Kindergarten is the first step for children to receive education. But is this step becoming more like a leap?
Ms. Kelly, who shared her experience as a kindergarten teacher on her TikTok account @the_wondermint, posed the question that may be on the minds of many parents as the back-to-school season begins.
“So I want to ask, as someone who has been a kindergarten teacher for 20 years, remember when we were in kindergarten and we just had to be potty trained and not eat glue?” Kelly asked.
“When I see all these videos telling me what you need to do to prepare your child for kindergarten, things your child must know before they go to kindergarten, and these lists of things that parents need to do, my heart breaks. It’s all broken,” she explained.
For Kelly, today’s kindergarten standards are much more stringent than her generation’s expectations.
“Human development hasn’t changed, what a five or six-year-old can do physically, mentally and developmentally hasn’t changed over the years. But for some reason… the expectations we have for them when they go to school Something has changed,” she said.
Kelly noted that kindergarten can be a difficult transition, and in her experience, if teachers spend more time on arts, crafts, and games, kids will eventually be fine.
“Love those little babies who are separated from their parents, some for the first time. The learning will come. The development will come, the ABCs, one, two, three, writing, all of it, it will come… Lessons, It’s going to happen. Learn, it’s going to happen. Let our kids be kids. Let those five- and six-year-olds grow into what they’re supposed to be, which is a kid,” she said.
The comments generally agreed with Kelly. Many parents expressed their fears about their children entering kindergarten, or negative experiences with children who were already in kindergarten.
“Finally someone said it,” Jennifer Field said. “For elementary school students, the curriculum is crazy. They have completely lost their childhood.
“Agreed, kindergarten report cards used to be jumping rope, walking on the balance beam, and the hardest thing was counting to 100,” Andrea Niesse said.
“Yes! My son struggled in kindergarten last year and even had homework! I can’t believe everything he knows. The teacher said he had a hard time focusing… yes, he’s five! Amanda Lindsay shared.
Kelly continues the topic of homework in a follow-up video.
She explained that instead of giving students homework, she would encourage parents to spend time reading with their children.
“We’re going to be covering what we’re covering with these little babies for five, six hours, and if we can’t cover it in that time, we’re certainly not going to be able to get the best out of them at 5, 6 p.m. Good level.
Many parents in the comments agreed that the amount of homework their young children received did feel like it was too much.
“My kids were very tired after a long day at kindergarten, and then there was a lot of homework. I told the teacher there was nothing I could do. And I didn’t force them to do it!” the mother said.
So what do experts say?
A study in the American Journal of Educational Research confirms that kindergarten is indeed becoming more focused on academic skills. However, research has found that placing a greater emphasis on academics in kindergarten can improve children’s academic and social-emotional outcomes later in life.
As for homework, a study by educational psychologists found that homework may be helpful for older children but does not improve grades among elementary school students.
So while a full day at school may boost your child’s brain development, the extra work afterwards may not be as helpful.
