The 2008 political campaigns are focusing a great deal of attention on early childhood education in the United States. These politicians are filling their speeches with promise after promise of what the government can and must do to provide universal early childhood education for all. I am encouraged by these speeches, but feel that the emphasis on universal programs is financially impossible. Historically, our nation has only been able to fund preschool for the low-income sector, and even those programs (ie Head Start) have not produced the promised results.
Who is the most enthusiastic stakeholder in a child’s life? Who has the greatest potential to define the educational potential of a child? Who is a child’s favorite playmate? Parents!
Parents want their children to enter kindergarten confident and ready to succeed in school and in life. Therefore, parents must be experts in the development of their own children. We must start teaching our children from birth, ourselves.
Not every parent in our nation has gone to school to be a teacher, but it is possible to define what, when, and how to teach a child before they enter kindergarten in a way that is logical, fun, and easy to manage.
As a national board certified kindergarten teacher, I have seen firsthand the decline in skills (social and academic) and level of understanding of students entering kindergarten over the past 15 years. You’re probably thinking that, given technological advances, we should be getting better, right? Yes, we should be, but we’re not! Several factors have led to a decline in student readiness and enthusiasm for learning in this new global society, including:
1. More single-parent households. According to the US Census, three out of 10 American children live in single-parent households. The biggest investment needed for a child’s success in school and in life is time. Time to motivate, time to model, time to mentor, time to share learning activities, time to appreciate each other’s strengths and work to improve weaknesses. When one adult is pulling the weight of two, there is simply never enough time!
2. More moms working full time outside the home. In the United States, the labor force participation of mothers with preschool-age children tripled between 1960 and 1990, from 20 percent to 60 percent. According to Stanford researcher Paula England, the labor participation of mothers continued to increase during the 1990s, but at a much slower rate, so that by the year 2000, 65 percent of mothers of preschool children They were working.
Working moms are often faced with chaos, tantrums, rushed dinners, and bedtime fights. Instead, this should be a time when working moms enjoy precious moments with their children. These moms need a quick, organized resource to ensure their special time together is spent in a fun and meaningful way to alleviate some of the guilt the working mom faces.
3. Unaffordable child care options. Many American women who are full-time homemakers cannot afford to work. They don’t have the education or work experience necessary to earn a salary to cover childcare or transportation costs, although the family might really need a second income. This often results in children sitting in front of the television for most of the day because the mother does not have the necessary tools and information to develop skills in the home environment. Many studies have clearly linked excessive television viewing (at an early developmental age) with ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder).
4. Increase in battery-powered toys. Gone are the days when toys gave children the opportunity to use their imaginations to develop higher-order thinking skills, problem solving, and advanced concepts of cause and effect. Even baby swings, bouncy seats, and high chairs now come with lights, bells, whistles, moving toys, and much more to overstimulate your little one. Children learn through play, but the Energizer Bunny does not develop dendrites in the brain.
5. Children with busier schedules than their parents. We are a nation addicted to outsourcing responsibilities. We have created a culture that lacks a precious element: time. We seem to think that “more is better”, but when did we lose sight of the old idea of “less is more”? Why do our babies’ schedules have to be so tight? And what effect does overscheduling have on a child’s behavior, stress level, and self-concept?
6. Passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. This law requires each state to create and test learning standards for each grade level beginning in kindergarten. By 2013, all students in the United States should score proficient on the standardized test administered at each grade level. So what’s the problem with expecting competition? The problem is that today students are only expected to have basic knowledge and a basic understanding of concepts and skills. And the numbers aren’t good: Only 50 percent are performing at the basic level in many states. The law makes no exceptions for students with special needs, and the standards are very high: children are expected to write a sentence or more by the time they finish kindergarten. As with anything, once you’re behind, it’s hard to get ahead!
7. A culture of immediate gratification. When kids want something today, they usually get it! Think about the implications this has once they are in school. Assignments and projects often last a week or more to develop a deep understanding of the topic being studied. Students are asked to keep their attention on the task, use reflection and analyze what they have learned. For a child who has always immediately received everything she wants, the task is very difficult. We have to reverse the mentality! In the business world, adults work in teams now more than ever. Strong values and social norms such as responsibility, teamwork, perseverance, determination, and a love of learning should be taught from birth.