No wonder this country is so screwed up. You think children need structure to “learn to learn?” My ignorant observations are that children begin learning from birth.
It is amazing that even the illegal alien parents I know teach their children from birth. (Anchor babies) I sat at a high school basketball game one night, and an anchor baby toddler was sitting near me. He had blocks with the abcs on them. He named the letters for me as I asked. His mother spoke almost no English. His older siblings read to him in English and taught him letters and numbers. No structure. Just normal life. He will be ready for kindergarten. As for mom and her legal status, that is a problem he will eventually understand.
“No wonder this country is so screwed up. You think children need structure to “learn to learn?” My ignorant observations are that children begin learning from birth.”
Yes. Children DO need structure. They also need to know how to handle themselves in a classroom environment. There’s raising your hand, standing in line etc...
I’m glad you mentioned illegal alien parents. My wife has several students in her kindergarten class that speak NO ENGLISH whatsoever.
It’s a shame that there are parents who don’t take the time to teach their kids basic things. However it’s a FACT OF LIFE. You’re talking about conservative ideals and I agree... it SHOULD be the way you say but it isn’t.
So what do we do then? Do we allow the kids, who are the real losers in this scenario, to fall behind in kindergarten?
What happens in kindergarten is that the “high” kids are no longer being challenged because the class curriculum has been simplified for the “low” kids. Pre-k provides a boost for those children who don’t know english, or learn things slower than their peers.