Exposure to such diversity at a young age may be incredibly beneficial in creating open-minded and diverse youth, but it may also confuse the child and create a lacking sense of identity and belonging. Learning one’s native language, particularly in the early years of childhood, can combat this.

Why Is Learning Native Languages So Important?

[dropcapFor one, in many communities, be it Native American communities in the US or small tribal communities in parts of Africa, native languages are dying at an alarmingly quick rate. The long-term effects of colonization and assimilation have ridden many such communities of their native tongue, and unfortunately socioeconomic circumstances today have not made the task of resurrecting such languages any easier.

There is also the benefit of bilingualism/multilingualism with regards to intellect and academic capacity, particularly for children in the early years of their life. Research has been done surrounding the role bilingualism plays in developing the executive control system of the brain, the section of the brain which monitors and controls multi-tasking, concentration, and the ability to process several different thoughts at once.  The benefits of learning a new language in terms of intellectual development are clearly existing and important, however, what is significant is the personal and communal benefits of learning a native language.

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In communities where the culture and native language is endangered, teaching children, who are often more apt at picking up languages, will help protect and restore dying languages. The Native American community, along with other communities around the world that have suffered at the hands of colonialism, continue to face several large hardships. These include unemployment, substance abuse, and mental health problems. A lot of these stem from a loss of identity and culture, things that were shunned for years under suppressive regimes. By teaching children their native tongues, a sense of identity and belonging is being instilled, simultaneously teaching them to accept and be proud of their heritage and upbringing.

The Importance of Language in Native American Communities

With a growing number of Native American language immersion programs in the US, there are two significant benefits emerging regarding 1) an increasing number of Native American language speakers, which aids in saving and restoration of such ancient languages, and 2) it allows many high-risk youth from difficult backgrounds to overcome their socioeconomic circumstances and to excel.

Many children lack interest in their education because they’re missing some degree of personal connection to the things they’re learning. By introducing them to their native language and perhaps even instructing them in their native language, these children find a personal connection with their learning. This connection can harness itself to a greater appreciation for one’s culture and education, and foster a positive relationship with the education system, one that may contradict the negative experiences among minority groups and the education system in the past.

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Keeping in Touch with Your Roots

Learning your native language also helps connect you to your ancestors and culture in a way that many other things don’t. For immigrants or children of immigrants, it’s increasingly important to keep some form of connection with one’s heritage, to serve as a continuous reminder of the hardships and challenges that had been overcome to sustain the immigrant lifestyle.

Language also helps foster a sense of belonging. Many children may be struggling to fit in to their communities or their schools. They may feel as though they need to abandon their roots and the cultural differences that set them apart from other kids, but it’s important to teach them how important it is to foster diversity, and how valuable culture is to enriching our society. For children who are growing up in a different country than they are ethnically from, it can help them feel more connected to their parents and relatives, those who speak the native language, and it can help them feel as though they have some form of ‘home’. This ‘home’ may not be a physical place, but even having the capacity to think in your native language can serve as a reminder that you’re culturally diverse and always have a ‘home’ to escape to.

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Our native language not only allows us to communicate and connect with one another, but it allows us to understand and appreciate the history of our ancestors and our upbringing. It cultivates an appreciation and understanding that is beyond beneficial for children, especially those from diverse familial backgrounds.

All in all, there are many benefits to learning to speak one’s native language. It may appear to more work than benefit at first, but the rewards of eternalizing a people’s dialect through communication are well worthwhile.

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 The debate over primary and secondary school education has been raging for some time – the best methods of teaching, the pros and cons of standardized testing, etc. Many of those involved in the education system, be it teachers, students, parents, or someone else entirely, have expressed, and at times quite stridently, their frustration and discontent towards the current system. These complaints tend to focus primarily upon the absence of emphasis placed on exploration and intellectual curiosity, on the massive amounts of emphasis placed instead on rote memorization and the frequently stifling educational environments.

As controversial and incredibly important these conversations are, they have mostly focused on primary and secondary schools. Early childhood education was normally left out of the discussion. However, it now seems as though the same debate has trickled down to the education of our youngest learners. With preschools and kindergarten classes become increasingly similar to primary and secondary schools’ classrooms (they’re even assigning homework!), a number of vocal and persistent opponents are protesting.

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What Is Happening to Early Childhood Education?

According to researchers at the University of Virginia, kindergarten is the new first grade. In a study conducted over a 12 year period that compared kindergarten and first grade classrooms between 1980 and 2010, the researchers found that kindergarten teachers have much higher expectations of their students, with as much as 80% of them expecting their students to be literate by the end of the school year.

Pre-K, too, has changed. One article written by Erika Christakis in The Atlantic, called “The New Preschool is Crushing Kids”, describes a popular preschool curriculum that included “key concepts” (sound familiar?) that children were supposed to master. Among these were vocabulary words and units (another primary and secondary school concept) that covered topics like the ocean; students were asked to learn terms like “exoskeleton”, “tube feet”, and “scallop shell” – words that are covered in high school biology and would likely induce a confused look on many adults’ faces.

A preschool curriculum like this is highly disconcerting, and not just because three and four year olds are learning the same things I covered as a freshman in high school. Pre-K is becoming more and more about structured curriculum, rote memorization, and preparation for standardized tests (that the children won’t even take until three or four years later). There is an absence of exploration and passion that echoes that of high school education systems. And as concerning as this is in regards to our primary and secondary classrooms, it is even more distressing in regards to our early education systems: the early years of childhood, before age five, children are interpreting the world around them. They learn through active exploration; they learn by doing, not by age-inappropriate worksheets and “seat work”.

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The complaints we have about high school now apply to preschool. It seems that we’ve taken to a “one size fits all” education system that’s based in information, rather than ideas.

The  “One Size Fits All”  Education System

The cause of this shift towards information-based learning is likely rooted in our concern over losing our competitive edge in the world and the ever-increasing gap between the poor and the rich. With reports streaming that the United States is losing its place, that our students are losing ground in the contest between nations, it’s no wonder that we’re trying to up our game. Additionally, with the disparity between the wealthy and impoverished constantly widening, the relentless pursuit of closing the gap through determined cramming of information in public pre-K seems even prudent. We want our kids to succeed, and as such we’re pushing them to be smarter, learn faster, and understand more.

However, as much as we want it to succeed, and as much as we want to help our youngest learners, it seems that the current approach is actually backfiring. A study conducted on Tennessee’s public pre-K has revealed that inappropriate forms of early education (like those that concentrate on school readiness rather than age-appropriate learning) in fact undermines intellectual engagement, curiosity, and achievement. The researchers found that, though preschool students entered kindergarten with a slight edge over their peers, by the end of first grade that edge had disappeared entirely. In fact, many of those preschool students complete first grade less engaged and inquisitive than their peers and were beginning to fall behind.

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This study was only one of many with similar findings. In the face of so many negative reports, shouldn’t we rethink our approach?

Alternative Approaches We Might Need to Consider

If we want to catch up to other nations or close the gap between the rich and poor, we might do well to learn from the best, both at home and abroad. Lisa Miller, in New York Magazine‘s “Is Pre-K Broken?“, writes:

The best programs don’t resemble remedial education designed to bring impoverished 3-year-olds up to speed.

Rather, they allow the students to learn through communication, conversation, action, and exploration. Students learn through social interaction how to listen and talk to others, and they use their imaginations and critical thinking skills to understand the world around them. Discipline, physical and mental concentration, and the ability to follow directions seem to be less significant, and emphasis on these could in fact smother children. In Finland, which consistently ranks among the world’s best education systems, children don’t begin their formal reading instruction until age seven. The Finns, when asked about this, state:

The basis for the beginnings of literacy is that children have heard and listened”¦ They have spoken and been spoken to, people have discussed [things] with them”¦ They have asked questions and received answers.

Perhaps it is time that we approach education with a similar mindset.

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To return to the idea of homework for preschoolers, it seems like the problem lies not in the existence of homework, but in the nature of the homework; it lies not in how high or low expectations of students are, but how we go about fulfilling those expectations, and maybe even in the mere existence of those expectations. Children should be allowed to learn and play and grow at their own pace, in accordance with their own interests. We’ve become so focused on closing the gap, on just getting to our goal, that we forgot that the process is the most important aspect, especially concerning young children. The consequences of a lousy education system are immense: whole generations to come that can’t think creatively and communicate effectively, unable to meet challenges yet unimaginable. While we want to prepare our children, it’s important that we find balance in the way we educate our children.

How can we best prepare our kids? Parents and teachers, please let us know your thoughts!

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