Early years education: Sweden versus the UK Part 1 (of 3)

In the USA and UK, almost all parents buy into the idea that infants should learn to read & write as soon as possible. Indeed, many parents measure the intelligence & potential of their children by their ability to read and write at an early age. Some even try to give their babies a head start by showing them "Baby Einstein" dvds against all the advice of pediatricians and education experts.

The newspapers advise parents to check out the school league tables and do everything they can to get their children into "good schools". What is a good school? A school that's good at getting children to pass SATs. Nothing else is of interest.

The end result?

1) Good teachers (and the vast majority are good) are increasingly demoralized. They either leave the system or just resign themselves to jumping through the latest administrative hoops. Their knowledge, expertise, creativity and unique skills are sacrificed in favour of "targets", "assessment" and "conforming" to goverment frameworks.

2) Children suffer. They are increasingly stressed out by school. Their intellectual curiosity is stifled. More and more leave school unable to read or write. As children get older, they are less able to meet the more rigorous intellectual challenges of higher education - their minds are less flexible, having been constrained too early. Ask any university lecturer.

Despite the popularity of "Baby Einstein" dvds, "Literacy hours" and National curriculum assessments for children as young as seven, it's clear that early years education in the UK and USA is in crisis.

As a parent or a teacher, maybe you're thinking, "There must be a better way".

Well, there is.

Watch this video and find out!

Category:

Education

Tags:

• preschool
• nursery
• primary
• kindergarten
• ks1
• SATs
• children
• development
• baby
• einstein
• literacy
• play
• teaching
• reading
• skill

[WWC4Kuhns]

I agree that the process that this Sweden school has is better, in a lot of ways, than what we have in the USA. However, I am not sure that these children need to be at school ALL day; so very long, it seems. The US tends to "dummy-down" our children; Sweden seems to work with each child as an individual. I have a child wth Autism, so I don't know how Sweden teaches these children; Eugenics? These people may be controversial in regards to politics, but not this way of teaching...

[TheReliquary]

IMHO many Swedish parents put their kids into nursery too soon (e.g. aged 1) and for too long (5 days/wk, 7-8 hrs/day). What began as an exception has become the norm.

Our child started at 2 yrs for 3 days/wk, 7 hrs/day. The Swedish govt. pays us to look after our child 2 days a week, plus there's parental leave money and the right to take time off from work. When our child reaches 4, we might increase nursery time, but I believe that home (whenever possible) is best for a small child!

[HuellsJewels]

Its all well & good to note that Americas system is too adversarial. But WHY is it that way?

Sweden's a relatively homogenous country. That eases the social tension. Also, for half the 20th Century Sweden implemented a program of eugenics.

Im certainly not advocating eugenics or genocide. But Swedens isolation from the 3rd world is a factor. For the same reason, Americas K-12 schools are actually pretty solid once you get away from the major urban areas.

[TheReliquary]

Eugenics usually focuses on eliminating people with "special needs" and I see just as many such people in Stockholm as in say, the UK. So if there was a eugenics program, it can't have been much good!

Whilst not as heterogeneous as the USA, Sweden has had the highest rate of immigration in the EU and accepts many more asylum seekers than other EU states. Yet it succeeds in implementing, even imposing this style of education on children from Afghanistan and Iraq, etc. with good results.

[TheReliquary]

MondoBeno wrote:

"While teaching Special Ed in New York, I used to email teachers in Sweden to find out where we were going wrong. Here's what I found:

1. The population of Sweden is smaller. Couples have fewer kids. You don't have 5 boys with the same mother and different (absent) fathers.

2. Parents are more austere when it comes to spending.

3. You pay high taxes to pay for top day care.

4. The diet is stricter with less junk. I admire Sweden. Whatever they do, it keeps everyone safe."

[ReadThisIfYourStupid]

It's great how they let the kids be outside so much. If I have kids, I want them to go to a school like this.

[randolphtd1]

I want to move to Sweden.

[Balticsea89]

@WWC4Kuhns Its possible even you're child could get a personal care assistent. for free ofcorse.

[rachm1991]

This has helped me hugely with one of my assignments. It's based on early years, policies, practitioners and the government. Can someone please help me out, giving me advantages and disadvantages of practitioners?? I'm trying to find some online, but I'm struggling to get any answers. :/

[insomniacgrace]

Thanks for sharing this video clip. This is so useful and indeed, educational.

[guyonfire87]

learning while playing is a good method

[MyPineappleDream]

@TheReliquary What do you mean too soon? I was one and I turned out just fine... I was a sleepy kid and the other girls would pretend I was a doll, dress me up and push me around in a stroller ;)

[herrbanana]

@WWC4Kuhns there are special schools for autistic children in sweden

[winstono75]

I'm from Norway, and I was an exchange student in the US 10 years ago. I found American high school to be not very encouraging of independent thinking. Most exchange students I talked to agreed that American school was much less demanding than school in their own countries.