When remembering preschool and kindergarten, we are quick to think of games and playtime, not rigidly structured days of rigorous school work. However, the playtime we so clearly remember is steadily disappearing from America’s kindergarten classrooms, only to be replaced with more academic content.
Preschool and kindergarten classes are starting to include more advanced content in an effort to put American students ahead. Unfortunately, this push to increase the information these young kids are learning decreases the time they have to play and explore in class. It is creating a snowball effect, causing subsequent grades to become more advanced. With the decline of playtime, there comes the risk of kids getting burned out in school earlier and earlier.
In fact according to the Alliance for Childhood, a nonprofit organization concerned with child development, learning standards that were previously used for first grade have become the new standards for kindergarten. In the Scholastic article, “What Happened to Kindergarten,” Anne Stoudt, a kindergarten teacher from New Jersey says that, “kindergarten is now first grade, and first grade is now second grade.”
It is becoming increasingly common to have children reading by kindergarten. In addition to new learning standards, testing is becoming more and more prevalent in America’s kindergarten classrooms.
While it is not unreasonable to try to give America’s kids an advantage earlier in their schooling careers, it seems that we are going about it in all the wrong ways. According to the National Association for the Education of Young People, one of the top 10 signs of a good kindergarten classroom is that children have an ample amount of time to play.
It is important to note that the Alliance for Childhood is not suggesting letting children run free and do whatever they want, the playtime should have structure. The teachers must be involved so that kindergarten classrooms maintain a balance between chaos and a strict structure.
The American educational system has not changed with the sole purpose of benefiting its students, but has evolved with a prime focus on testing. However, the constant testing that American students endure may not be an accurate representation of ability. In fact, according to the Alliance for Childhood there is only a 50-50 chance of accuracy for standardized testing at the kindergarten level.
Instead of adding more testing earlier in students careers, America should focus on adding elements proven to help children learn in creative ways like the playtime.