As a new parent myself, I cannot agree strongly enough.
My 3-month-old can say "hungry" (way ahead of the curve) but can't yet roll over (behind the curve). That's simply the nature of people -- we don't all learn every topic at the same rate. Trying to push kids into learning at the same rate simply means you'll be ineffective at teaching some fraction of them. Recognizing that some of them just aren't ready to learn such-and-such topic yet, and pacing their education according to what they are ready to learn, is a far better approach.
Related: I've really been enjoying the book "Your Child's Growing Mind"[1], which makes this very argument in its first chapter.
I haven't read that book, but the best book on brain development in kids that I've seen is What's Going On In There? You may like it. (My kids are 2 and 5.)
My 3-month-old can say "hungry" (way ahead of the curve) but can't yet roll over (behind the curve). That's simply the nature of people -- we don't all learn every topic at the same rate. Trying to push kids into learning at the same rate simply means you'll be ineffective at teaching some fraction of them. Recognizing that some of them just aren't ready to learn such-and-such topic yet, and pacing their education according to what they are ready to learn, is a far better approach.
Related: I've really been enjoying the book "Your Child's Growing Mind"[1], which makes this very argument in its first chapter.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Your-Childs-Growing-Mind-Development/d...