Thursday, April 11, 2013, "Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: Learning In and Out of School," 7:00-9:00 PM, North Shore Country Day School Auditorium, 310 Green Bay Rd., Winnetka, 60093.
In her decades-long career as a prolific research psychologist at Temple University, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D. has focused on early language development, literacy and infant cognition. As the author or co-author of 11 books and over 150 articles, Dr. Hirsh-Pasek is extraordinarily invested in bringing research and practice together. Her 2003 bestselling book, "Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How Our Children Really Learn and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less," firmly established her as a major proponent of play-based learning. In 2011, Dr. Hirsh-Pasek and others created The Ultimate Block Party in New York City’s Central Park, which drew over 50,000 attendees.
In "Einstein," Dr. Hirsh-Pasek and her co-authors stand firmly against accelerated learning for young children - their research shows that drilling academics into very young children is counter-productive, and that the hoped-for results are actually more likely to come about as a result of play-based school and home environments rather than schedules loaded up with cognitive enrichment activities. Simple playtime enhances problem solving skills, attention span, social development and creativity. Parents are urged to practice the “Three R’s”: Reflect, Resist and Recenter, as a way to create a more balanced life for themselves and their children.
Following Dr. Hirsh-Pasek’s presentation, Diana Rauner, Ph.D., President of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, a public-private partnership serving at-risk children and their families from before birth to age 5, will offer brief remarks on the implications that Dr. Hirsh-Pasek’s work has for Ounce’s programs and initiatives. Following Dr. Rauner, Liza Sullivan, MA, Assistant Director of Continuing Education at Erikson Institute, the leading graduate school in child development (and FAN’s Early Childhood Chair), will speak on her own experiences assisting with The Ultimate Block Party and participating in KaBOOM!’s National Park-a-Day Summer Challenge with her young twins - 50 play spaces in 50 days throughout the Chicagoland area.