Your thoughts on Kindergarten Expectations

[JennA]

It seems to me that today, there is a lot of pressure put upon Kindergartners. I believe that Kindergarten should be "social kindergarten" a year for children to get acclimated to school routines and get a firm grip on school rules. I also believe that Kindergarten is a year for working on building fine motor skills (i.e. cutting, handwriting, holding a pencil correctly, gluing).

I know of a school where Kindergartners are expected to know all sounds by Christmas and be reading at a DRA level 4 by the end of the year. I'm not saying academics aren't important, but it bothers me to hear Kindergartners being labeled "at risk" when it's only the first year of their school career.

Is my line of thinking way off?

[Boxcar]

You are totally right!!! The fives I thought were not ready to be thrown from pre-K and preschool rooms into the scary world of K. Going from a play-based approach to a standards-based approach is a shock. It is good to have objectives that the children should be working towards. I get that. However, they still should be learning through play and working on a range of tasks to lay a foundation. This is why children end up hating to read. It is like potty-training. You just can't turn it into a battle of wills. There are good and bad techniques. This is a soapbox for me, so I'll leave it at that. Don't want to talk your ear off. Or I guess it would be more post your eyes off. Gosh, that is a wierd phrase any way you look at it...

[JennA]

Thanks Boxcar!! I know what you mean, this topic is a soapbox for me and my mother, who retired from teaching Kindergarten for 31 years! My hat is off to her and others who teach Kindergarten. It takes a patient and energetic person.

[Brit]

I know that the SK teachers in my school definitely are feeling the stress with teh same kinds of expectations as you have. When the kids can't line up or listen or even SPEAK ENGLISH when they arrive at school, those expectations are RIDICULOUSLY high. As a grade 1 teacher, I must say taht it's really nice that all of my class can read and write to some degree, but I think that we would cope just as well if the kids came knowing how to read and write only their names. Maybe I'm being naive, though -- I am pretty new to all of this. but isn't that how it used to be? where the kids learned to read and write in grade 1? and we all turned out okay! why the added pressure?

[Boxcar]

It is supposed to be that way in my opinion. I don't mind teaching my students to read and write in K and preK situations. The key for me is "Are they ready? Who is ready and who isn't?". I had one very sweet five year old who loved nothing better than to write her own books and learn to spell words. Should I have held her back? No, of course not. However, the rest of her peers weren't ready for this. They would not have been happy if I had to teach them to write long words like "illustrated". This is where indivdual planning comes in. I can do personal history with all the children for social studies but alter how the children do thier assignments to meet their individual needs.

[Dhe Poet]

Speaking only from the perspective from a parent of a first grader that excells in reading and writing, I teach big words by using them and receiving acknowledgement from the children I speak with. My mrs. says I talk like a child and act like a baby but the kids listen to me.
The ones that can should and those that can not should be shown!