{"id":9233,"date":"2017-03-30T11:30:08","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T11:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/2017\/03\/30\/developmentally-appropriate-schools-well-developed-brains\/"},"modified":"2017-03-30T11:30:08","modified_gmt":"2017-03-30T11:30:08","slug":"developmentally-appropriate-schools-well-developed-brains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clonlara.org\/de\/2017\/03\/30\/developmentally-appropriate-schools-well-developed-brains\/","title":{"rendered":"Developmentally Appropriate Schools = Well-Developed Brains"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By Barbara Robertson, Clonlara School Parent<\/em><\/p>\n

At a recent conference in Philadelphia, I attended a session that suggested most neo-intensive care unit (NICU) environments are not developmentally appropriate for premature babies. That is not to say the care these units provide is not critical, but that in many cases the environment is not optimal to support premature babies\u2019 brain development, which got me thinking about older children in traditional schools.<\/p>\n

Babies born under 40 weeks gestation expect darkness, muffled noises, the mother\u2019s heartbeat, constant warmth, constant global touch, and the deep sleep that is crucial for brain development; yet in most NICUs, they get bright lights, tremendous noise, little or assaultive touch related to receiving necessary medical procedures, and interrupted sleep. To minimize the stress of the NICU environment so that proper brain growth can be nurtured and encouraged, best practice now includes using low levels of light, trying to keep things quiet, and having families practice constant holding, also known as kangaroo care. Simple changes like these can help preterm babies\u2019 brains develop appropriately, greatly reduce stress, and have positive long-term health benefits.<\/p>\n

So what about traditional schooling? According to developmental psychologist Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn<\/a><\/em>:<\/p>\n

We have pushed children into an abnormal environment, where they are expected to spend ever greater portions of their day under adult direction, sitting at desks, listening to and reading about things that don\u2019t interest them, and answering questions that are not their own and are not, to them, real questions. We leave them ever less time and freedom to play, explore, and pursue their own interests.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Gray further puts forth that the traditional school environment for students in much of the world is like prison. After all, we do call K\u201312 education \u201ccompulsory.\u201d Among his arguments are that traditional schools deny liberty without cause or due process, interfere with the development of personal responsibility due to the lack of student involvement in decision-making, and view mistakes as failures rather than opportunities for growth.<\/p>\n

Whether or not you share Gray\u2019s view of the traditional school environment, I propose that this is not developmentally appropriate for supporting and nurturing growing brains. Because of research on the brain and learning, we know that<\/p>\n