ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

I agree with this article. I remember when I played in Kindergarten and dressed up. My biggest worry was white or chocolate milk that day. I seem to remember Teachers being more happy to be with the kids at that age. Now it's work work work. Sitting at group tables a desk and having to KNOW how to READ not LEARN HOW!! YOU may not move onto the next grade if you don't. Or they will pass you through and put you into special reading groups and they child has IEP's. I think it's pretty sad how times have changed for little ones. Kathy

Great to hear someone recongize the value of play for children. I visit childcare programs all over the city I serve as an Ingeration Consultant and see child care programs who serve 2-5 year olds and make children sit for long periods of time at circles that are suited for 7 year olds, and get upset when the children cannot sit for 20 minutes and attend. What three year old can sit for 20 minutes and listen actively to a book written for a seven year old? Work sheets and expectations that are not age appropriate are seen at many programs and schools. I don't understand. These people when to the same schools as I did to become an Educator. I do not see any value in having children sit at a table and do work sheets. What I do see are little children who are frustrated and confused. This is so hard on children's self esteem, and parents scrambling to have thier child 'keep up'. (my sister-in-law told me her daughter had to know her ABC's before giong to junior kndergarten!!!) I wish every educator out there could read this. I know I'll pass it on!!
D:>)

As the director of a very developmental Nursery School that fights for
children's childhoods, I totally agree with the teacher on Edutopia.
We need to keep letting legislators and educators know that
development has not sped up to keep pace with what we are asking
children to do at earlier and earlier ages. Now Pre-K has come under
attack and in order to get funding, must look like Kindergarten with
standards that are only measurable by testing and teaching. Pretty
soon the dress-ups will be gone from those classrooms too....just
watch and wait.... OR WE CAN TAKE A STAND AND SEND TODAY'S EXCHANGE
EMAIL TO ALL THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS WE KNOW... ALSO
THE SUPERINTENDENTS, POLICY MAKERS, AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES!

I feel that preschool if meant to teach children some of those things. We teach them to stand in line and how to be nice to their friends. We show them that school is fun. I do feel that sometimes kindergarten is to stressful but it is as fun as the teachers make it. My child loves school. She is learning to read letters and how to write. She comes home and tells us what she learned and is so proud of her self. Of course she gets in trouble for talking and not standing in line but she still loves it.

You couldn't be more correct! I remember going to school as a first grader! I had no Kindergarten and I turned out just fine! My Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Students will be tested at the beginning of Kindergarten on their knowledge of the alphabet and its sounds! I learned how to read in the second term of first grade! I learned my letters in the first term of first grade and I am an educator with no problems! I think the government needs to get out of the classroom and tend to their own problems! Jeb Bush started this accountability issue and got his buddies to devise tests for Florida and they were paid pretty handily! What have we as educators received? We got a big fat goose egg! We need to TAKE BACK THE CLASSROOM! Real learning needs to come back into play! Our children are not allowed to be children any more. Help us to lead a campaign to take back the classroom, Oliver!

I completely agree with the writer and have worried for many years that the system would "push the grades downward" so that what was expected in 1st grade would become an expectation of kindergarteners and then how long before kindergarten would be "pushed down" to pre-k. With 4 year olds going to schools for Universal Pre-K, my worst fear is that we will see dittos replace free play in their classrooms too. How long before preschool teachers will be "teaching to the test" just as many elementary school teachers feel they are forced to do. If we want our children to be competitive in an increasingly global economy, we need to instill a love of learning and not a fear or stress related to instruction and testing. I watched my grandson go from a summer child care center program which stressed developmentally appropriate activities for learning to kindergarten (one week later) and watching him bring home dittos by the backpack full. He was only one week older...what changed about how he is best equipped to learn? No, I feel very strongly that dittos in kindergarten are not the answer!

Yes the stakes are high in Kindergarten.
especially when you enter from a low socio-economic background. For children who do not have the luxury of private preschool or are not POOR enough to qualify for a headstrat/early start preschool experience this is especially hard. We need students in preschool where they can practice the art sharing, take turns, explore their interest, nurture theor curiosity, build self esteem, experience waiting in line, practice using a crayon ( paintbrush chalk pencil) and
all the other things we know they need in their development.
As Kindergraten has less time for wagons and tricycles it is imperarive that quality preschool that meet NAEYC guidelines be
available to ALL CHILDREN. It is a disservice to our nation to not prepare children and parents for what Kindergarten has become.

This article was right on target. As a teacher and Principal of elementary children, it's a disgrace what we are asking our children to do during these early formative years. Instead of helping to build positive self esteem in children that will continue through adulthood, we are pressuring them to perform academically in ways that are totally unacceptable that makes the child feel like a failure. Our government needs to adhere to the standards established by NAEYC) National Associaiton for the Education of Young Children).

Pushing academics down the throats of young children (and their parents, and the public school teachers) will only stop when the almighty dollar is not involved. The school districts might lose money if those young kindergartners aren't in school NOW, and the toy companies might not make so much profit if the parents don't buy THE latest game/toy that promotes "learning" and the elected official may not get elected if test scores are not "better than last year's average".

When will it all stop? When will policy makers "get it"? Maybe when more of us take the role of policy makers, or at least continue to keep the issue of what is appropriate ways to learn for young children, in the face of those who "think" they know best.

I refuse to give up!!

As educators of young children, if we could all have the attitude of the great educator Charlotte Mason, to learn from the world around us, the world that God set before us, our environment. So many children do not know what it is to be outdoors, much less to play and learn from red wagons and mudpies.
Teaching children to stress over worksheets, and to worry if they are reading and writing by age 5, can have the negative effect of teaching them that school is hard and learning is no fun. We need to turn back time in a way that children can get the full picture of all that they see and learn, so that when the right time comes for them to sit and fill in the bubbles, it will logically, easily come to them. Children need to be able to learn without the stress of "just getting it right" because all the adults around them are stressed if they don't.
Teaching children to love learning by pulling from all resources around them, to explore all the possiblities by way of hands on projects, taking a walk in nature and using their senses, can be a spectacular way to

As educators of young children, if we could all have the attitude of the great educator Charlotte Mason, to learn from the world around us, the world that God set before us, our environment. So many children do not know what it is to be outdoors, much less to play and learn from red wagons and mudpies.
Teaching children to stress over worksheets, and to worry if they are reading and writing by age 5, can have the negative effect of teaching them that school is hard and learning is no fun. We need to turn back time in a way that children can get the full picture of all that they see and learn, so that when the right time comes for them to sit and fill in the bubbles, it will logically, easily come to them. Children need to be able to learn without the stress of "just getting it right" because all the adults around them are stressed if they don't.
Teaching children to love learning by pulling from all resources around them, to explore all the possiblities by way of hands on projects, taking a walk in nature and using their senses, can be a spectacular way to

BRAVO! What a wonderfully true article. In the State of California our cut off date for school entrance into kindergarten is Dec. 2, so children can be a young as 4 years 9 months when they start school. This is so young. I have been a Director of a preschool for 10 years and taught pre-k for 9 years. I have seen the expectations of "kindergarten readiness" change so much. The State of California has tried to push the starting age back for at least 10 years, but the school districts get involved and are afraid that they will loose to much money. So instead of sending developmentally ready, confident children off to kindergarten, we are sending children off to school who may need a "Gift of another year" so they can play a little longer and really be developmentally ready.

I am in the middle of this dilemna. My grandson who was a 9 week preemie can enter school in fall 2009. If he was born when he was supposed to be in late December then this would not be an issue. He had OT, PT, and several other therapies until he was 3 years old. He is a smart litlte boy but can he sit in a desk, which I feel is so inappropriate for kindergarten, and do busy work. It is especially hard on the children with fall birthdays.

Our school has several children with IEP's and the dilemna is whether or not to send them on to "big" school and continue services or give the child "the gift of another year" and loose all services unless you fight for them. With all the changes in educational benchmarks and goals, children are being put in a tremendous amount of stress. As an educator, parent and grandparent, I want all children to be successful and enjoy learning, that is where curiosity and a thirst for knowledge comes in. We are pushing to hard, when all we have to do is wait until they are really developmentally ready.

I also feel that children are being pushed at a much younger age to focus on academics and are not given time to fully develop and find 'themselves' first. I am the Director of a Child Development Center AND the parent of a kindergartner, being in both of these roles is so difficult because all day I preach and expect developmentally appropriate practices for the children and then have to go home at night to see the opposite (I feel) happening to my daughter. I strongly believe that children can grasp and learn the same academic concepts THROUGH play, making learning fun and exciting and not burning them out on school by age 6! How can the powers that be state that they value our youth if they are not even given the opportunity to be youth? Social development is so important for children to function now and later in society, test scores will not predict who becomes a juvenile or even worse...but how a child is given time to understand socialization and how to deal with issues will. Priorities are so diluted and I hate it for all children!!

There's nothing wrong with being accountable for what we are doing if we could only impress upon the powers that be appropriate markers for that accountability.

The four year old pre K has become the new Kindergarten. It is tragic indeed and this is why I do all I can to push for more funding for preschool because we all know it but the politicians who make decisions the affect the children of today won't listen and turn a blind eye to the children who are falling through the cracks and become juveniles with records...it is beyond me why decisions are made by people who say they represent us but know nothing of what they are making policy about. Wouldn't it make better sense to talk directly to those who KNOW oh yeah we are talking politics...so as preschool and elementary teachers we need to work harder to make sure children learn through play at least until the grownups get a hold of them...

How true, as a Preschool Director I fight this battle daily in our Kindergarten and PreK classes. Parents have got to start understanding how important play is to our children's development!

Today, children who finish Kindergarten are expected to read and write simple sentences. This used to be an expectation and goal of 1st graders! I do not know how we can expect 4 and 5 year olds to meet this developmentally inappropriate goal. Yes, perhaps we can make some complient children practice, practice, practice and they will get it but at what cost? I think the cost can be seen in the physical, emotional and social development of children. Some schools are even eliminating recess in order to accomplish more academics. As we all scramble to meet benchmarks and goals, often it is the children who pay the price. I believe as early childhood educators we have to be careful our own profession does not fall victim to the public school diliema. As we put children and their abilities and skills under more scrutiny and hold teachers more accountable for documented learning, we may inadvertantley create the same environment. Do we really want the goverment to take over the education of our littlest ones with universal preschool? Haven't they done enough damage?

How painful it is to read this article and even more painful to know how true it is!In addition, these very young children do not go home and freely play. They are in after school programs or kept indoors, sitting in front of computers or participating in organized activities. How can we encourage parents to speak out about this? How do we get adults to really look and listen to these children so that they would understand how destructive school has become? I've been hopeful recently about the response from parents (and grandparents) about the child's importance of unstructured play outdoors. It seems that adults instantly relate to being outdoors and feel a lose for their children when confronted with their own rich memories of unstructured outdoor play. Perhaps we need to start there? I don't know. We need to shout to the rooftops about this!

We probably all have seen numerous articles such as this one which tell us that Kindergarten is NOT what it used to be (I taught Kindergarten for 11 years from late '70s to mid '80s). My concern right now is for my two year old grandson. I don't want him to miss out on the mud pies and wagon rides. My question is what are WE going to do about it? Can we get the current parents to push for a return to what five year olds need? We do need a generation of people who know how to wait in line, take turns, and think "outside of the BUBBLE!"

I read the entire article on Edutopia and had tears in my eyes by the end. In my preschool, which is play-based, we celebrate the Katys of the world and embrace their styles of learning as warmly as those who learn in a manner that is more accepted and valued in our local elementary schools. Still, we are criticized and challenged about play - why are the four-year-olds not coming out of our school already knowing how to read? It's a constant battle, but we are committed to NOT letting childhood, discovery and all the wonderful Katys become extinct.
Thank you for printing this very important piece.

I have tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. This is so beautifully written that it perfectly conveys the "awfulness" of childhood today. Makes me want to just give up the fight. Makes me realize that I -- we -- can't!

I agree with the article and the comments made by others. I do know that Early Education is required to jump through hoops to get the dollars they need to provide the level of quality we want to see in early education. At some point we all need to say we can education our children with less money in creative ways and we will stand up and say enough is enough. We want children who are thinkers and problem solvers and we will do what it takes to make that happen.

If so many people feel that children are being pushed and hurried along in life. Then why do so many adults allow children's childhood to be taken from them?
I agree with this article 110%.
David Elkind has written excellent books on this topic: 'The Hurried Child' 'Miseducation Preshoolers at Risk' 'All Grown Up and No Place to Go'
We need to get back to the basics and allow our children to be children first, in order to grow up heathy,happy, productive lives.

YES! and it did not just begin 10 years ago as this article states. I was a young enthusiastic kindergarten teacher in 1967 in the Philadelphia School system with 38/39 children in my class. We had FUN! I remember Harvey - a giant papier mache bunny we made out of wire, newspaper and cotton for Spring. Then two years later - 1970 - along came a READING program and a MATH program and we had to have a lesson in each every day in our half day program. We still tried to have fun, but it was already beginning to change." We talk so much about social emotional development, developmentally appropriate activities and individuality and they are often words. The actions are accountability and conformity. I know it is NOT everywhere and I ADMIRE THOSE WHO KEEP THE FUN IN THE LEARNING. It is a challenge.

How many articles like this one do we have to read before we gain enough consensus to make some changes? After 30 years in the field of early childhood, it is hard to say if we are making any progress. We know more about children's brains but woefully little about their dispositions. Why did the major leadership in the field capitulate to a Bush administration? We have to stop cramming little round children into ugly square boxes.

As an ECE for the past 30 years I have seen this loss happening and it is happening in mly profession also. It is indeed a sad thing to see. I believe this will hinder children rather than help them as it is believed. It is simply that the "adults" have pushed learning down the grades until it has hit even child care.

This is so true, the article on Kindergarten. I remember Kindergarten and first grade as a time of fun and learning. Times have truly changed, my son is a first grader, and he has to spell 13 words every Friday for a test, not little words either. They have to meet so man benchmarks, which I think adds too much pressure on little ones. That's my take.

That's why the Early Childhood profession is so important. We allow the children to be themselves...creativity, imagination, & free thinking in the safe environment of the Center is where the child's ability to handle outside circumstances start. As members of this profession, we can only help our children within the Center's boundaries. We give the children a chance to learn. It may be their only time to really have fun!