This article made its way through my Facebook friends today, and it really gave me pause.
A survey of 254 teachers in New York and Los Angeles the group commissioned found that kindergartners spent two to three hours a day being instructed and tested in reading and math. They spent less than 30 minutes playing. “Play at age 5 is of great importance not just to intellectual but emotional, psychological social and spiritual development,” says Edward Miller, the report’s co-author. Play — especially the let’s-pretend, dramatic sort — is how kids develop higher-level thinking, hone their language and social skills, cultivate empathy. It also reduces stress, and that’s a word that should not have to be used in the same sentence as “kindergartner” in the first place.
And to what end?
Regardless of the cause, Miller says, accelerating kindergarten is unnecessary: any early advantage fades by fourth grade. “It makes a parent proud to see a child learn to read at age 4, but in terms of what’s really best for the kid, it makes no difference.” For at-risk kids, pushing too soon may backfire. The longitudinal High/Scope Preschool Curriculum Comparison Study followed 68 such children, who were divided between instruction- and play-based classrooms. While everyone’s I.Q. scores initially rose, by age 15, the former group’s academic achievement plummeted. They were more likely to exhibit emotional problems and spent more time in special education.
And while this article has implications for homeschoolers--especially Waldorf homeschoolers
I wonder how far I’m willing to go in my commitment to the cause: would I embrace the example of Finland — whose students consistently come out on top in international assessments — and delay formal reading instruction until age 7?
I believe it's a disservice to all children to simply toss out "Well see, that's why I homeschool" and leave it like that. I believe that we all have an obligation to all the children in our society, homeschoolers or not, and that every child deserves a happy and long childhood. And while homeschooling works out great for us, I realize that not every family has the means or the inclination to school their children at home.
So, where does this leave us? With a bunch of children who are being drilled for skills that may not even be there in another few years, a bunch of teachers who are being forced to abandon everything they know to be true about child development so they can teach to the test, and a bunch of legislators who, while they may be well-meaning, are mistaken none the less. It leaves us with a system of education that is flawed, and that guarantees that all children will be leaving their childhoods behind way earlier than they should have to. It leaves space for a revolutionary educational reform. For the sake of the children, I hope it comes soon.
6 comments:
I've been thinking about this a lot since yesterday too. I definitely hate to see teachers have to teach to a test instead of a curriculum, no matter what grade. In kindergarten, it definitely feels like overkill.
I agree that there should probably be more play. BUT... while the benefit of the early advantage may fade by grade 4, isn't it still beneficial to have that advantage for K-3? My concern is that focusing TOO MUCH less on reading and math would create more struggles in the first few years.
Thoughts??
Very sad.
The problem is so mulitlayered of course. As Nicole questioned, it really would require an overhaul of the whole system.
But in Europe, whee they don't really begin to teach until age 7, they somehow still manage to have daycare centres, etc.
It's astounding what we have been conditioned to believe are necessary skills. That our children need these skills at such a young age.
On the one hand, I can see where an advantage--even one that is gone by grade four--could benefit at-risk kids.
That said, I really think we need a paradigm shift. There's this "do or die" attitude about reading. I personally do not believe it's a necessary early childhood (and up to third grade is still considered early childhood) skill. There are plenty of things that are getting missed--large motor activities that help kids cross the midline, small motor activities like knitting that help connect neurons in the brain, activities that require creative and divergent thinking--that have the end result in building reading and math skills that are much more developmentally appropriate than pushing early reading and math. If, in the end, the result is a 4th grader who can read and calculate, why push so hard in the early years? And at what cost to their emotional development?
I've been talking to a girlfriend of mine about all of this. She has a son in kindergarten right now and I'm surprised at the homework he's getting. Chapter books, worksheets... seems like overkill to me.
Hi! I love this topic. I do think we expect too much academics from our children. Because children develop at such different rates, I think it's unreasonable to expect the same from each 5 year old. Play is SO important for children but so many parents push those academics. The schools are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
I think parents have a responsiblility to provide more unstructured learning for their children BEFORE they reach school age.
As a former Kindergarten teacher and current mother of 3 preschoolers, I'm very interested in this discussion. Thanks for addressing it.
Thanks for joining in on the conversation!
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