As my son prepares to enter Kindergarten next year, the topic of conversation with many of my friends is often Kindergarten. I discovered the elementary school down the street from our home is not performing well on test scores. We had planned to move in a few years, now we wonder if we should move sooner than we anticipated or enroll him in a private school, even though, I have many many people tell me, "It's just Kindergarten."
I would beg to differ with
them. The skills you are learning in
Kindergarten are the foundation of future success in life. Without a solid foundation, you can’t build a
wealth of knowledge. Research did not
necessarily support my belief, as students who performed well in early years,
often had their edge fade out, according to standardized test scores, by the time
students were in junior high. However, what
students are learning in Kindergarten is reflected in more than just their test
scores through high school. Students who
learn more in Kindergarten are more likely to go to college, they are more
likely to be saving for retirement and most importantly earn more money
(Leonhardt, 2010). In the 1980’s, a
study of Kindergarteners, in Tennessee, known as Project Star. Students were randomly assigned to a
kindergarten class, as a result the classes had fairly similar socioeconomic
mixes of students and could be expected to perform similarly on an end of the
year test. They did not, some classes
did much better than others; the teachers made a huge difference! For the most
recent study they revisited the students who had taken part in Project Star to
see where they are in life now.
The article suggests that the
way to encourage teachers to do a better job would be to pay teachers who do a
better job more and fire the worst teachers.
I agree that all teachers should be pushed to do an incredible job for
each child they instruct. In addition
legislation about what Kindergarten is and should be needs to be enacted. In Pennsylvania, where Kindergarten is not
legally required, many school districts continue to only offer half day
Kindergarten, one school district considered three hours a half day. I think that the Common Core Standards will
help to push a common view of Kindergarten as well provide teachers with a
foundation of what needs to be covered during, their year, their 180 days, to
impact these adorable little people for the rest of their lives.
References
Leonhardt, D. (2010,
July 27). The case for $320,000 kindergarten teacher. The new york times.
Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/business/economy/28leonhardt.html?_r=1&
Rhea –
ReplyDeleteI understand and agree with your concern about wanting your children to go to the best school with the best teachers possible. I moved my own children when they were in elementary school because I wanted them to go to a school with “good test scores”. In hindsight, I am not sure that was the best decision for my children. They went to a middle school in which there was little economic and racial diversity, which created a different kind of problem for my children. They would sometimes compare themselves and their home activities with those of the many “wealthy” children at their school. While their educational program was excellent, I think that their social experience may have been detrimental. My children may have been better off attending the more diverse middle school near our first home. Low test scores at schools do not necessarily indicate problems with the “teaching” at the schools, but may reflect the large “cultural gaps” in the students’ home experiences.
It makes me upset when people say, "It's just Kindergarten.” I think that kindergarten is such an important year in children’s schooling. How students do in kindergarten sets the stage for their future success and can determine how they feel about learning and school in general. Kindergarten has become mostly academic with little to no time for social learning time (i.e., play).
I agree that having good teachers is essential for all students! A teacher can “make” or “break” a student’s school year. However, I strongly disagree with the suggestions in the article on paying teachers based upon their performance(s). I think that paying teachers based upon scores would create a big social divide in our country. Teachers would choose to teach students of higher socio-economic statuses since many of those students get more support at home and often perform better in school. Students of lower socio-economic statuses would then be at a disadvantage based upon teacher quality. I think that teachers who do not perform well should receive training. If they continue to not perform well, then they should be dismissed. I know that Montgomery County Public Schools have a teacher evaluation system in which teachers who are not performing well go on “PAR” to receive extra help.
I do not think that most teachers need to be “pushed” to do an incredible job for each child they instruct. In my experience, people who stay in teaching do so because they want to make a difference for each and every child. At least, I hope so!
My suggestion for you would be to visit your children’s school so that you can get a feel for the learning environment and the school climate. When making your decision about whether to move or not, I would go with your “gut” instinct on the quality of the school...