Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

General term for a range of programs for pre-kindergarten children, generally from ages two or three to five; sometimes used synonymously with early childhood education. Although the term does not cover informal play groups, preschool refers to any group or class organized for educational experience for children before they enter elementary school (either in kindergarten…

Learning that must be accomplished successfully before more advanced learning can be started. More specifically, a prerequisite is often a course that a student is required to take before taking another (algebra before calculus, for example). A prerequisite is also a skill that is felt necessary before a high-level skill can be learned, in this…

A type of private school, generally a boarding school, geared to providing intensive secondary education aimed at putting the students on a “fast track” to prestigious colleges and universities, such as the Ivy League schools.  

The second stage of children’s learning, according to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.  

A type of medical test performed on a woman during pregnancy but before childbirth, generally focusing on the health and condition of the fetus. Many such tests are given to identify genetic disorders before birth, often at a stage when abortion or fetal surgery in utero can be performed if appropriate. Among the common prenatal…

A term referring to people with ear and hearing problems who were deaf at birth and so had no experience of sound and spoken language; the term is also used to refer to children who lost their hearing before age three, before they learned how to speak. Such people—95 percent of people who are hearing-impaired—need…

Organized school-affiliated class for children in the year (or two) before kindergarten, taught by a professional educator and physically held either in an elementary school as a separate grade or in a nursery school housed elsewhere.  

The sensory mode (one of the senses) the child uses most easily or efficiently for gaining knowledge and information.  

Alternate term for prerequisite, in the sense of a skill that is regarded as fundamental to the mastering of a more complex, higher-level skill.  

A program that specifically prepares a student for college, often a student with handicaps or education deficiencies that require some special training to reach college-entry level; sometimes a general term referring to any formal education below college level.