David Elkind

David Elkind (born March 11, 1931) is an American child psychologist and author.

A longtime professor at Tufts University, his groundbreaking books — The Hurried Child, The Power of Play and Miseducation informed early childhood education professionals of the possible dangers of "pushing down" the elementary school curriculum into the very early years of a child's life. By doing so, he argued, teachers and parents alike could lapse into developmentally inappropriate instructional and learning practices that may distort the smooth development of learning. He is associated with the belief of decline of social markers.

Read more about David Elkind:  Professional Positions, Publications, Personal

Famous quotes containing the words david and/or elkind:

    That devilish Iron Horse, whose ear-rending neigh is heard throughout the town, has muddied the Boiling Spring with his foot, and he it is that has browsed off all the woods on Walden shore, that Trojan horse, with a thousand men in his belly, introduced by mercenary Greeks! Where is the country’s champion, the Moore of Moore Hall, to meet him at the Deep Cut and thrust an avenging lance between the ribs of the bloated pest?
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    It makes little sense to spend a month teaching decimal fractions to fourth-grade pupils when they can be taught in a week, and better understood and retained, by sixth-grade students. Child-centeredness does not mean lack of rigor or standards; it does mean finding the best match between curricula and children’s developing interests and abilities.
    —David Elkind (20th century)