The Sunflower School

Kindergarten is simply not the paste eating picnic it used to be - and more's the pity.  Academic emphasis and instructional learning methods have eroded the efficacy of early childhood learning environments and, frankly, dumbed down our children.  It is no mystery to me why homeschooled children are performing so well in their teens - it's because they spent their youth with attentive caregivers making applesauce and building birdhouses instead of wasting their time incarcerated at a desk coloring Mr. Rectangle.  (Hmm, any child who has played with legos for two years should be able to correctly identify a parallelogram.) 

Kindergarten Readiness is the emperor's new clothes.  It has made good parents crazy by pitting them in competition with other families through their children's abilities.  It is a costly mistake that has derailed the progress of millions of American children by emphasizing test performance skills over meaningful life learning.  Arbitrary indicators  of intelligence and knowledge have disinvited young children to the banquet of education.

Any child is legally ready for Kindergarten if aged 6 years.  Children do not need to know how to print, read or share to be acceptable students in Kindergarten. It is a school's job to create a climate for effective education.

Let's take a lesson from those Finns - for years now Finland's high school students outscore every other industrialized nation in literacy, Math and Science.  A play-based early childhood is the Finnish national educational agenda -students are not even put into a desk until they are 7-9 years old.  Maybe we could look at the process that has lead to this profound and consistent success and implement it in our own schools. 

Teachers need the support of parents to overthrow the tyranny of "readiness" thought.  Talented educators have become scripted automatons in this misguided national frenzy of test-readiness that prevents children from receiving creative, effective, individualized education.  Teachers can and will, and prefer, to teach to children's needs and support them as avid learners.  School districts should articulate developmentally appropriate educational goals rather than require adherence to a canned curriculum.

The goal of schools should not be  to teach 5 year olds to learn to read; the definition of educational success is to consistently produce 12 year olds who love to read and write and problem-solve, and are confident, competent students who take charge of their own learning.

STRATEGIES

1. READ to your child every day!  Picture books, chapter books, comic strips, food labels. Visit the library weekly.
2. Engage your child in REAL TASKS: feeding the dog, setting the table, stirring the pancake batter.
3. PLAY with your child: board games, baseball, dress-up. . .hands-on games that require communication. 
4.  Do not give in to the "readiness" industry - refuse to buy workbooks and software that will Einstein your child.  Learning is an experience based, lifelong process.  Your child will learn and retain more geometry sewing a Halloween costume than completing a worksheet.
5. Turn off the television and push your child outside - healthy, active bodies generally house more intelligent minds.
6. Quit being a recreation leader - the less programming of children, the better.  You will save money at the pump and time in the car by limiting filofax playdates and lessons. Boredom can often be a great impetus to creativity and children need more down time.
7. Join the PTSA and let your school board know that homework for people under the age of 9 years is a waste of valuable family time (and trees).
8. With the exception of college, do not put your child into any program that requires him to interview or test for their consideration. If applying to a program makes you or your child anxious - it is NOT worth it.  Every child deserves to learn in an atmosphere of acceptance.