In December 2007, our local board of education outlined its purpose to standardize all-day kindergarten instruction across the region beginning with the 2008-2009 school year. According to the board, their enthusiasm is buoyed by a successful preliminary program which has been running within the region, as well as research which supports the notion that all-day kindergarten enhances a scholar’s self-confidence and independence, leading to higher progress in social and learning skills.
The move represents a significant starting from the traditional half day kindergarten routine (which, literally, is not a good half day), which was designed to provide youngsters with an introduction virtual reality hong kong to their elementary years and where they could engage in a period of time of social interaction. That being said, a significant percentage of areas both state-wide and across the country have appreciated all-day kindergarten. And certainly we’ve all heard about Sunday school and other examples of educational rigor placed upon young students abroad, particularly in china and taiwan. It is worth noting that this practice is alive and well the city where I live, within certain ethnic communities through their civic and spiritual centers.
Thus arguments are usually heard the necessity of “starting earlier” and “working harder” so that our students can simply remain competitive in the global landscape. But is asking a five year old to spend 30 hours a week at school too much to ask of them? We examine both sides of the issue.
On the positive side, the primary overarching purpose of all-day kindergarten is to better prepare students to ensure. This is of success is clearly in the eye of the beholder: an enhancement of learning capabilities, an increased score on some future standard quiz, or the ability to more effectively play games with peers. Needs to be definition, there is a body of educational research which supports the claim that today’s five year olds are in your head able to endure the excess class room time and discover a lasting benefit from it. And there are parents who have put their kids through all-day kindergarten that will heartily vouch for the benefits it provided.
Furthermore, it is certainly true that children from some families where a certain degree of taking care of is not available will actually benefit more, socially and psychologically, from a longer period in the class room where age appropriate stimulus is available. For these students, more time at home may just result in more television, more video games, or in some cases more neglect.
And, as alluded to earlier, we are a nation which is becoming a net outsourcer of skilled labor. Countless thousands of American jobs have been shipped overseas to harder working and better trained workforces who are able to provide more value for less overall. If the You. S. hopes to maintain its status in the global marketplace, then we must provide educational rigor on our youth as often-and in this case as early-as possible.
But all-day kindergarten has its detractors as well. Educational research published by Rand Education, The Goldwater Institute, and other reputable institutions cites empirical studies which say that the boost received by an all-day kindergarten student may be short lived, with a lot of the advantage dissipating within many years.
So, obviously, there is valid research available to support both sides of the debate. However, in researching this topic we found that detractors tell of plenty of practical arguments that strike closer to home and resonate even more than educational research.
First, many parents question whether their children (typically boys, whoever psychological development has a more roundabout path) are “ready” for all-day kindergarten. They have seen their children slowly adjust to the pre-school environment, which in most of kids translates into just a few hours a day, three days a week. They just don’t foresee their child being able to changeover to the larger time commitment of all-day kindergarten. For these parents, a half-day 5 day each week kindergarten seems a more logical way of linking the hole from preschool to elementary school.
Next, some parents believe that the excess child-parent “quality time” available when a child is in half-day kindergarten is of more benefit than all-day kindergarten’s additional academics. These parents prefer to spend the excess time with their children bonding and visiting destinations such as the childrens’ museum, the zoo, a nearby park, or the YMCA. For these parents the kindergarten year represents a way of preparing their child, and honestly themselves, for the changeover to everyone day school.
And on a local level, some parents have expressed concerns our schools are too packed to set aside additional classes to all-day kindergarten sections. Others have claimed that the region has too much on its plate right now resolving other monetary and practical issues.
As my spouce and i often say to one another, “the truth is somewhere at the center. inch It is my perspective that all-day kindergarten is certainly the right choice for some while being inadvisable to force upon others. Some kids will benefit in the long run from the additional educational rigor, while other kids lack the maturation to stay engaged for your day and you will be frustrated by it. The best solution is to have both options available, with the choice ultimately being left to the parent(s).
Our local region has outlined a plan where half-day kindergarten will continue to be available in certain schools pending sufficient interest in maintaining it. It would be my hope that as many parents as possible who choose to stick with half-day kindergarten will be able to enroll their child at their nearest school, not just for convenience but also permit the child to begin meeting new people with the peers they will be with during first grade and beyond.