It is a sad day when kindergartners are required to go to summer school. I met a mom this weekend who is dismayed at the prospect. Her daughter is 5 1/2 years old and just finished kindergarten. This youngster didn’t reach the reading benchmark and is now facing 4 weeks of summer school. It’s not camp; it is summer school. Three hours a day. It doesn’t feel appropriate to the mom, but she is torn because the school is strongly recommending it.
The other day, I wrote about the wonderful opportunities for unstructured time in the summer. Now, here is a school imposing a four-week sentence on a someone who isn’t even 6 yet. The summer school isn’t mandatory, but the mom has decided to send her daughter for fear that she will be even more behind in the fall. The funny thing is, her daughter is just a few weeks older than my sons, and they haven’t started kindergarten yet! I reassured her that her instincts are correct, that the academic expectations are developmentally inappropriate, and that she and her daughter are not alone in this dilemma. I told her about the Alliance for Childhood and their recent report Crisis in the Kindergarten and Why Children Need to Play in School and suggested she bring it to the school administration and hopefully change the conversation. Also available is an eight page summary of the report. Here is a taste…direct from their website:
The new Alliance for Childhood report presents evidence of rising rates of kindergarten retention and extreme behavioral difficulties. It critiques current kindergarten standards, scripted teaching, and standardized testing of young children, and makes recommendations to educators, policymakers, and parents for much-needed change.
On a related note, I also talked to a mom whose 9-year-old son wants to begin playing a musical instrument. His school requires a 5-week daily commitment to group lessons. That’s right. Every day for 5 weeks of his summer vacation, he has to go to school. He really wants to learn an instrument, so his family is biting the bullet and making the commitment, even though it puts considerable stress on family life. (I went to band camp in the summer…but I was in college at the time – not fourth or fifth grade!)
So much for my campaign to keep kids unscheduled as much as possible over the summer! (Summer Boredom? Bring it on! June 30, 2009) These are but two examples of public schools encroaching on family summer schedules and pressuring parents to make descisions that don’t feel right for their young kids.
Do you have a similar experience? I welcome your comments.
After I wrote this post, I was thrilled to receive the latest edition of Community Playthings' Collage Newsletter. They feature a slideshow of their summer program with kids delighting in nature. Nice. I needed that!
http://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/outdoorplay/ourchildren.html?source=collage
There are some kindergartners who, in addition to their regular highly structured school day, are doing after school tutoring. This happened in a public school where I taught this year in Boston. A retiring kindergarten teacher at this school said that the best part of the school year was in June when she was able to give the students more time to play. So many opportunities for emotional and social growth are lost when teachers and schools cannot create developmentally appropriate learning environments due to the emphasis on testing.
This post makes me think we need to strike a balance between play and learning in the classroom. I think we can bridge this gap when we do what Karen mentioned…create developmentally appropriate environments. It is easier said than done. I notice that I often help create opportunities for play at home with an idea (nothing forced but suggested and I don't participate in the play). I also do this in the classroom when I teach by suggesting ideas for what to read, write or create. Play can be modeled, scaffolded and tied into so many learning routines in the classroom (like partner work, shared reading, writing and math)
Thanks for posting. So much to think about!!
Yes, Katie and Karen! Developmentally appropriate learning environments is the key. And the link between learning and play is well documented. What has been surprising to me is the number of school administrators who have lost sight of this – in the face of testing mania! Also, I have heard from many parents over the last few weeks who clearly think that Kindergarten Summer School is a wonderful resource to help "keep up with the Joneses". Not every parent thinks it is a good idea, but many, many do. It is making me realize how big the task (of protecting and promoting play)truly is – and also how essential!