Thank you both for this excellent conversation. I've been following Latham's venture for a while and really admire what he (and his son) are doing together. The approach the two of you discussed in this piece reminded me of the "progressive education" movement, embodied in the Summerhill School in the UK, created and written about by A.S. Neill. His idea, revolutionary at the time, favored student-led education, working with rather than against children's inherent curiosity and excitement. Other names like Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget come to mind. Although our current educational system may work for some children, it is based on requiring children's conformity to adult authority, and individual differences among children are lost in the shuffle. As I have told him before, I am cheering Latham on, and I hope his project gets wide interest. I'm glad you cross-posted this with your SS, to which I have now subscribed.
Hal, I'm so touched by this thoughtful comment and thank you for the subscription. I am trained in the DIRFloortime® model, which I'm sure you're familiar with as a follower of progressive education. It pulls from Piaget's cognitive developmental phases with the idea of following a child's lead and using their passions as a gateway to communication and learning. It is the foundation for everything I do professionally. Latham and I live in completely different parts of the United States, and yet we want to approach education from the same vantage point. I agree with everything you said about kids getting lost in the shuffle, and with more parents like Latham in the mix, I'm hopeful that families will begin to self-advocate for the education system to start supporting the individual differences of neurodiverse learners. They're our innovators and will make an impact on our futures!
Thanks Jennifer. I am a (mostly) retired prof of developmental psychology from UMass Amherst, and have also experienced struggles against the system on behalf of my own son. We are learning so much more now about neurodiversity, and it's becoming less stigmatized (hopefully so), and that's a real plus for people like Latham. Are you by any chance related to Jack Shonkoff? I don't know him personally, but am familiar with the excellent work of the Center on the Developing Child.
I am! His work is not the reason I ended up doing this, but a wonderful coincidence nonetheless. I look forward to checking out your writing, professor!
Thank you both for this excellent conversation. I've been following Latham's venture for a while and really admire what he (and his son) are doing together. The approach the two of you discussed in this piece reminded me of the "progressive education" movement, embodied in the Summerhill School in the UK, created and written about by A.S. Neill. His idea, revolutionary at the time, favored student-led education, working with rather than against children's inherent curiosity and excitement. Other names like Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget come to mind. Although our current educational system may work for some children, it is based on requiring children's conformity to adult authority, and individual differences among children are lost in the shuffle. As I have told him before, I am cheering Latham on, and I hope his project gets wide interest. I'm glad you cross-posted this with your SS, to which I have now subscribed.
Hal, I'm so touched by this thoughtful comment and thank you for the subscription. I am trained in the DIRFloortime® model, which I'm sure you're familiar with as a follower of progressive education. It pulls from Piaget's cognitive developmental phases with the idea of following a child's lead and using their passions as a gateway to communication and learning. It is the foundation for everything I do professionally. Latham and I live in completely different parts of the United States, and yet we want to approach education from the same vantage point. I agree with everything you said about kids getting lost in the shuffle, and with more parents like Latham in the mix, I'm hopeful that families will begin to self-advocate for the education system to start supporting the individual differences of neurodiverse learners. They're our innovators and will make an impact on our futures!
PS: I am writing on Substack at https://halgrotevant.substack.com/ -- feel free to take a look.
Thanks Jennifer. I am a (mostly) retired prof of developmental psychology from UMass Amherst, and have also experienced struggles against the system on behalf of my own son. We are learning so much more now about neurodiversity, and it's becoming less stigmatized (hopefully so), and that's a real plus for people like Latham. Are you by any chance related to Jack Shonkoff? I don't know him personally, but am familiar with the excellent work of the Center on the Developing Child.
I am! His work is not the reason I ended up doing this, but a wonderful coincidence nonetheless. I look forward to checking out your writing, professor!