As we approach Parent-Teacher Conferences, I am struck by how much our expectations of our youngest learners has changed since my teaching career began in 1983.
For starters, Kindergarten used to be a half-day program. At least in our state, that changed in the early 2000s, when Kindergarten became a full-day program for much of the state. Why? To address lower test scores and provide full-day care for working parents. The word "closing the achievement gap" then, and now, "learning loss: due to the pandemic. As the data reveals, “Children who attend full-day kindergarten learn more in reading and math over the kindergarten year than those in half-day programs.” I was afraid that our state would try to force full-day Kindergarten on us claiming that full-day preschool and Kindergarten programs are necessary and beneficial for all students. While that could be true. There are also some set backs for our students. This includes developmentally inappropriate curriculum from "big box" publishers who are far removed from the classroom, if they served in a classroom at all! Our children are mot assembly line machines! They are each wonderfully and uniquely different, with different learning styles and different needs; academically, socially, and developmentally. This cannot be a one-size-fits all instructional method. Time with parents and siblings and the ability to play and learn naturally is what very young children need–not full days spent in a classroom.
Now, there are many school district preschools that are full-day programs. I teach one of those. A few years ago, I was at a conference where there was a Q & A session with our amazing Commissioner of Education, Dr. Randy Watson. This was the year before we were to implement a full-day preschool program. I had seen, first hand, what full-day Kindergarten had become and I didn't want that for our littlest learners. So, I asked the question: "Dr. Watson. I full-day preschool going to become as academic as Kindergarten has become?" His response was this: "I believe that every child, under the age of eight, should have a play-based education." He received a standing ovation!
However, this is not what I'm seeing. I'm seeing more and more structurally-based curriculums and less and less time for play. I don't see the words of our Commissioner trickling down to what we're expected to do in the classroom. We have to have "Learning Criteria," "Success Criteria," posted in our classrooms for every subject area. Building and district admin. look for those when they come into our classrooms. Again, our students are not assembly line machines. It's all well and good to post the expectations, but the truth of the matter is that not all students are going to achieve them, not matter how hard we try.
And now for those sweet, precious children. My "littles" are true Pandemic Babies, with most all of them being born during the global Coronavirus Pandemic. These children have been way more socially isolated than their pre-pandemic predecessors. Their social/emotional needs are off the charts! But we've got curriculum to teach them because Covid lead to "learning loss" and a broadening of the "achievement gap." What about their social-emotional needs? In my humble opinion, those need to be addressed first and foremost. Dr. James Comer says, "No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship" When would you like teachers to do that? Our days are crammed with academic expectations!
And the standardized testing! Why are teachers required to differentiate instruction, based on the needs of their students, yet asked to assess with standardized tests? Does that even make sense? I understand that by differentiating instructions, students should become better learners. Yet how can we measure what they truly know, if the testing is standardized. It's like the chicken and the egg. Which came first?
I am old enough, and have been teaching ling enough, that I remember when teach our youngest children was about exposure. Exposure to language through read-aloud books and stories. Exposure to rhyming through nursery rhymes and fingerplays. Exposure to nature through nature walks and time spent playing outside. Exposure to their communities though guest speakers telling about their jobs or field trips to the fire station, grocery store, post office. Exposure to math through the manipulation and counting of items natural to the child's environment. Learning colors and shapes through exploration of the world around them. And guess what? None of it was tested with the use of a standardized tool.
Now we're seeing more and more children with attention issues. Why? They're being asked to sit still and learn. This is not developmentally appropriate practice.
We're seeing more and more children lacking social skills. Why? Family dinners are going by the wayside. Human connections are, as well. Families don't sit down and talk with each other. Parents are on their iPhones and their kids are on devices. Kids struggle to have one-on-one conversations with others. They struggle to problem-solve. Why? Because it's not being modeled for them. The pandemic has only exacerbated this.
I don't know what the solution is. I'm just old enough to remember when the academic pressures we are putting on our kids today was nonexistent. When you're in your fortieth year of teaching, it's hard to not reflect on "the good old days."
