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| Yes | 50% | 571 votes | Total: 1139 votes | |
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Add to FavoritesFull day kindergarten programs benefit not only children, but the parents who are often in need of wholesome day care. Why waste this precious learning time. Most children entering the first grade with one or two years of structured learning and discipline behind them, do better and have no problems keeping up in the first grade.
A caution here is sending them to kindergarten too early. If they are not fully ready, say five before September, then another year of development would benefit them greatly. To hold a child back a year after starting in one class often is embarrassing to the child, but worse, may cause feelings of inferiority. Yes, beginning at the age of five, full day kindergarten is best. For four year olds, however, only four years.
Updating the above two paragraphs I sought online help in deciding the pros and cons of full day kindergarten from Bracken Reed in "An Option worth considering". She cites others who agree that information is lacking on the precise details but she did find enough evidence to support a normal school day for kindergartners.
I came away for reading with more knowledge on the subject but still with my original idea that for some children a full day of kindergarten will be okay but for younger children they may need to go home and take a nap. Emotional security being the key word here along with actual age. Some children actually go to school too soon and this can or break their whole school experience for them. Yet in this area, we are again talking about the normal school age and are not taking into consideration the students who may need to learn a new language as well as learning what children normally learn in school.
For those language underprivileged and those poverty underprivileged - two separate categories - a full day of kindergarten may be the best approach. As with everything when you are getting input from others, there are varying answers and the one conclusion we all can agree where education is no one size fits all.
Yet children must be educated and that education to be meaningful must be tailored to each child individually, and as great and as wholesome as that seems, it is not fair to expect the school system to get an A here. An A for effort will do. Some teachers fear, she says, that the programs for the normal first grade will be trimmed down to fit the kindergartner, and that will leave the first grade inadequate for those who have had kindergarten.
Interaction between teachers and parents and a more exploratory atmosphere seem to be the answer. Yet, as I stated above, this works well in theory but will the school system be able to afford the extra help this will entail? These are questions to ponder and in the meantime, parents and teachers will continue to see what works best for each.
The school experience at least prepares the student for this one thing in life: it prepares him to expect the unexpected and what may at first be seen as a draw back to a good education, may prove to be the catalyst that meant the difference between a mediocre education and one filled with promise and a lifetime of living fully within the confines of one's capabilities.
Source:
http://www.rel.org/n ereport/jan03/kinder garten.htm
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No
As a former Early Childhood Educator and supporter of early learning. I think it would be better for school systems to implement preschool based classroom. Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education have very different learning approaches and philosophies. When the early childhood approach is left out, a succession of early learning steps are omitted.
Early childhood classrooms include a variety of hands on and self guided projects. While the typical elementary education classroom provides a variety of teacher directed activities. Children in a self directed early childhood classroom can initiate learning at their own level and run with ideas that will stimulate their intellectual growth and development. Such classrooms are often open to learning centers that offer their participants the ability to move with ease between activities.
While both the early childhood classroom and the early elementary classroom may appear the same to the casual observer they are much different in flexibility. Both classrooms appear to have centers set up which may include; a housekeeping area, a reading center, a science center, and perhaps an art center. However, the difference lies in the subject matter or content. The art center in the early childhood classroom typically has a variety of art activities to choose from, and a variety of materials to use with a classroom aide or parent volunteer assisting as needed. The ideas however would be totally up to the preschool student to initiate. The elementary classroom art center while wonderfully stocked with numerous supplies may lack the assistance of additional staff or volunteers to help facilitate the activities and thus limit the freedom of the overall experience.
Additionally, time is a big factor when it comes to early learners and their teachers. Half days work best for early learners. Some children at this age and developmental stage are not ready for a full day of stimulation. They lack the stamina required to stay focused for long periods of time and simply wear out. Breakfast is often early as the family gets ready for work and older children ready for school. Little ones need rest periods and plenty of free movement time. They require naps, snacks, lots of tenderness and full days often cannot accommodate their needs leading to fatigue and early burnout.
School systems are in need of some form of early education, as parents are unable to provide the funding for preschool experiences and are tired from work, the numbers of children entering public schools that lack simple skills like cutting paper, following directions, and listening to a story, are growing. Everyone is trying to get a handle on this situation, and I think the difference lies in the "difference" in education practices between early childhood and elementary teaching styles and techniques.
Early Childhood degrees are typically 2 year degrees, and their graduates typically work in state, local and privately run child development centers. Elementary education degrees are 4 year degrees. The focus between the two is different and elementary educators are bound by "standards" which are much more rigid than the early childhood guidelines.
It is a dilemma, and without much growth in the form of education dollars a break to families struggling to make ends meet, I am not sure we will see many changes.
What parents can do to help their children move along and adapt more readily to any school environment is: join a play group or start one of your own, have a family fun night and play games, make crafts, cook together, read stories together, turn off the television, computer, video games and cell phones for a few hours and go back in time. You will certainly enjoy these treasured experiences and your early learner no matter what their level will learn from you and other friends and family members.
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