I think the standards for kindergartners can have both positive and negative results. I think it is a good thing to have clear standards that need to be taught for all grades. Just because a child is in kindergarten does not mean he or she is not capable of learning things. Many of these standards were taught before anyways. Now they are just giving a title to what children have actually been learning all along. I also think the standards might be a little bit extreme.
Kindergarten is supposed to be a fun transition into school. I am afraid having such specific standards might take that away from kids. Once they pass kindergarten, most of the fun stops and they have to focus more on learning specific material. I think 172 benchmarks might be a few too many for children just beginning school. However kindergarten teachers seem to like the new standards, and veteran teacher Veronica Rieck says it helps her stay organized and remember what to teach. Should kindergarten remain a time to play or a time to learn?
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7 comments:
I think that, overall, the standards are a good idea, but I do agree with you that some of them are a bit difficult for kindergarteners. I have noticed, in a few circumstances, when I was in a first grade classroom and the students could not do what is asked of the kindergarteners. “Understand new words from the context of conversations or from the use of pictures within a text,” is one of them that the first graders had difficulty doing. To answer your final question, I do not think kindergarten is all about playing. In many schools, I have noticed preschoolers learning the alphabet, numbers, colors, and writing simple words and preschool was supposed to be “play time.” Instead, thirty minutes of their two and a half hour day in the classroom is spent doing writing activities.
I love your ending question. I think that it needs to be both. Children need to learn but they also need to learn through play. That is how some kids learn. It is important for the students to have fun. I think that with these standards they are more of a way for the teachers to stay organized and on top of what they need to teach. It is then their job to make the learning those standards fun and enjoyable for the class as a whole and for the individual child.
I agree with what els said, kindergarten needs to be fun and include play, but learning as well; and its the teachers job to make both of this happen simultaneously. The lessons SHOULD be the play, or atleast a main portion of it. That's what we're trying to learn as future students; how to make learning fun, how to integrate lessons into play and activities. I certainly agree that the students should not be sitting at tables/desks the whole day, in kindergarten or any other grade for that matter!
I really like your ending question because it is very debatable. I think the answer to your question should be a little bit of both. I think it should remain a time to play because students learn through play, and school should not be so stressful on a six year old. However, it should be a time to learn because kindergarden should prepare students of the years to come. Students should learn how to stay organized and how a classroom is structured, but also have fun in the process. I do not think it is necessary to have 172 benchmark in a kindergarden's curriculum, but it is a good idea to form a well-rounded curriculum that will prepare them fully for the first grade.
I believe that the standards are a good idea. Although, I can see why some people have both negative and positive views about them. I think it is a great thing to be structured in the classroom, but at the same time they need the time free learning time and dramatic play. But I feel that creativity can be showed through all activities that young children take part in. Just because something is more structured does not mean that ther cannot be a creative twist to it. I relaized when I was also reading it that 172 benchmarks seemed like a lot, but one you getting teaching, I think it wil be easier to add them in then what we are thinking now.
I agree with you on that there are some positives and negatives. I definately agree with you that the standards could take away from the fun and excitment of kindergarten, and that there are too many standards for these very young children. I wouldn't say that kindergarten is a time to play but some of the childen may learn through a play based enviornment and that it should be fun for them to learn.
I like the point you brought up about 172 benchmarks being too many. I agree! There are only so many days in a school year so how are teachers supposed to be expected to teach all these concepts and skills so that all the students learn and grasp the material based on their learning style and learning needs. It seems like a pretty unrealistic expectation and not very beneficial for the students.
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