Originally Posted by Georgiads:
You perfectly articulated the problem with young children today. “Learned helplessness and praise for expected behavior.”
I have a 3 year old boy who has to announce everything the does and will repeat it until he gets attention. His parents apparently think EVERYTHING he does is amazing.
It is a constant battle. I explain to parents that I am preparing them for school (3-6), then life among their peers. Pre-K and Kindergarten teachers have 30 students. They cannot give that level of attention to any child so teaching a child to expect it is doing them a disservice. The child will be the one feeling hurt and ignored with a
normal level of individual adult attention and the teacher will grow to tune them out entirely. "boy who called wolf" or "chicken little".
I have a 1/6 ratio to age 6. That is already way above a normal level in pre-k or kindergarten.
I do incorporate individual learning times, for each child, and small group activities daily. I make it work by using the various drop-off and pick-up times to my advantage. Group play and center time is about peer interaction, social emotional growth, problem solving and creative play in a safe, supervised, environment. Not adult playmates.