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Monday, May 2, 2005
Kindergarten Boot Camp
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Has any grade changed as much since you were in school as kindergarten?
Kindergarten used to about learning school routines and how to get along with others. Today, kids are expected to write full sentences in their journals, learn about fractions and read simple words.
Teachers say they are not depriving their students of the fun and carefree environment of yesteryear. A typical day still involves singing songs and making something out of construction paper and glue for Mom to display on the fridge. But today’s kindergartners cover a lot more academic ground and are expected to arrive in first grade knowing a lot more.
I noticed this trend when I visited a Cherokee County kindergarten classroom a few years ago. The kitchen area had been converted to storage space for textbooks. The teacher told me her kids were too advanced for playing in the kitchen. They did that already.
Later, a UGA professor told me what we’re seeing is a “pushing down of the curriculum.” Now that prek is widespread, kids already know a lot of what they used to learn in kindergarten, such as colors, how to write their name and the ABCs. So now kindergarten looks more like what first grade used to look like.
Yes, the pressure to have high test scores plays a role in this trend. Those scores reported in second and third grade reflect how well kids have learned to read and compute. It’s no surprise, school leaders and parents want their kids to get out of the gate sooner so they’ll be ready come test time.
Is today’s approach to kindergarten appropriate?
