Comparative Preschool Experiences

Preschool in Three Cultures.

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Summary

The video explores preschool education in three different cultural settings: China, Japan, and the United States. In China, the regimented routine includes collective bathroom time and group activities, reflecting a traditional approach criticized by some educational specialists for its lack of development focus. Meanwhile, St. Timothy's Child Center in the U.S. allows more freedom, encouraging self-expression and choice through various activities, such as playing with blocks and imaginative play. This preschool emphasizes language development, conflict resolution through dialogue, and the importance of nutrition. Contrasting these approaches highlights cultural differences in early education philosophies.

Highlights

In China, the preschool routine is highly structured, with activities like synchronized bathroom visits to teach bodily regulation. 🚽🕰️
American preschools, such as St. Timothy's, provide a variety of activities, encouraging self-directed learning and expression. 🎨📚
Cheryl, a teacher at St. Timothy's, uses gentle discipline to manage a child's refusal to clean up, focusing on developing self-control. 🧩🤚
Imaginative play in U.S. preschools serves as a critical tool for children to process emotions and explore roles within the family context. 🌟🏠
The video depicts how American schools deal with security and safety, reflecting broader societal concerns about child protection. 🚸🔍

Key Takeaways

Cultural contrasts in preschool education are stark, with China emphasizing regimentation and the U.S. prioritizing self-expression. 🇨🇳🇺🇸
St. Timothy's encourages imaginative play and language use, helping children express and manage emotions. 🗣️🤹
Preschools reflect broader societal values, with American schools focusing on individualism and choice. 🏫🎨
Chinese schools prioritize collective activities to synchronize physical and social behaviors among children. 🚻🤝
Security concerns influence American preschool operations significantly, with strict sign-in protocols and limited access. 🚸🔒

Overview

In the video 'Preschool in Three Cultures,' we are introduced to the daily routines of preschools in China and the United States, reflecting vastly different educational philosophies. The Chinese preschool, Dongfang, operates in a regimented fashion, where synchronization and collective activities are meant to instill group harmony and bodily regulation. In contrast, the American preschool, St. Timothy's, opts for a flexible framework, prioritizing personal choice and self-expression among children.

St. Timothy's preschool in Honolulu highlights the American emphasis on language development and imaginative play. The children engage in a wide range of activities, from playing with blocks to imaginative roles in family settings. Teachers like Cheryl focus on promoting self-control and verbal self-expression, ensuring that children learn to articulate feelings and handle conflicts through dialogue rather than confrontation. This reflects broader American values of individualism and verbal articulation.

The differences observed in these preschools extend beyond routines to security and interaction protocols. For instance, American schools have strict sign-in procedures to ensure child safety, stemming from societal concerns about abduction and abuse. Meanwhile, the video also touches upon nutritional policies in U.S. preschools, encouraging healthy eating habits among children. These elements collectively paint a picture of how preschools mirror the cultural priorities and values of their respective societies.

Preschool in Three Cultures. Transcription

00:00 - 00:30 her co-teacher 40 year old Miss young who has Bennett on things since the Cultural Revolution period has no formal training and early childhood education at Dongfang all the children in a class go to the bathroom together it's now 10:00 a.m. and MS Wang's class is having their toilet time Dongfeng plumbing is
00:30 - 01:00 primitive by American and Japanese standards the toilet is a trough that runs down the sides of the room although Americans and Japanese were bothered by this collective approach Chinese found nothing exceptional in this the Dongfang principal said it's much easier to have everyone go at the same time it's good for children to learn to regulate their bodies and attune their rhythms to those
01:00 - 01:30 of their classmates of course if children can't wait they're allowed to go when they need to coming out from the toilet the children line up to wash their hands [Music] [Music] back inside the classroom the teachers
01:30 - 02:00 lead the children in a game where the children pretend to be puppets the children say we are puppets you don't move here the teachers have just
02:00 - 02:30 distributed sets of wooden parquetry blocks to each child the blocks include drawings of several structures that could be made with them the teachers make sure that each child places the blocks the empty box in the drawing correctly on the table
02:30 - 03:00 [Music] [Music]
03:00 - 03:30 this emphasis on regimentation and control is typical of many Chinese preschools principal hua explained to us that preschool is school it's important the children learn from an early age to study hard and behave properly in school Beijing and Shanghai early child education specialists who saw the strong Fang footage found the school old-fashioned and overly regimented but many other Chinese teachers and
03:30 - 04:00 administrators praised on fangs approach [Music] after 30 minutes the block activity is drawing to a close this girl with the bow in her hair will neatly put her blocks away and go outside to play in
04:00 - 04:30 the courtyard before lunch [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]
04:30 - 05:00 after playing outside the children again line up to wash their hands this time is weighing is ladling out the water behind her lunch is passed into the classroom through a window lunch is
05:00 - 05:30 a bowl of stew in a steamed bun miss Wang reminds the children don't talk while you're eating you must give full attention to your meal concentrate on your eating as much as you do on your studying that's the correct way to eat
05:30 - 06:00 [Music] [Music]
06:00 - 06:30 after lunch there's free play here a group of toddlers are playing a hopping game
06:30 - 07:00 [Music] most of the days students can picked up between 5:30 and 6:00 but here a little boy in a soldier hat gets picked up early by his mother and runs off to play on the jungle gym on his way through the schoolyard
07:00 - 07:30 in this segment you'll see a day in a class of four-year-olds it's st. Timothy's child Center in Honolulu Hawaii you'll see shots of children arriving at school free play a large group word skill exercise to Learning
07:30 - 08:00 Center periods where the children select from a variety of individual and small-group activities a teacher dealing with a student who refuses to clean up toys he is played with singing and lunch
08:00 - 08:30 it's 8 a.m. and the cars that bring children to st. Timothy's are starting to arrive this father and his three-year-old daughter are walking to the st. Timothy's entrance gate which serves as a security barrier from the outside world st. Timothy's Child Center is located on the grounds of st. Timothy's Episcopal Church the church charges a very modest rent for the classrooms and playground which helps the preschool halt tuition in about $250 a month
08:30 - 09:00 here just inside the gate some parents are saying goodbye to their children [Applause] [Music] [Applause] as children arrived they play freely at the playground until about 9:00 when the formal school day begins st. Timothy's
09:00 - 09:30 offers full-day and half-day care for children 2 through 5 years old a kindergarten four five and six year olds and after-school care for elementary school children the parents of the children at st. Timothy's range from dual career professional couples to enlisted personnel from the military bases nearby the people of Hawaii have an extraordinarily diverse ethnic background which is reflected in st. Timothy student population a combination of Japanese Chinese Caucasian Filipino
09:30 - 10:00 and Polynesian ethnicities [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]
10:00 - 10:30 [Music] here four-year-old bandy is saying goodbye to his mother baby brother and little sister who doesn't want to leave
10:30 - 11:00 parents with infants and toddlers who do not yet go to preschool often stay for a half hour or more in the morning before finally saying goodbye [Applause] lissa paying and her father have just arrived at school mr. pang will help
11:00 - 11:30 Lisa put her lunchbox in blink at a waiter cubbyhole mr. pang then checks the message board and picks up a notice from Lisa's mail pouch he also signs his daughter in on the attendance sheet concerned about child abuse and abduction has made it necessary for American schools like st. Timothy's to give a great deal of attention to security the sign-in sheet reflects this concern the fence that runs around the school helps the staff monitor the
11:30 - 12:00 comings and goings of visitors as well as to keep the children from wandering off [Music] [Applause] here a teacher's aide helps carry and Mishelle play with the guinea pig Linda color st. Timothy's director told us that it's especially important for urban children to get a chance to interact with animals in nature
12:00 - 12:30 the formal school day begins today for the four-year-old class with a word skills exercise the children take turns coming to the front selecting a white flannel cloud and placing it on the blue sky children are then asked to face the class and describe what they think the clouds they select look like Cheryl the teacher calls on Mike to come forward after some encouragement Mike says this
12:30 - 13:00 is a cloud Cheryl says yes it's a cloud what does your cloud look like Mike Mike says like a cloud Cheryl explained to us that the pedagogical point of the felt board exercise was to teach the concept of simile she said I was trying to make sure the children all had the concept of something being like another thing without being the other thing it's a trickier concept for some kids than others children at Saint Timothy's continuously are encouraged to use words
13:00 - 13:30 to describe evaluate and name objects in their world [Music] here Cheryl reads the children a book about making soup soup making is the theme for the day there are 18 children in the class and two teachers Cheryl who has a BA degree in education in Linda who has a two-year degree in the United States preschool teacher salaries are very low and turnover is very high
13:30 - 14:00 Oh [Music] one by one the children are choosing activities for learning center time Stu will point to the Block in front of Cheryl to indicate that he wants to
14:00 - 14:30 begin central time in the block corner lisa chooses the writing center though even indicate his choice by pointing to the block and cheryl cups her hand to her ear to suggest she wants him to express his choice with words here four girls are busy drawing in the Writing Center [Music]
14:30 - 15:00 dereck the boy in the red shirt will finish his puzzle and bring it to Cheryl Cheryl will ask him to tell her what he has done he says a puzzle Cheryl asks what kind of puzzle and then
15:00 - 15:30 helps him describe it throughout the day Cheryl and Linda encourage children with their actions thoughts desires and feelings into words American criticisms of the Chinese and Japanese schools in our study revealed the great importance Americans place on self-expression according to Americans Chinese children are given too few opportunities to express themselves and Japanese children although allowed to talk freely throughout the school day get little in
15:30 - 16:00 the way of teacher prompting modeling and correction of their verbal expression here two girls and a boy are playing in the home area Lisa in the blue dress has announced that she as the mother Rose and pink has chosen the role of aunt Derrick has refused to play the part Lisa assigned him as the baby choosing instead to be the family dog imaginative play is taken very seriously by the staff of st. Timothy's as a
16:00 - 16:30 teacher explained where children play house it's played but it's also important work they get a chance to imagine what it's like to be someone else when they play the part of the mother or father and discipline the naughty baby they get a chance to work through some of their feelings about the way their parents discipline them sometimes we'll have a child whose parents are getting divorced and some heavy things come out in the home area this kind of play gives kids the chance to deal with these issues on a level they can cope with
16:30 - 17:00 [Music] it's st. Timothy's children have a dozen or more activities to choose from Learning Center time here three boys are playing in the block corner Eric is
17:00 - 17:30 stringing beads chris is playing with an old radio a father has donated to the school learning centers are at the core of st. Timothy's curriculum Linda color the director of st. Timothy's told us
17:30 - 18:00 that learning centers give children the chance to make choices and to find activities that suit their interests and developmental abilities Americans were generally critical of the lack of choice they've received in the Chinese and Japanese preschools in our capes a st. Timothy's teacher commented the Japanese school has some nice materials the crepe oz and origami activities look good but children don't seem to have much chance to choose how to play here we try to give children a choice of what they want
18:00 - 18:30 to do when we do our projects we encourage them to make whatever they want in the Chinese school all the children had to build the same thing with the blocks that's totally opposite to our approach if you leave children alone they make things we can never think of to tell them to make here Cheryl takes Kerry by the hand and leads him over to a pile of Legos she asks him did you take out these Legos Carrie no I think you did I'd like you
18:30 - 19:00 to clean them up while Cheryl is busy helping Lisa zip up her play dress Carrie wanders off and gets into an altercation with Stu Cheryl once again
19:00 - 19:30 tries to get Carrie to clean up when Carrie again refuses Cheryl takes him by the hand and makes him sit down next to her [Music]
19:30 - 20:00 [Music] Cheryl says Kerry listen to me look at me when I'm talking to you I want you to go over there and clean up the Legos you dumped out before someone steps on them and gets hurt when Kerry ignores her Cheryl carries him to a corner in the back of the classroom Cheryl tells Kerry
20:00 - 20:30 he can return when he's ready to clean up the Legos an American teacher commented on this scene I like the way
20:30 - 21:00 the teachers firm with him but doesn't raise her voice when he won't look her in the eye well when you can't engage a child when you can't get him to look at you or talk to you then you have no choice but to do like she did there and use a timeout to let him settle down and think things over Cheryl told us that she's been looking hard with Carrie all year long to improve his self-control and his ability to put his feelings and frustrations into words Cheryl told us that carrie has made a lot of progress after
21:00 - 21:30 thinking things over Carrie will clean up the Legos the 45-minute learning center time is over the children gather in a circle sitting in their assigned positions
21:30 - 22:00 Linda leads them in singing and play-acting a song about frogs after a bathroom break and a snack of juice and crackers there's a period of free play
22:00 - 22:30 here a teacher has just broken up a fight in the sandbox the boy in the left with his hand firmly on the shovel says he had it first the boy on the right makes the same claim and accuses the other boy of having hit him the teacher asks each boy to put his case into words instead of hitting each other Americans who watched this footage were generally supportive of this approach to dealing with children's conflicts Japanese teachers were tactfully critical one Japanese
22:30 - 23:00 teacher said talking like that with children about disagreement seems a bit heavy it reminds me of marriage counseling to introduce an activity that will take place in the second Learning Center period Sherrill holds up a potato an onion and a can of corn she asks the children to describe the look feel and taste of each these vegetables will be
23:00 - 23:30 used as ingredients to make soup the second Learning Center period has begun here a boy and a girl give backs to baby dolls Cheryl supervises three children in the
23:30 - 24:00 chopping up of ingredients for soup in the block corner two boys are making roads for wooden trucks throughout the learning center period children are free to move from activity to activity here a
24:00 - 24:30 girl who are sand into a bottle in an activity that teaches the concept of conservation of volume [Music] Cheryl chats with the boy as he stirs the corn chowder at the end of the
24:30 - 25:00 Learning Center period the children get to eat the soup faith made children at Saint Timothy's bring their lunch from home they eat outside on the patio with their teachers st. Timothy's has a
25:00 - 25:30 nutrition policy which discourages parents from sending children to school with junk food or soft drinks [Music] about one-third of the students at Saint Timothy's attend for half a day going
25:30 - 26:00 home just after lunch here Derrick's mother picks him up to go home the full day children finished the day with a nap a snack stories and songs and free play until they were picked up between 5:00 and 6:00 in the evening [Applause]
26:00 - 26:30 [Music]