In the article “Kindergarten Becoming More Academic, Reports Suggest” by Raymond Scott, there is said to be complaints about how kindergarten students are being held accountable of too high a standard when it comes to academics. The kindergarten that we once “considered to be an introduction to play, cooperation, and social skill” has now hardened its atmosphere and cracked down on the teaching of subjects such as literacy and mathematics where teachers are holding their students to first grade level learning standards (Scott, 2016). In the past two decades’ kindergarten educators have focused more on preparing students to test, to become familiar with structure, and use academic skill building in the classroom. There are oppositions on the …show more content…
In this new generation of learners there are many children who seem to have some form of learning disability that requires them to need some form of extra attention and assistance or uses a certain type of learning preference which would be an understandable reasoning as to why parents would complain at the increased academic expectations. While there may be less “play time” in the everyday schedule in the classroom, children are being prepared for their future and are being set up for a successful academic career. The young minds of kindergartens students are easily molded to learn whatever is being taught to them, which is why social interaction and development is so important for them to endure at this age. Due to their easily molded minds, the higher standard of academics that they are being held accountable is actually helping them to learn to work hard at receiving an education and can be way to teach them to learn to like the learning process. Society has softened its structure and demand from students by making excuses and requiring less of their academics as a whole, so when a topic like intensifying academics at a younger age is brought up it shows that there are people who just trying to make an attempt in improving the education
Teachers themselves are often left to make the best of what little they have to work with. A narrow curriculum with little for scholars to decide themselves leaves them feeling like completing cookie-cutter worksheets is boring and pointless. Over time, students begin to hold educators with contempt and become disgusted by school and the tedious, rote labor that comes with it. With no enthusiasm, defeated students scores plummet and the faculty in turn can develop a bad attitude about students. The worst part is this combination produces a negative loop that often only spirals further downward.
We live in a society where we are surrounded by people telling us that school/education and being educated is the only way to succeed. However, the school system is not up to the standards we want it to uphold. There are three issues we discuss the most which are the government, the student, and the teacher. In John Taylor Gatto 's essay “Against School”, we see the inside perspective of the educational system from the view of a teacher. In “I Just Wanna Be Average”, an essay written by Mike Rose, we hear a student 's experience of being in a vocational class in the lower level class in the educational system when he was supposed to be in the higher class. Both Gatto and Rose give their opinions on how the educational system is falling apart. Today the government is only trying to get students to pass, making it hard for teachers to teach what they want. Students are affected everyday by the school system. They sit there - bored - and do not think that the teachers care, making the
When excessive homework is assigned, teachers often overlook that this can affect their interpersonal skills. When the opposite occurs, students have a major risk in forgetting the material and its processes. I appreciated the approach that the article took presenting both sides without distorting their views. The article counted with important individuals in the field of education and psychology who expressed their views based on their extensive work of research. I agree with Campbell in the sense that decision of assigning homework is very personal and is based on each educator’s individual teaching style. The article implies how the freedom that many school districts gives to educators give them a greater say in how they manage their classrooms. The decision making about homework allows educators to grow as professionals because they are able to have control and responsibility in how they impart their lessons, consequently gaining experience. In my personal opinion, I agree in the benefits of homework as a reinforcement or remedial strategy because extra practice can often provide clarification. However, when using this as a resource for academic advancement I consider it a way to confuse students if the content has not been previously covered. Homework is definitely helpful, but for it to not be considered busy work it is important that the educator
Most controversies over education are centered around the question of how strictly standards should be upheld. The concern over whether or not flunking students is appropriate or even in the best interest of the student is a widely discussed topic. The argument often begins with students just starting school where the question of standardized testing for kindergartners arises. The majority of people are actually against such testing because they feel that a child who is labeled as a failure at such an early age may be permanently damaged (Bowen 86). The worry over the failure issue is further traced to educators who feel children just entering school are not fully prepared. Teachers are faced with kindergarten students who do not know their addresses, colors, and sometimes even first and last names (An ‘F’ 59).
But now even kindergarteners are feeling the wrath of conformity down their necks because of standardized testing. With prep books to help them prepare for the standardized testing, they are unable to go outside and play and just be kids because they are inside studying for an exam. (book cover) Furthermore, with standardized testing, there is also an upwards trend of students being unable to pick the classes they want to choose because the school already has them picked out.
Helping with homework and discussing topics in which the child may be having difficulty with can help them perform better in school. Parents need to be more aware that the time spent at school may not be enough for students to receive proper teaching instructions. There should be some interaction with studies outside of school hours. Unfortunately, for students who are at a socio-economic disadvantage often struggle in school, particularly if parents lack higher levels of education. In the book, Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s school, Kozol (1992) believed that, “the poorest parents, often the products of inferior education, lack of information access and the skills of navigation in an often hostile and intimidating situation to channel their children to the better schools, obtain the applications, and help them get ready for the necessary tests.” While parents are receiving the necessary information regarding their child 's education, they are not responding because they either did not understand the purpose nor did they investigate it. It’s not that many parents don’t care to know, they just seem to lack the understanding or
Children around the world are being educated every day but some betters then others. What point in life does one have the incentive to be educated? For many they have the desire to be educated when they are young and in school. Others don’t desire to learn until they are no longer children. The entire purpose of the education system is to obtain knowledge and learn at higher levels. Then why do people not want to learn when they are in school in today’s society? This lack of interest of motivation or emotional support from the teachers, family and School system could be keeping kids from wanting to learn. In his essay “School vs. Education,” Russell Baker seems to believe that our system of education needs great improvement in the way we go about educating are students in today’s society. Schools and parents need more support educating students in each different stage of education throughout their life.
The goal of education is to provide children with the opportunity to amass a wealth of knowledge, love for learning, and academic strength. Children go to school to read, write, and learn a variety of subjects. While education is meant to be exciting for children, there have to be standards in order to make sure that progress is being and those children are where they need to be in order to move onto the next phase of their education. Education builds as it grows, and students need a strong foundation in order to succeed and continue. Without those strong building blocks, students will continue to fall back and repeat the same material again and again. And so, testing and assessment come into play to make sure children are where they need to be. However, in early childhood settings testing is almost non-existent because of the stigma around testing. The current debate in our education system argues that testing is not a good measure of a child’s actual knowledge. Rather, assessment gives teachers a better picture of a student’s abilities and capabilities in the classroom. Thus, currently the debate continues over assessment versus testing in the classroom due to the demand for knowledge on whether or not testing is a good way of measuring a student’s progress in school.
Kindergarten is an important milestone for young children. When children enter kindergarten, there are a variety of children that are from different backgrounds homes and preschools that need a wide range of support in kindergarten readiness. In either scenario parents would like their children ready for kindergarten. Kindergarten Readiness are specific skills and requirements for children who will be entering kindergarten. According to (Graue 1993), kindergarten readiness is a complex idea linked to meanings and factors, chronological age, development stage, specific academics and social skills, and home school connections. Each state has a kindergarten transition plan, checklist and what is expected from the children before they enter kindergarten.
Kohn, Alfie. A. The Schools Our Children Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms and "Tougher Standards." Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Print.
Before you are even born you have standards that are waiting to be met. You have a due date, your first words, first steps, and many other “first” that are expected of you. Every individual learns to do these things at different times and at different paces. These expectations continue all the way to the class room. Prior to Kindergarten, everyone learns to talk, read, and get potty- trained at different times. However, whenever you enter Kindergarten you are given the kindergarten curriculum because you are five, not necessarily because you are ready for it. Some students may be well pre-prepared in advance for the material and others may need all the help they can get. Therefore, test scores are not a good indication of a school’s competency.
On April 1, 2010, I was welcomed into Mrs. Smith’s all day kindergarten class at the O’Dea Core Knowledge Elementary School in Fort Collins Colorado to observe and note the classroom conditions, interactions of the children among themselves, the teachers or other authority figures and the manner in which learning takes place.
...the pressure of keeping up with other students. Here, they can work at their own pace and figure out a solution that best works for them to understand or solve a problem. One last idea school reform should address in creating an equality of opportunity in public schools would be to set standards and spend more time in the classroom on these important tasks. These standards are put into place to help evaluate one’s progress. It’s important to have some standards in place, but they need to be feasible. To make such standards feasible, the teacher will be able to tailor it so that the standard can be met by the student. Spending a decent amount of time to get students to reach these standards is imperative. Without a sufficient amount of time, students may not be able to grasp and fully understand what is being taught to them resulting in standards not being met.
Entering my kindergarten teaching experience in the last quarter of school year I had to quickly become familiar with kindergarten content standards and the school’s curriculum. To do this I observed my mentor teachers instructional time with the children and gained as much information as I could about the children’s educational standing by developing a professional relationship with the my mentor teacher and the children. I learned that the majority of my kindergarten children had not previously attended preschool and that this was their first year of school. I found that interacting with the children in social activities provided me with great insight to their literacy, math, science, and social studies development. In reviewing the children’s class projects, school displays, and an array of their work sample along with my mentor teachers year-long assessments I was able to recognize challenging, emerging and advanced content areas of the children’s core curriculum. These emerging and challenging content areas is what I centered my curriculum planning around. “Information about each child’s learning and development is used to evaluate teaching effectiveness. This may lead to changes in schedule, curriculum and teaching strategies, room set up, resources, and so on.” (Bredekamp and Copple, p. 249)
For parents, it is generally easier when children are younger; content is easier, and schools (and children) seem a bit more welcoming to parents being involved. As children grow, however, the content becomes more difficult, schools and children are much less welcoming to parent involvement, and parents are left with just asking questions: “How was school today?” and/or “Did you do your homework?” Of course, all this doesn’t even consider the issue of parents working multiple jobs who struggle with finding time for involvement in their child’s education.