Intellectual Emergencies

In her book, Intellectual Emergencies, Lilian Katz includes a list of (continually growing) points to keep in mind in working with young children. Here are just a few of her points.

#1.  Remember that adults know more about almost everything than a small child does -- except what it feels like to be that child, and how the world makes sense to him or her.  Those things are the child's expertise which a teacher must learn in order to be able to reach and teach the child.

#2.  Take care not to confuse what is exciting, amusing and fun with what is educative.  Excitement is appropriate for entertainment and special occasions; it is short-lived pleasure -- easy come, easy go.  But what is educative requires sustained effort and involvement, often includes many routine elements, and offers long term deep satisfaction rather than momentary fun and excitement.

#3.  I believe we cannot have optimal environments for children in preschools, child care centers, and schools unless the environments are optimal for the adults who work in them.  Certainly on some days what is optimal for the children will be obtained at the expense of adults (like Halloween parties), and on other days visa versa.  But on the average, on a day-to-day basis, both the children and the adults must find their lives together satisfying, interesting, and worth living.