The coolest presentation I’ve ever been to
I recently attended an amazing presentation, hosted Nathan Wallis and left feeling so happy that I had attended. In this particular presentation, Nathan focused on the years two-eight, which is relevant to the space I am in as a Mum and also as an Educator.
All of his expressed views are validated by extensive research on brain development and observations. This is what I took away from my experience;
Firstly Nathan gave a brilliantly simplified explanation of the four main parts that make up the human brain. Brain one is all about survival and brain two is all about movement. Together these form the reptilian part of our brains. Brain three is all about feelings and emotions and is the mammalian part of our brain. Brain four is all of our higher intelligences-“Things the dog couldn’t do”-like reading and writing and math.
Many factors influence brain development however two big ones are gender and whether or not you are the first born child. These two factors play a huge role in when milestones are reached for healthy brains. Research on the brain has determined that boy brains reach adulthood approximately 4 years later than that of the female counterpart. Birth order is influential in this is because of the impact made by one-one interaction between baby and their significant other during the first few years of life. Generally speaking, first born children receive a lot more of this crucial one-one interaction.
Brain development and the pace of it has a huge impact on when children are ready to do well in formal teaching. Brain development is also something to be nurtured and not rushed.
Nathan spoke a lot on the need to grow our brains in order; from brain one to brain four, without stealing time from our children to successfully grow their emotional brain. In the setting of Early Childhood Education-inclusive of the first few years of school, children are still needing time to develop brain three and to do so in an empowering, low stress and creative environment where they can express their own ideas without worrying about how they will test and where they can develop conflict resolution skills and self regulation strategies in rich social experiences.
Simply put, our children need quality interactions and opportunities for our children to use their imagination and be creative. They need to play. In the years of two-eight, while this amazing brain three is developing, children are also developing their dispositions about self and the world around them. They are expressing themselves through their feelings but also developing their feelings about self and the world.
School systems around the world vary, however in many countries, children transition from a Pre-School setting and into a Primary School setting within this crucial window of brain development, however instead of being led by research, we are led by cultural norms and expectations. Many children are expected to be reading and writing-as a norm-before they are even ready within their own brains.
As parents we get very excited when our children reach milestones and often the emphasis on academic readiness and success can place our children in pressure cookers. Healthy brains and children that feel empowered, playful and creative should most definitely be a greater priority than conditioning test takers, especially when research tells us, and Nathan certainly emphasised, that early cognitive attainment plateaus at around the age of eight any way. It doesn’t matter who did it first because, assuming there are no delays in development, we all get there in the end.
It is important to read and play games and talk, talk, talk with our children and surround them with rich opportunities to learn. It is also important to keep an eye out for delays so that support can be given if necessary, however there is no need for our children to be pushed and pressure cooked because the end goal for parents and teachers alike, should be confident and creative children who have strong self efficacy and a love of learning.
One of the last points Nathan made, was on how perfectionism can be dangerous for well being. It not only rings true for children as it does for adults. Creativity and imagination is far more fun and way more healthy.
Nathan Wallis is inspirational and an amazing advocate for young children. He now joins Bandit and Chilli on my list of parenting inspirations.
All of his expressed views are validated by extensive research on brain development and observations. This is what I took away from my experience;
Firstly Nathan gave a brilliantly simplified explanation of the four main parts that make up the human brain. Brain one is all about survival and brain two is all about movement. Together these form the reptilian part of our brains. Brain three is all about feelings and emotions and is the mammalian part of our brain. Brain four is all of our higher intelligences-“Things the dog couldn’t do”-like reading and writing and math.
Many factors influence brain development however two big ones are gender and whether or not you are the first born child. These two factors play a huge role in when milestones are reached for healthy brains. Research on the brain has determined that boy brains reach adulthood approximately 4 years later than that of the female counterpart. Birth order is influential in this is because of the impact made by one-one interaction between baby and their significant other during the first few years of life. Generally speaking, first born children receive a lot more of this crucial one-one interaction.
Brain development and the pace of it has a huge impact on when children are ready to do well in formal teaching. Brain development is also something to be nurtured and not rushed.
Nathan spoke a lot on the need to grow our brains in order; from brain one to brain four, without stealing time from our children to successfully grow their emotional brain. In the setting of Early Childhood Education-inclusive of the first few years of school, children are still needing time to develop brain three and to do so in an empowering, low stress and creative environment where they can express their own ideas without worrying about how they will test and where they can develop conflict resolution skills and self regulation strategies in rich social experiences.
Simply put, our children need quality interactions and opportunities for our children to use their imagination and be creative. They need to play. In the years of two-eight, while this amazing brain three is developing, children are also developing their dispositions about self and the world around them. They are expressing themselves through their feelings but also developing their feelings about self and the world.
School systems around the world vary, however in many countries, children transition from a Pre-School setting and into a Primary School setting within this crucial window of brain development, however instead of being led by research, we are led by cultural norms and expectations. Many children are expected to be reading and writing-as a norm-before they are even ready within their own brains.
As parents we get very excited when our children reach milestones and often the emphasis on academic readiness and success can place our children in pressure cookers. Healthy brains and children that feel empowered, playful and creative should most definitely be a greater priority than conditioning test takers, especially when research tells us, and Nathan certainly emphasised, that early cognitive attainment plateaus at around the age of eight any way. It doesn’t matter who did it first because, assuming there are no delays in development, we all get there in the end.
It is important to read and play games and talk, talk, talk with our children and surround them with rich opportunities to learn. It is also important to keep an eye out for delays so that support can be given if necessary, however there is no need for our children to be pushed and pressure cooked because the end goal for parents and teachers alike, should be confident and creative children who have strong self efficacy and a love of learning.
One of the last points Nathan made, was on how perfectionism can be dangerous for well being. It not only rings true for children as it does for adults. Creativity and imagination is far more fun and way more healthy.
Nathan Wallis is inspirational and an amazing advocate for young children. He now joins Bandit and Chilli on my list of parenting inspirations.
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