In some parts of the world, parents encourage their children to begin studying while they are still toddlers, using a variety of books and computer games which teach them to count or to learn their letters. The parents choose the first school for their four-year-old which focuses on academic ability in order that, by the time they enter the next school, the children are well ahead of their age group, with high marks in important subjects such as maths and language, or are equipped to take competitive entrance examinations for other schools if that is relevant.

In other countries, children are at home or playschool until they are around seven years old. They do not even begin to study reading until then, but they listen to and tell stories, they paint and draw, they make models and build tree houses, they swim and play ball games, they keep fish and grow plants in the playschool garden.

In my opinion, the question is not which method produces the most able students, because all over the world, the majority of those who reach university do so at around the same age, wherever they are educated. A brilliant scientist from one country may be working in a laboratory alongside an equally brilliant scientist from another country and the educational start of each career may have been in complete contrast. Therefore, it is clear that the two approaches can both produce able academics, all other things being equal. Nevertheless, it is probable that one method is preferable to the other.

It seems to me that spending early childhood struggling to acquire academic skills in a competitive atmosphere is not the best way to produce a balanced personality. Learning through play and developing social skills equips a child for adult life in essential ways that competitive parents neglect. If the child has the academic ability, this will manifest itself as the child develops and does not need to be forced at an early age.

在世界上一些地方，父母鼓励孩子在蹒跚学步时就开始学习，利用各种书籍和电脑游戏，教他们数数或学习字母。家长为4岁的孩子选择第一所学校，注重学习能力，以便在他们进入下一所学校时，孩子们的成绩远远超过同龄人，在数学和语言等重要科目上取得高分，或者在相关情况下具备参加其他学校竞争性入学考试的能力。

在其他国家，孩子们在7岁左右之前都是在家里或游戏学校。他們甚至要到那時才開始學習閱讀，但他們會聽故事、講故事、畫畫、做模型、建樹屋、游泳、打球、養魚、在學校花園種植植物。

在我看来，问题不在于哪种方法能培养出最能干的学生，因为在全世界范围内，无论在哪里接受教育，大多数人上大学的年龄都差不多。一个国家的优秀科学家可能与另一个国家的同样优秀的科学家一起在实验室工作，而每个人职业生涯的教育起点可能是完全相反的。因此，在其他条件相同的情况下，这两种方法显然都能培养出能干的学者。尽管如此，很可能一种方法比另一种方法更可取。

在我看来，用幼儿时期的时间在竞争的氛围中努力学习学术技能，并不是培养平衡人格的最佳方法。通过游戏学习和培养社会技能，使孩子具备了成人生活的基本条件，而竞争性的父母却忽视了这一点。如果孩子有学习能力，会随着孩子的发展而体现出来，不需要在孩子很小的时候就强求。