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My son is starting Junior Kindergarten in September so I am becoming very familiar with the school system. I live in Canada so I don’t know if you are having the same issue in other parts of the world, but something that is REALLY bothering me is the emphasis on learning and testing. Yes, yes I know school is all about learning. I get that. But when I was in school we didn’t start learning how to read until grade 1. Now they want kids to start in Junior Kindergarten (when they are 4!!!) and they give them homework (WHEN THEY ARE 4!!!). I’m sorry, but this just seems to be getting out of hand. How smart do we need our kids to be? I would never proclaim to be a genius, but I graduated with a business degree from a prestigous business school and have managed a successful career for the last 10 years. |
And I *gasp* did not learn to read until grade 1.
How much smarter than me do I really expect my kids to be? Are all kids today expected to be NASA rocket scientists?
One thing I do know though is that my good friend who is a resource teacher has told me many times about the alarming rise in stress among children. I am sorry but a 4 year old should not have anything to be stressed about. If it is coming to that we are going too far.
Am I missing something?
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3 Comments so far
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I am in the United States and my son started reading in Kindergarten. He knew a few words before then but I would not have called it reading. In kindergarten he had one homework assignment a week and had 4 days to do it. It was usually coloring or something with his site words. He was NOT stressed by school. He loved it. Maybe we just got lucky with our teacher though? I don’t know.
By Tracy on 06.25.10 12:48 pm | Permalink
oh my. I wish there was a pre-k or preschool like that around here. My kid reads. Has been since 3.5 and I suspect since about 3 (early on I thought that possibly she had just memorized everything by Sandra Boynton and Seuss) I agree that kids should read at their own pace. I was an early reader, my brother learned at 6. Both worked out fine but his early school experience was easier on him. Our problem was finding a class situation where she isn’t bored out of her tree or ostracized for being that kid who reads. It’s rough. She’s five now and most kindergartens here are still on alphabets. Boredom and associated behaviour will probably still be an issue. Teachers frequently claim they even out by grade 3, I think our education system simply isn’t geared to individual student needs and it probably costs too much to make them care. So we will have to supplement her education since we can’t count on public education at all. Homework at 4 is weird though. We have had to bring things to school that start with certain letters, show and tell stuff. Not sure if one would call that homework. Does the teacher really expect them to read? Or is she just hoping they pick up some sight words and basic phonics like on the Starfall website? As long as the kids aren’t made to feel inferior for not reading yet and are encouraged to be accepting of all different skill levels in different subjects/areas of interest, it should be ok. I think you’re lucky to have that. I wish it were more common.
By northernprairie on 06.25.10 8:49 pm | Permalink
I guess what bothers me is to to hear that there are kids that are having a hard time with this.
My son knows his letters and their sounds so I don’t think he’ll have a problem starting to read over the next year. If it’s done in a fun way and he picks up a few words great, if not then that’s okay too. I really don’t think he needs to be doing homework.
What about the kids who are not ready?
Are we putting unrealistic expectations out there and creating a divide between the kids who CAN and the kids who CANNOT?
By Parents Only Zone Admin on 06.27.10 2:49 pm | Permalink
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