07/21/2008

What Is School Readiness?

The 30th Anniversary issue of Exchange (March 2008) included a very special Beginnings Workshop section on "School Readiness" with articles by Nancy Carlsson-Paige, David Elkind, Lilian Katz, and Marjorie Kostelnik. In this section, David Elkind observed...

"The phrase ‘school readiness’ was, until recently, most often used in connection with a child’s preparedness to meet the demands of a first grade classroom. With the contemporary push down of the curriculum, readiness is now taken to mean the child’s preparedness to meet the demands of kindergarten. Whether in regard to first grade or kindergarten, this way of thinking assumes that school readiness resides entirely in the child’s head. It also assumes that readiness is primarily academic, namely, knowing one’s letters and numbers. In addition, readiness is often taken to mean that a child has acquired his or her knowledge of numbers and letters through one or another form of academic instruction. Finally, another interpretation of readiness is that it is a matter of maturation and is related to age. While all of these ideas about readiness are understandable, they happen to be incorrect. They are a misunderstanding as to what readiness is all about....

"Readiness does not reside in the child’s head. Likewise, the skills a child needs to succeed in most kindergartens are not knowing numbers and letters, but rather being able to communicate, follow instructions, and work cooperatively with other children. These skills seem to be best acquired in preschools that are developmentally and play oriented. Finally, while maturation plays a role in the attainment of schooling skills, the child’s experience is also an important contributor. A true assessment of school readiness, therefore, must always take account of the child’s level of intellectual and social/emotional development, his or her experiential background, and the classroom expectations the child will encounter."

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"School Readiness" in our 30th Anniversary issue, is the most popular — best selling — Beginnings Workshop of all time. This week, all 85 Beginnings Workshop curriculum units are on sale at a 20% discount. Included in the sale are these Top Ten Best Sellers...

1. School Readiness
2. Special Places for Children: Schools in Reggio Emilia
3. Special Needs
4. Brain Research
5. Applying Brain Research
6. Environments to Engage Children
7. Positive Behavior Strategies
8. Environments with Families in Mind
9. Observing Children
10. When Children Are Difficult

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