Einstein Never Used Flashcards
By Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Golinkoff
This was an interesting book about how children learn. The authors, based on evidence gathered from years of their own scientific studies as well as collective research from many other experts in child development, present a great case against accelerated learning, the overabundance and overuse of educational toys, and the pressures of standardized testing. This book debunks the theory that the more we can shove into our children’s brains and the early we can get it in there, the smarter our children will be.
Personal Perspective
As a parent of three children, I have felt the pressure of having baby geniuses. I heard all about how I should be playing Mozart to my unborn child and how the ‘Baby Einstein’ products and flashcards were a must in order to have a child succeed in life. The authors of this book claim that children don’t need any of that. In fact, many of these common myths are explained, along with where the myths originated from, and then compared to scientific studies. This book argues in favor of allowing free play in which children use their imagination on their own or with an adult. "When we understand what really does matter to children's development and how myths mislead us, we can feel more relaxed as parents and educators and can easily ensure that our children are intellectually stimulated and socially competent" (Hirsch-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2003, p. 268). I agree completely with the authors. This book justified my feelings that I want my children to be children while they are able to be. I didn’t want to push them to know everything possible as soon as they were developmentally able to learn it. I enjoyed watching their delight at discovering something on their own or working out a problem and determining the best answer. I have always felt that this was much better preparation for life than knowing everything in a stack of flashcards. "The pervasive myth in our achievement-oriented society that child's play is a waste of time is linked to the hype that parents must boost their children's intelligence. So we overschedule our children and give up on the values that we know, deep down, are important. Intelligence gets a big boost from play, yet the idea that enhancing a child's intelligence must be work has become the new gospel." (Hirsch-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2003, p. 215). Discussion of Issues
Unfortunately, our form of teaching has remained basically the same for hundreds of years. Facts are presented, students are to memorize those facts, and a test is given to determine how well students can remember the facts presented. So, in my opinion, we are basically testing student’s ability to memorize. Those with attention disorders, like my oldest and youngest children, will never do well in this type of conventional schooling. My middle child has always made the Dean’s list and is in Beta, but has a horrible time spelling. She tests exceptionally well because she is able to memorize, but forgets everything she has memorized within a short period of time. Regardless of the scientific studies and research supporting the ineffectiveness of rote memorization, our school systems are still pushing for standardized testing that determines everything, even down to what kind of income teachers get paid. “The emphasis on standardized testing, on attempting to constantly monitor, measure, and quantify what students learn, has forced teachers to spend more of the school day engaged in so-called direct instruction and has substantially reduced or eliminated opportunities that children have for exploring, interacting, and learning on their own” (Bartlett, 2011).
Current Issues
With so much riding on the results of these exams, the pressure on students, parents, and teachers for exceptional results is tremendous. Many companies saw the pressure and began marketing educational toys that were advertised as imperative resources to ensure your child far exceeds the rest of the general student population. After all, college entrance is determined by these test scores. Parents, determined to make sure their children succeed in life, made these educational products into a multi-billion dollar industry. Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff, the authors of this book, contend that the “evidence tells us that less can be more. It tells us that the ‘adultification’ and acceleration of children is not a positive choice, but one that robs children of their freedom to be. It tells us that to be happy, well-adjusted, and smart, children do not need to attend every class and own each educational toy.” (Hirsch-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2003, p. 122) These educational toys can actually be doing a disservice to our children. They can be losing out on essential skills needed in life. Through free and guided play, children are able to discover and develop their problem solving skills. “Self-guided exploration through play is a learning experience that "teaches" problem solving in a fun way.”( Hirsch-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2003, p. 208). This is a crucial skill that all children should learn and develop thoroughly.
The authors of this book quote much of Vygotsky’s research to support their argument. Vygotsky argued "that children are at the HIGHEST level of their development when they are at play." For example, 8-year old Michael struggles to sit still for more than 5 minutes in a conventional classroom. He cannot focus on the topic or discussion at hand, cannot complete his work, and loses his place constantly when trying to read educational literature. However, Michael can sit and play with his Legos for half an hour at a time. According to Vygotsky, “In play, a child is ABOVE HIS AVERAGE AGE, ABOVE HIS DAILY BEHAVIOR: In play, it is as though he were a head taller than himself." (Hirsch-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2003, p. 230). Vygotsky’s learning theory’s are widely known and supported, especially his Zone of Proximal Development which claims all children have a range of possible achievement during each stage of their development. He, along with his contemporary, Jean Piaget, was a big supporter of play and claimed it is a critical part of childhood. In spite of the support of some of the biggest child development researchers ever known, free play is continuing to diminish in our schools and homes.
Future Trends in Education
Trends lean towards a future where education accountability for student’s successes or failures will be required at all levels. With this responsibility and accountability comes fear for teachers that the students in their classrooms are not spending every possible second preparing for tests used to measure that accountability. The authors presented several studies that show that cutting down direct instruction by half and adding in guided free play where students practiced problem solving skills produced equally or better test scores. According to the authors, free play “gives children a sense of power. And for people who are told what to do every minute of the day, having a sense of power is not only delightful, it's instructive. In free play, children get to practice being charge-buffered from any real-life consequences." (Hirsch-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2003, p. 213). I believe schools could benefit from revising their conventional teaching methods and implementing a great deal more free play. While I realize that it is imperative to assess students to ensure they are developing the skills they should be at the appropriate times, I believe a turn from the standardized testing would benefit everyone. But, until the educational system makes these changes, it will take exceptional teachers to find ways to implement free play in the classroom while still ensuring their students have memorized enough mundane facts to pass the national standardized tests.
As stated above, a future trend in education is more accountability for all parties involved in each student’s education. Even more emphasis will be put on standardized test scores in the near future. The authors directly address this future trend in education and emphatically state their disagreement by showing various studies and research that discusses the perils of learning environments focused on standardized testing. The authors maintain that this type of testing reveals only ‘surface markers of achievement’ and the tests fail to measure children’s true understanding of concepts, their preparation to learn rather than to perform, and whether they have developed crucial social skills. “As parents, we have a choice.” says Hirsh-Pasek. “We can groom our children to be worker bees – to take in information and to spit it right back out – or we can help them be creative problem-solvers, to look at a cloud and see dinosaurs or birds, to be energized by their own imaginations and curiosity.” The authors also relay their strong feelings regarding a balance between free-play and conventional classroom teaching. They state, “Intellectual play comes in many forms. Some kinds of play may actually promote children’s ability to solve problems. The ability to solve problems has been linked to successful performance on standard classroom and intelligence tests where there is one right answer. “ (Hirsch-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2003,223).

References
Bartlett, T. (2011, February 20). The case for play. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/The-Case-for-Play/126382/ Hirsch-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. (2003). Einstein never used flashcards. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Books.