I've got to stop reading the newspaper--it's so depressing! Yeah, there's the crime and all that. But what has me saddened and maddened right now are all the articles on education--the state of education in our state/nation and where it's headed. Recently our state legislature defeated a proposed bill to provide pre-K education to 3- and 4-year-olds. Of course this has been quite controversial. On one hand you have those who are crying that 3- and 4-year-olds should be at home with their mommies, and that programs like this are a precursor to universal pre-K and preschool programs. On the other hand, you have those who are crying that not having such programs are putting disadvantaged kids are risk. You know what? Both sides are right! In my mind, both sides are missing the real issue and the main way things need to change. What needs to change is the TYPE of education being provided. Of course I think children this young should be home with mom. I think early childhood education should be easy-going and relaxed and PLAY-BASED, and the best thing IMO for young children is a home-like environment where they can be nurtured, develop creativity, and play freely. I hate the pressure for young children to leave the home. Even more, I HATE the pressure for young children to be "academically prepared" for kindergarten that is in itself developmentally inappropriate. That is what I fear is happening in our society.
On the other hand, I completely agree that we have a responsibility to those children whose parents must work. They need someplace wonderful to go each day. I also agree that we need to close gaps between disadvantaged children and the rest of society. But I don't think that closing those gaps needs to happen by sending them to a not-homelike environment where they can have academics drilled into their heads so they can supposedly be prepared for an inappropriate-in-the-first-place education. In all this talk of closing the "achievement gap", we need to be talking about changing the academic expectations in the first place!
It sickens me to read a newspaper article where a kindergarten teacher laments the fact that so many of her 5-year-olds are coming to kindergarten not knowing all their letters. Well maybe, just maybe, the problem lies in the expectation that 5-year-olds should know all their letters! We have 5-year-olds who are supposedly not "ready" for kindergarten, so we're going to throw all our energy into preschool and pre-K programs to make them "ready". But maybe instead, we need to take a look at kindergarten itself and change that! Parents who choose not to homeschool are instead forced to put their kids in programs and do things with their kids that in their hearts they do not believe to be appropriate, just so their children will fit in in kindergarten and not be looked down upon by educators for not being "prepared". I've had several friends on internet discussion boards who describe this very thing, and then describe the struggles their little ones are having once they hit kindergarten itself. It seems the only way to truly buck the system is to pull your kids out and educate them yourself. But even homeschoolers can't fully escape the effects of the system, since many homeschooled kids will someday go back to school and will need to "fit in".
And then there was the article in today's paper about technology apps, and how wonderful educational software and apps can be for young kids. Don't even get me started on that one! Except I will say that I don't really care if somebody's kindergartener can do math at a second-grade level, and it's all because of these "wonderful apps". This child--in kindergarten!-- goes to school and then comes home and spends an HOUR a day playing educational games to help her in spelling and math. And this is touted in a newspaper article as being a wonderful thing that we should all be trying to do with our own kids.
And then there's everything associated with the Common Core curriculum, which would be a whole series of blog posts in and of itself. That is such a huge subject, and there is so much I don't completely understand, that I wouldn't dare to begin to address it, except to say that once again, I think we are on the wrong track.
Whew!
I was tempted to write "rant over", but I know it's not over in my head. However, I must get off the computer and go get ready for our fun and full day. A day with NO educational apps, NO Common Core curriculum, NO standardized testing looming ahead. A day with lots of movement and play and creativity and art and a developmentally appropriate first grade and fourth/fifth grade where my children are learning tons and having a wonderful time developing ALL the sides of themselves.
On the other hand, I completely agree that we have a responsibility to those children whose parents must work. They need someplace wonderful to go each day. I also agree that we need to close gaps between disadvantaged children and the rest of society. But I don't think that closing those gaps needs to happen by sending them to a not-homelike environment where they can have academics drilled into their heads so they can supposedly be prepared for an inappropriate-in-the-first-place education. In all this talk of closing the "achievement gap", we need to be talking about changing the academic expectations in the first place!
It sickens me to read a newspaper article where a kindergarten teacher laments the fact that so many of her 5-year-olds are coming to kindergarten not knowing all their letters. Well maybe, just maybe, the problem lies in the expectation that 5-year-olds should know all their letters! We have 5-year-olds who are supposedly not "ready" for kindergarten, so we're going to throw all our energy into preschool and pre-K programs to make them "ready". But maybe instead, we need to take a look at kindergarten itself and change that! Parents who choose not to homeschool are instead forced to put their kids in programs and do things with their kids that in their hearts they do not believe to be appropriate, just so their children will fit in in kindergarten and not be looked down upon by educators for not being "prepared". I've had several friends on internet discussion boards who describe this very thing, and then describe the struggles their little ones are having once they hit kindergarten itself. It seems the only way to truly buck the system is to pull your kids out and educate them yourself. But even homeschoolers can't fully escape the effects of the system, since many homeschooled kids will someday go back to school and will need to "fit in".
And then there was the article in today's paper about technology apps, and how wonderful educational software and apps can be for young kids. Don't even get me started on that one! Except I will say that I don't really care if somebody's kindergartener can do math at a second-grade level, and it's all because of these "wonderful apps". This child--in kindergarten!-- goes to school and then comes home and spends an HOUR a day playing educational games to help her in spelling and math. And this is touted in a newspaper article as being a wonderful thing that we should all be trying to do with our own kids.
And then there's everything associated with the Common Core curriculum, which would be a whole series of blog posts in and of itself. That is such a huge subject, and there is so much I don't completely understand, that I wouldn't dare to begin to address it, except to say that once again, I think we are on the wrong track.
Whew!
I was tempted to write "rant over", but I know it's not over in my head. However, I must get off the computer and go get ready for our fun and full day. A day with NO educational apps, NO Common Core curriculum, NO standardized testing looming ahead. A day with lots of movement and play and creativity and art and a developmentally appropriate first grade and fourth/fifth grade where my children are learning tons and having a wonderful time developing ALL the sides of themselves.
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Kaye