Unions in the US? Are you aware of their history, organized crime connections, or how they have driven American Business to outsource and off shore? It's important to be able to debate these points to get your message across, because conservatives and libertarians are very smart folks.

Too it makes sense to understand how the Plantation owners are indeed Southern Democrats and you will need to answer the conservative comments that the neo-liberal socialists still to this day repress poor folks, especially black Americans. Now then, since this gentleman had a Master's Degree, I think it's important to note that;

Sometimes a liberal education can make it difficult to see the conservative or libertarian points-of-view and in this case they have the advantage as the neo-liberals try to spin their words and recruit their followers to the dark side.

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