Kindergarten Cram
By PEGGY ORENSTEIN
About a year ago, I made the circuit of kindergartens in my town. At each stop, after the pitch by the principal and the obligatory exhibit of art projects only a mother (the student’s own) could love, I asked the same question: “What is your policy on homework?”
And always, whether from the apple-cheeked teacher in the public school or the earnest administrator of the “child centered” private one, I was met with an eager nod. Oh, yes, each would explain: kindergartners are assigned homework every day.
Bzzzzzzt. Wrong answer.
When I was a child, in the increasingly olden days, kindergarten was a place to play. We danced the hokey-pokey, swooned in suspense over Duck, Duck, Gray Duck (that’s what Minnesotans stubbornly call Duck, Duck, Goose) and napped on our mats until the Wake-Up Fairy set us free.
No more. Instead of digging in sandboxes, today’s kindergartners prepare for a life of multiple-choice boxes by plowing through standardized tests with cuddly names like Dibels (pronounced “dibbles”), a series of early-literacy measures administered to millions of kids; or toiling over reading curricula like Open Court – which features assessments every six weeks.
According to “Crisis in Kindergarten,” a report recently released by the Alliance for Childhood, a nonprofit research and advocacy group, all that testing is wasted: it neither predicts nor improves young children’s educational outcomes. More disturbing, along with other academic demands, like assigning homework to 5-year-olds, it is crowding out the one thing that truly is vital to their future success: play.
A survey of 254 teachers in New York and Los Angeles the group commissioned found that kindergartners spent two to three hours a day being instructed and tested in reading and math. They spent less than 30 minutes playing. "Play at age 5 is of great importance not just to intellectual but emotional, psychological social and spiritual development," says Edward Miller, the report's co-author. Play -- especially the let's pretend, dramatic sort -- is how kids develop higher-level thinking, hone their language and social skills, cultivate empathy. It also reduces stress, and that's a word that should not have to be used in the same sentence as "kindergartner" in the first place.
I came late to motherhood, so I had plenty of time to ponder friends' mania for souped-up childhood learning. How was it that the same couples who piously proclaimed that 3 1/2-year-old Junior was not "developmentally ready" to use the potty were drilling him on flashcards? What was the rush? Did that better prepare kids to learn? How did 5 become the new 7, anyway?
There's no single reason. The No Child Left Behind Act, with its insistence that what cannot be quantified cannot be improved, plays a role. But so do parents who want to build a better child. There is also what marketers refer to as KGOY - Kids Getting Older Younger - their explanation for why 3-year-olds now play with toys that were initially intended for middle-schoolers. (Since adults are staying younger older - 50 is the new 30! - our children may soon surpass us in age.)
Regardless of the cause, Miller says, accelerating kindergarten is unnecessary: any early advantage fades by fourth grade. "It makes a parent proud to see a child learn to read at age 4, but in terms of what's really best for the kid, it makes no difference." For at-risk kids, pushing too soon may backfire. The longitudinal High/Scope Preschool Curriculum Comparison Study followed 68 such children, who were divided between instruction -- and play-based classrooms. While everyone's I.Q. scores initially rose, by age 15, the former group's academic achievement plummeted. They were more likely to exhibit emotional problems and spent more time in special education. "Drill and kill," indeed.
Thinkers like Daniel Pink have proposed that this country's continued viability hinges on what is known as the "imagination economy": qualities like versatility, creativity, vision -- and playfulness -- that cannot be outsourced. It's a compelling argument to apply here, though a bit disheartening too: must we append the word "economy" to everything to legitimize it? Isn't cultivating imagination an inherent good? I would hate to see children's creativity subject to the same parental anxiety that has stoked the sales of Baby Einstein DVDs.
Jean Piaget famously referred to "the American question," which arose when he lectured in this country: how, his audiences wanted to know, could a child's development be sped up? The better question may be: Why are we so hellbent on doing so?
Maybe the current economic retrenchment will trigger a new perspective on early education, something similar to the movement toward local, sustainable, organic food. Call it Slow Schools. After all, part of what got us into this mess was valuing achievement, speed and results over ethics, thoughtfulness and responsibility. Then again, parents may glean the opposite lesson, believing their kids need to be pushed even harder in order to stay competitive in a shrinking job market.
I wonder how far I'm willing to go in my commitment to the cause: would I embrace the example of Finland -- whose students consistently come out on top international assessments -- and delay formal reading instruction until age 7? Could I stick with that position when other second graders were gobbling up "War and Peace" -- or at least the third Harry Potter book?
In the end, the school I found for my daughter holds off homework until fourth grade. (Though a flotilla of research shows homework confers no benefit -- enhancing neither retention nor study habits -- until middle school.) It's a start. A few days ago, though, I caught her concocting a pretend math worksheet. "All the other kids have homework," she complained with a sigh. "I wish I could have some, too."
Peggy Orenstein, a contributing writer, is the author of "Waiting for Daisy," a memoir.
My impressions:
This was one of the few schools that would not let me tour the preschool without bringing my child. Although I can understand why a director would want to assess a child's readiness for starting preschool, touring with your 2-year-old does make it rather difficult for a parent to evaluate whether this is the right preschool. I spent a good deal of my time watching my child rather than asking pertinent questions. I would suggest that in the future, there may be some way parents can view the preschool without their child in tow. That being said, this is a sweet little preschool that has a very warm, supportive feel to it. It is located in the heart of West Hollywood and is tucked away on Holloway Drive, just west of busy La Cienega Boulevard. Although you can hear some of the traffic, the school is gated, and you do need to be buzzed in to have access to the preschool. There are play areas in both the front and back of the preschool that contain all the play equipment your child could desire. There are manipulatives on the tables in the back, and there is always an art project inside. The classes are small by design, allowing every child to be seen and heard. It appears that, although this is a developmental preschool, there is a great deal of learning that takes place. There are units of nutrition, the human body, and space. In addition, during group time children are taught to identify and articulate their feelings. Phonics are introduced once the children are a little older, and some children do leave this preschool knowing how to read. My sense is that the director has invested a great deal of time, money, and energy in building this preschool and is quite protective of it. The parents that I spoke with reported that their children absolutely loved attending this preschool and came home tired and content. Some of these parents stated that they occasionally had a disagreement with the director, but that it rarely affected their children. The director is a retired psychologist, and my feeling was that, because of her years of experience, she has very strong opinions regarding how the preschool should be run. If your ideas are in accordance with hers, great -- if not, this may not be the right school for you.
Letters from Parents
It has been a great benefit to our morning routine that for the last three years our son has been eager to get up and get ready to go to school. It is an environment he likes returning to day after day. We have also benefited from all the Holloway attention to social skills and cooperation and the importance stressed on being able to express feelings in a thoughtful and peaceful way. We now have a kid who is very upbeat about reading and spelling and who can avoid disputes or solve them diplomatically.
Bravo, Bobby Bowman and Stacey McKenzie
From the Moment we walked though the gate...no ... from the moment we were cheerfully greeted at the gate ... we knew we had found our preschool! Children and teachers were playing and laughing; covered picnic tables, slides and toys of all shapes and sizes; they all came together laid out on a "floor of sand".
After our tour on that first visit, with Lorraine observing our son interacting with the other children, we were invited to join the Holloway Preschool. We couldn't have been happier! And, although Nathaniel Didn't start until January, we were invited to attend the school's annual holiday festivities. We met a few of the parents and their children and on Nat's first day, those same parents and children couldn't have made us feel more welwelcomed.
We are now halfway through our second year at Holloway. Nathaniel has blossomed in more ways than we could have possibly imagined. He LOVES going to school each day and has made many friends. It is our hope that he will carry some of these friendships with him well beyond his time at Holloway.
Lorraine takes pride in the fact that her teachers are nothing short of spectacular. They are intelligent and loving, and employ patience far beyond their years. They are genuinely concerned about each and every one of their students. They are, quite simply, the best of the best!
The bottom line is that we cannot imagine having had Nathaniel spend his preschool years anywhere but Holloway. It will be with extreme mixed emotions and a slightly heavy heart when we depart and journey on to the level of education.
Tammy & Leo Williams