Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk (Paperback)

~ (Author) "WHAT IS HAPPENING in the United States today is truly astonishing..." (more)
Key Phrases: early formal instruction, cold interactions, sensual child, Encounter Group, Jean Piaget, John Stuart Mill (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Elkind, author of The Hurried Child, is a child-study specialist (at Tufts University) of eminent common sense who is critical of fads and whom parents would do well to heed, especially those intent on pre-educating their preschoolers to prepare them for formal study with the same frenzy with which they groom themselves for career success. Development in toddlers, he cautions, can be seriously damaged by parents' well-meaning rush to give them a head-start on education or in sports. Preschoolers ought to be encouraged in their spontaneous learning rather than given formal instruction that teaches them "the wrong things at the wrong time," he stresses, citing several popular baby institutes of learning to emphasize his criticism. Elkind quotes experts such as Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson, reviews child-development studies and the controversy surrounding preschool educationand firmly advises parents not to miseducate their children, but allow them, even precocious ones, to excel at their own speed.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

The author of The Hurried Child and All Grown Up and No Place To Go now turns his attention to the recent phenomenon of producing "superkid" preschoolers. Elkind protests the proliferation of all-day kindergarten programs, academic preschools, and programs and materials designed to teach young children how to read, compute, ski, etc. He contends that such early formal instruction "miseducates" children and often subjects them to stress and long-term personality damage. His arguments are compelling and well-substantiated. Written primarily for parents, the book will interest all concerned with the education of young children. While Elkind's message will be unpopular with many, his book should be in public libraries and education collections. Patricia Smith Butcher, Trenton State Coll. Lib., N.J.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1 edition (November 12, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394756347
• ISBN-13: 978-0394756349
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #259,664 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you work with Preschoolers, February 7, 2000

By A Customer

If you work with preschoolers, you probably have been presured to do activities and/or lessons that are not age appropriate. This book will help you explain what your are doing and why. It also will help you revise your program elimnating some activities and goals and replacing them with better activities and goals.

37 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Right on Target!, April 9, 2003

By	P-Town Mom (Pleasanton, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Dr. Elkind is not suggesting that young children should not be taught. Instead he is educating the public on the *appropriate* way to teach these very special members of our population. He offers nine pages of notes/bibliography to support his sound child development theories. At the time of publication he had logged in about 25 years in the early childhood field, which I think makes him an "expert". I have a degree in e.c.e. & taught pre-k for over a decade. Trust me, this book is right on target. I highly recommend it, especially for parents who are feeling pressured to have "superkids".

88 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Miseducation:Preschoolers at Risk, by David Elkind, December 30, 1999

By	Shelley Sharp (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

In the "Questions Parents Ask" section of this book Mr. Elkind is asked: "So what is going to happen? According to you, we are miseducating large numbers of young children, so what does this mean with regard to the future?"

Mr. Elkind answers: "I have no crystal ball...My guess is that the teenagers of the nineties will be more neurotic than teenagers today. They will show more obsessions, more compulsions, more phobias, more psychosomatic symptoms than do teenagers today. ...What I cannot really predict is the extent of the problem."

This book was published in 1987. The preschoolers of that time are today's teenagers - the same teenagers who are bringing guns to school and killing their teachers and classmates. While I believe the causes for these horrific behaviors are manifold, I also believe Mr. Elkind has made a valid point, he certainly has my attention.