If kids in general are not ready for formal classroom education until they are between 8 & 10, how in the heck did those of us who are over 30, 40, 50, and above get through school starting at 5 or 6?
Are the kids of today so different than we were? If so, why?
Catering to the lowest common denominator does no good for children, in any environment, but most especially in education.
I don't know. Maybe we just were better at sitting still in class until we got it because we knew we'd "get it" when we got home if we didn't?
It's really worth reading the book, if only to help understand the kids who need the extra time and where he's coming from.
It's been years since I read the book myself and I'm not sure where my copy got to. But now I'm interested in getting hold of a copy and reading it again.
Kindergarten especially, is very different from when we attended school. There is a ton more work, there are more expectations and much less free time.
Kindergarten used to be more about learning to follow rules, sit quietly, take turns with the other kids. We had inside play time, and lots of art projects plus a recess and a snack time. I was being taught to read and count, print letters and numbers, we grew some bean plants for science. It seems to me that all of that information was put out there, but if kids weren't quite getting it, no one freaked out.
Today, if a kid falls behind with a few letter sounds, everyone is losing their minds and an extra tutor comes in to practice with that child, and the key ring of letters is sent home for practice and it just seems so pressure-filled.
I have been in kindergarten rooms where a kid in a half day program (3 hours) has been pulled out by 3 separate special ed teachers to work on 3 separate issues. That kid is LOST when he rejoins his class, and 15 minutes later he's being pulled aside again to work on something else completely unrelated to what has been going on.
The kids seem worn out and frustrated to me.