Mandatory kindergarten on the way? (day care, homes, public school)

[WesternPilgrim]

Despite the fact that 90-95% of eligible California toddlers attend kindergarten, there are two bills in the CA legislature proposing to make kindergarten compulsory.

Proponents argue that kindergarten is good for 5 year olds. My response: compared to what? Nothing is better for 5 year olds than a normal, wholesome and robust family life - I repeat: nothing. Granted, not all kids have that, but many do, and compulsory kindergarten takes that option away from everyone but committed homeschoolers.

The predominant thinking in the CA legislature is pretty clear: parents don't know what they're doing and the state needs to take charge. Can't have that extra 5-10% out of step with the rest.

The whole thing seems very surreal. What's the rush? Why the push? It can't be education. Children don't need to start reading until ages 7 to 10. One of the brightest American scholars of the last century didn't learn to read until age 12. I know a physician who was illiterate into his late teens. This isn't about education, it's about something else .... what?

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim

Children don't need to start reading until ages 7 to 10. One of the brightest American scholars of the last century didn't learn to read until age 12. I know a physician who was illiterate into his late teens. This isn't about education, it's about something else .... what?

Its not 1850 anymore.

[WesternPilgrim]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Its not 1850 anymore.

In some respects, that's unfortunate.

The scholar I mentioned died in 1994. The physician is alive today.

By the way, I'd like to know what educational policies can't be justified under the rubric "it's not 1850 anymore". If anything.

[TrueTimbers]

Sure a solid supportive family is #1... Many kids sit in day care. Many households do not have a committed stay at home parent, they work. Fact is we the USA are falling behind......

Like it or not a class rooms level of progress is usually held back by the lowest performing students.....Kindergarten is time to start structured learning, to learn patterns and behaviour...Matter of fact I feel PRE K should be standard too!! Yes 90+% go... Time to make it a standard...


Invest in education.... It is our future..

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim

Why the push? Children don't need to start reading until ages 7 to 10. This isn't about education, it's about something else .... what?

Probably that the U.S. lags behind other countries in education (most specifically, Japan). Gone are the days when kindergarteners played in the sandbox and fingerpainted....or at least that's what we all did in California kindergartens decades ago. Since the 1980s, public school kindergarteners are expected to recognize words by sight, write their name, understand sequence, etc. And they really do need to be able to read by second grade.

[Bulldogdad]

Liberals love compulsion.

[DMenscha]

Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim

Children don't need to start reading until ages 7 to 10.

And THAT may be the most ignorant statement I've ever read.

Both my children were able to read by the age of 4 and both of them attended college on scholarships, because they were able to excel in school because of their reading comprehension. They were able to think for themselves at an early age and that has stood them well their whole lives.

To bring up one apocryphal example of someone excelling in spite of getting a late start reading, is the exception to the rule.

Heck, let's not teach them math until they're 12, and make sure they're never exposed to a foreign language. I'm sure we'll compete well with the rest of the world.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by DMenscha

And THAT may be the most ignorant statement I've ever read.

Both my children were able to read by the age of 4 and both of them attended college on scholarships, because they were able to excel in school because of their reading comprehension. They were able to think for themselves at an early age and that has stood them well their whole lives.

To bring up one apocryphal example of someone excelling in spite of getting a late start reading, is the exception to the rule.

Heck, let's not teach them math until they're 12, and make sure they're never exposed to a foreign language. I'm sure we'll compete well with the rest of the world.

+1 What are we now near 30th in education when we used to be number one? Learning to read as soon as possible sets the stage to learn more over the long run. WP if you want to know what that statement may have implied regarding 1850; America is no longer some isolated society where we only have to compete with one another as we try to settle the west. We're on a global stage now and if we're not properly prepared to compete, we're going to become irrelevant as an important nation. We didn't become the world's riches and most powerful by accepting mediocrity.

[WesternPilgrim]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

+1 What are we now near 30th in education when we used to be number one? Learning to read as soon as possible sets the stage to learn more over the long run. WP if you want to know what that statement may have implied regarding 1850; America is no longer some isolated society where we only have to compete with one another as we try to settle the west. We're on a global stage now and if we're not properly prepared to compete, we're going to become irrelevant as an important nation. We didn't become the world's riches and most powerful by accepting mediocrity.

Sorry, but this push for earlier and earlier compulsory everything does nothing but rob children of their childhood and set the stage for social and political indoctrination. No thanks. One sees little kids nowadays marching off to school, where they already spend the majority of their waking hours, carrying books that weigh more than they do. That's a tragedy.

I don't give a fig about my children being "competitive" or belonging to the world's "richest" and "most powerful" and "important" nation. I want them to be happy and to do good things in life. Good heavens, children don't belong to the state.

[WesternPilgrim]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

What are we now near 30th in education when we used to be number one? Learning to read as soon as possible sets the stage to learn more over the long run.

But let's look at the historical reality. Since the introduction of compulsory, mass public education, standards have consistently declined. My immigrant great-grandparents were better educated by the 8th grade than I was with a high school diploma. My grandparents were better educated with a high school education than I was with a bachelor's degree. And my own homeschooled children - using a classical curriculum that doesn't rob them of their childhoods - are already better educated than I am in many respects. They are now educating me to the point where it's embarrassing.