Your best friend is the father of a 4-year-old. Your friend believes that early childhood education programs should stick to academic instruction. He is opposed to child-directed programs, believing that children have time to play at home, and school should be devoted to learning academic skills. What advice would you give your friend, and why?

Answers may vary. Problems have been documented with teacher-directed rigid academic programs. Children immersed in such programs sometimes show signs of stress such as rocking, may have less confidence in their skills, and may avoid challenging tasks as compared with children who are immersed in more active forms of play-based learning. Such programs are also negatively associated with reading skills in first grade.
Instead of a purely academic approach, many practitioners advocate for a developmentally appropriate practice, which tailors instruction to the age of the child, recognizing individual differences and the need for hands-on active teaching methods. Teachers provide educational support in the form of learning goals, instructional support, and feedback, but they also emphasize emotional support and help children learn to manage their own behavior. Moreover, teachers are provided with explicit instruction in how to teach and the teaching strategies needed to support young children's literacy, language, math, social, and self-regulatory development. Responsive child-centered teaching is associated with higher reading and math scores during first grade.