Effects on Kindergarten Children as New First Graders
Though recently raised by PBS special correspondent Cat Wise: “Are young children missing out on the benefits of playtime to stimulate the brain?” This question of the day has already been asked and answered several times. The problem is that the powers that be continue to ignore the evidence, turning our kindergartens into the new first grade.
Just take a look:
To analyze data from the 1998-99 and 2010-11 US Department of Education Longitudinal Study of Early Childhood, researchers at the University of Virginia asked about 2,500 school kindergarten teachers detailed questions. 1998, a time before the No Child Left Behind Act was enacted. – and about 2,700 in 2010.
Researchers Daphna Bassok, Scott Latham, and Anna Rowen used these teachers ‘responses to compare kindergarten classrooms in 1998 and 2010. Where possible, they also compared teachers’ responses from 2010 to those of teachers. first grade in 1999.
Here is a sample of what was discovered:
- Teachers in 2010 are 33% more likely than their colleagues in 1998 to believe that academic instruction should start before kindergarten, and that children know the alphabet and how to use a pencil before starting kindergarten than those of 1998.
- In 2010, 80% of teachers said children should learn to read in kindergarten vs. only 31% of teachers believed that in 1998.
- In 2010, 73% of kindergarten children took some kind of standardized test – 1/3 of them took it at least once a month.
- During those 12 years, daily music instruction decreased by 18 percentage points and daily art instruction decreased by 16%.
- From 1998 to 2010, the number of teachers who spent at least one hour a day on child-selected activities decreased by 14%, and classrooms with discovery or play areas, such as a sand table, science, and / or art area, decreased. by 20%.
- The teaching of reading and mathematics through textbooks increased by approximately 15% between 1998 and 2010.
- In 2010, teachers were 22% more likely to say that testing students against state and local standards was very important or essential. In 1998, teachers were not asked how often such assessments were used to track student progress.
Said Bassock: “We were surprised to see how drastic the changes have been in a short period of time. We expected to see changes in some of these dimensions, but not as consistently or of this magnitude.”
Their conclusion: “These changes probably have important implications for children’s learning trajectories.”
Oh yes, and also know that while these findings represent a national trend, they apply even more to schools that primarily serve low-income and minority children.
Writing “Crisis in Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School” by the Alliance for Childhood, Edward Miller and Joan Almon found that through play, children “learn the powerful lesson of pursuing their own ideas. to a successful conclusion. ” They also “have greater language skills than non-players,” as well as:
- Better social skills
- More empathy
- More imagination
- More of the subtle ability to know what others want to say.
- They are less aggressive
- Show more self-control
- Higher levels of thinking.
However, the United States Secretary of Education, John B. King, Jr. and other would-be reformers continue to insist on the use of prescriptive lessons that reflect the Common Core Standards and related state standards right there, along with their standardized assessments. aligned, which are then administered to even our youngest students.
One result: Not only are second and third grade teachers now reporting that their positions are already sold out, but teachers around the world are also being asked to teach empathy and character.
Many call this progress. You too?