The Make-Believe Solution
In his article on preschool and play, Paul Tough writes that “there are not yet firm experimental data that prove that Tools of the Mind works.” While no single study can hope to be definitive, our team at Rutgers published a randomized trial of Tools of the Mind that finds this curriculum substantially reduces behavior problems. Other studies find long-term decreases in delinquency and crime from curriculums with similar features, like daily planning and review. We don’t need to choose between play and academics or socialization and cognitive development; good curriculums provide both.
W. STEVEN BARNETT
Co-director, National Institute for Early Education Research
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, N.J.
Tools of the Mind is part of the PRE-K/K curriculum for children in a number of districts in the NY/NJ area, including the Hoboken Public School system.
Picture: Gillian Laub for The New York Times
