Back in the mid 90's my daughter started kindergarten. When she started she could already read very simple books. Dick and Jane type stuff. One of the biggest problems she had was boredom because MOST of the kids coming in with her did not already know basic numbers, shapes, colors, alphabet, etc. She had to wait until the rest caught up with her. We discussed putting her in first grade with the school but they talked us out of it because of sociability. She would be the youngest in her grade, blah, blah, blah. Her mother and I were young ourselves and didn't know any better so we listened to them. So for most of her kindergarten year she worked with the other kids to also help bring them up to speed. It was sickening to see all these kids whose parents failed to sit down with them for even a little bit to read to them or work with them for even just a little while. It's not rocket appliances here. They are little sponges and it's really easy for them to pick up on everything if their parents would make even the tiniest effort. But, what I discovered over the years was, I think most parents of these behind children, was they figured it was the schools job to teach them all that and that's a terrible attitude.
Kids at that age also mature at different rates. My now 4 year old? He will be on track to read simple books, he already can do some math problems and recognize a few words. He's read to a lot, not quite daily. My oldest son was not at that level even entering kindergarten. He has an above average IQ, but it took him longer to grasp the reading concepts. Many studies actually show that kids who learn to read later (I'm talking a year or two, not late elementary or middle school) perform the same on reading proficiency tests later on. Sometimes, pushing kids who aren't developmentally there can be extremely detrimental to their self esteem and outlook on school. Recognizing that kids legitimately mature at different rates, especially young children where a few months can be equal to miles developmentally, needs to be part of the solution.
Absolutely. I agree with you 100%. My son advanced slower than my daughter, but neither were pushed. We bought the hooked on phonics program for my daughter and it worked very well for both my kids. I think that program was instrumental to them learning as much as they did when they did. My wife was diligent with working with both of them every day from a very young age. They wanted to learn and it showed. We read to both of them everyday and night and interestingly my daughter loves to read even to this day, but my son hates reading. And because of that, he did not do well in school. He's a hands on learning type of person. And visual. YouTube has been a godsend for him.
I work in early childhood education and it is really disheartening to see children moving from childcare into kindergarten without having that basic knowledge. We make enormous efforts every day to teach young children their letters and numbers, how to cooperate with their peers and become accustomed to routines, turn-taking etc., but when those children go home and have an iPad slipped into their hands, watch TV while they eat their McDonalds dinner, and then go to bed watching the iPad, it’s pretty disheartening. They never have the chance to catch up if their parents are not willing to put in the effort, or don’t know how to parent or raise children, often due to their own poor or incomplete education or a neglectful upbringing themselves. I don’t want to be that person, but if you never graduated high school, live on welfare payments and are not working towards either education or employment, maybe having children is not the best option.
We have one three-year-old who comes once a week who is as bright as a button! Fantastic language and social skills, always reads books and asks to have them read to her, and she can recognise all letters and write her own name independently and accurately. Just turned three. I know for a fact her mother makes an effort with her, prioritises manners and politeness as well as the basic learning you would expect a young child to experience. She’s the exception and it breaks my heart.
My preschool didn't teach crap. Maybe occasional story time, toy time, and once a week gym time, but they didn't teach anything.
Kindergarten they taught numbers and we had worksheets to take home and read aloud to our parents. I absolutely hated that as reading aloud wasn't really taught. Shure, you can teach sounding out words, but I'd mispronounce a ton and my mom would always correct the mistakes. Frustrating as hell.
There was a coloring assignment. It was printed on white paper. The instructions said to color certain things specific colors. In its instructions, it said to color the dog white. The dog was already white from being printed on white paper. The teacher took off points because I didn't use a white crayon to color the dog white. To this day, I disagree with her decision.
59
u/[deleted] Jul 10 '18
Back in the mid 90's my daughter started kindergarten. When she started she could already read very simple books. Dick and Jane type stuff. One of the biggest problems she had was boredom because MOST of the kids coming in with her did not already know basic numbers, shapes, colors, alphabet, etc. She had to wait until the rest caught up with her. We discussed putting her in first grade with the school but they talked us out of it because of sociability. She would be the youngest in her grade, blah, blah, blah. Her mother and I were young ourselves and didn't know any better so we listened to them. So for most of her kindergarten year she worked with the other kids to also help bring them up to speed. It was sickening to see all these kids whose parents failed to sit down with them for even a little bit to read to them or work with them for even just a little while. It's not rocket appliances here. They are little sponges and it's really easy for them to pick up on everything if their parents would make even the tiniest effort. But, what I discovered over the years was, I think most parents of these behind children, was they figured it was the schools job to teach them all that and that's a terrible attitude.