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Thanks Janet! Hope that you don't mind, but I sent this to some parents that needed to read this today. I know that I needed to read it.<smile> Linda Forrest's Mom janet paterson wrote: > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Children Do Not Have Learning "Window" > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > > NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Some brain research may mislead parents into thinking > they have only a narrow window of opportunity to stimulate an appreciation > of language, math or music in their child, according to a Missouri researcher. > > However, the evidence to support these contentions are weak at best, > according to Dr. John Bruer, president of the McDonnell Foundation, a St. > Louis-based program that awards grants for biomedical and educational > research. > > "The claim that children are capable of learning more at a very early age, > when they have excess synapses and peak brain activity is one of the most > common ones made in neuroscience and education literature," reported Bruer > in a paper scheduled to be published in the journal Educational Researcher. > > "Other articles urge that children begin the study of languages, advanced > mathematics, logic and music as early as possible, possibly as early as age > 3 or 4," he wrote. > > So why the rush? Well studies -- mainly conducted in monkeys -- show that > at birth, infants have fewer synapses -- connections between neurons -- per > unit of brain tissue than adults. > > However, the infant brain soon begins to form large numbers of such > synapses, which connect brain cells into circuits, in a process known as > synaptogenesis. > > At this point, there is an elimination process, where synapses are "pruned" > over a number of years and the number of synapses falls to the adult level, > usually around the age of sexual maturity for most species, Bruer notes. > > This finding has led some to claim there is a "critical period" of learning > from birth to age 3. > > However, this theory assumes that the human brain develops in much the same > ways as the brain of rhesus monkeys, according to Bruer. > > "Unlike the monkey, where synaptogenesis appears to occur simultaneously > across all regions of the brain, the limited human data suggest that > changes in synaptic density in our species may vary among brain areas," he > wrote. > > Instead, research suggests that the human mind is more "plastic" than > previously thought, able to adapt and change throughout a life-span. > > "Stories stressing that children's experiences during their early years of > life will ultimately determine their scholastic ability, their future > career paths, and their ability to form loving relationships have little > basis in neuroscience," Bruer wrote. > > 1997, Reuters Health eLine > <http://www.medscape.com/reuters/mon/t110710f.html> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > > janet [log in to unmask]