I've been flip-flopping about whether to send the Dude to Kindergarten or not. The Spozo Maravilloso is all for the Dude going to Kindergarten, but not having attended Kindergarten for a significant amount of time, I really don't see the point of it.
Case in point: Here are just some of the curriculum requirements for reading:
Decoding and Word Recognition
1.14 Match all consonant and short-vowel sounds to appropriate letters.
1.15 Read simple one-syllable and high-frequency words (i.e., sight words).
1.16 Understand that as letters of words change, so do the sounds (i.e., the alphabetic principle).
AUGH!!! The dude can read "carbohydrate" from the cereal box. He would be soooooo bored. And when he's bored, he acts up. I understand that it's a good thing (especially for the teachers) to have children learn to sit down and be quiet even (especially?) when they already know what's going on, but honestly, I don't think it's in his best interest to go to class where he knows everything already.
UNLESS the teacher was someone awesome that understood what was going on and would find a way to make it worthwhile for him to go.
BUT I think that is really hard considering that the poor teachers are becoming increasingly bound by rules and regulations about what they can teach and how they can teach it.
I'm beginning to feel nostalgic for one-room schoolhouses where you just moved up in your lessons if you were ahead (it wasn't age based), but you were still in a social atmosphere where you could play with kids your own age.
What really set me out on this rant was that California Legislature is trying to pass a law (AB 1236) to make Kindergarten compulsory and to start government-run "Kindergarten Readiness" (ie-preschool) programs - AFTER the people of California just voted against this program. It is another example of these lovely lawmakers deciding they know what's best for us poor unenlightened souls that don't know what's best for ourselves.
AUGH!!!!
Phew! I feel much better now.
7 comments:
There's an interesting article in the NY Times magazine about kindergarten. I had that problem in preschool; my family qualified for Head Start, so my mom thought it would be fun for me to go to preschool since it was free. Unfortunately I was already reading by the age of 4 and bored out of my mind in preschool. I had horrible behavioral problems. The bright side of it was that our elementary school was a magnet school and had special classes that were for gifted kids. I was able to get into an "advanced" kindergarten class with other kids who could read also. I'm so grateful that I could have a good start to the school year.
I have started to think more about kindergarten for S-Boogie, since in just a year or so she'll start. Her birthday is at the beginning of August, so if I start her on schedule she will be one of the youngest in her class. And she's small for her age. At the same time, she should be academically ready. And she'll have had nearly two years of preschool/day care before going to school. But I'm stil nervous about sending her off to kindergarten for some reason.
Not sure what my point is...I'm just blabbing about kindergarten. I think it's dumb that anxiety over test scores has trickled down to kindergarteners. I remember kindergarten as having lots of fun playing time, singing songs, and stuff like that. Less rote learning and more fun. Now that's what preschool is. And I know a lot of people here who want pre-preschool too. When is the madness supposed to stop?
I'll be very honest and say that one of the reasons why I send S-Boogie to preschool once or twice a week is because I need a break from her. But if you're fine having him hang around at home all day, then by all means keep him home. I think it also depends on the kid's personality. S-Boogie loves social situations. She had no problem transitioning to nursery. When I signed her up for this preschool a month or so ago the teachers all thought it was funny that she said goodbye to me without blinking and only cried when I came to pick her up. But I know that a lot of kids are not the same way at all.
If you don't feel that traditional kindergarten offered through the school district is the right fit for you guys, there are also a lot of good programs out there that fill many different needs. Most will even offer scholarships. I've discovered with S-Boogie that sometimes the value of school is not so much in the academics but in other areas of their lives that kids need help in. It can take a while to find a good program, though.
Kindergarten! You're already thinking about kindergarten!? Holy crap woman!
Don't we have like a year before we have to really think about it?
You're making me scared.
You should probably just home school the Dude. He's probably to brilliant for public school.
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Maybe we should send both our kids to that German school. Neither of them knows German.
Foxy: Thanks for pointing me in the direction of the article. I think what I came away with was that setting an "age" when kids should start school isn't working. It should be more what they're ready for, but I realize the complications (especially that ever ready cry of "discrimination!") with that system.
Both the SM and I were fairly miserable in "normal school" but really enjoyed the Gifted and Talented programs we got to participate in. I think that's what I most worry about with the Dude. I'm not worried about him socially. He'd love it if Kindergarten were just games and playing and singing. If that were what kindergarten was, I wouldn't be worried so much.
Lady Steed: The deadlines for "applying" to kindergarten are crazily early - and I need time to deviously wangle the Dude's way into a different kindergarten than the one he is slated to enter.
Th.: How about a Spanish school? That way I could at least understand their homework. Or perhaps Korean? After all, you're the professional teacher.
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Mmm. How much are we thinking of paying me?
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