The Gesell Institute of Child Development is known as the oldest voice in child development on our country and they are deeply concerned about the Common Core’s affect on young children. In fact, this week the Executive Director Marcy Guddemi wrote specifically about young boys:
“Kindergarten is such an important time in the academic career of the child. In Kindergarten, children first learn what school is all about. School requires new rules, new expectations, new routines, new materials, and much more independence. The ratio of adults to children has changed. The number of children in the classroom has also changed. A mother told me just recently that her Kindergarten child was in a room with 31 children and one teacher. Kindergarten, however, teaches the skills which are the foundation for future academic learning. Kindergarten also shapes the attitude that a child has about school and about him/herself as a learner.
So, with mounting new evidence that girls differ from boys both developmentally and academically at Kindergarten entrance, the fact that the chronological age range of children entering Kindergarten can be anywhere from 4 ½ years to 6, and with what we know about how children learn and development, the Kindergarten Common Core State Standards need to be reexamined—not only or especially for boys but for all children. Achievable standards empower students and teachers, but developmentally inappropriate ones discriminate against and destroy the social and emotional development of Kindergarten students.”
Read the full post here.
“Kindergarten is such an important time in the academic career of the child. In Kindergarten, children first learn what school is all about. School requires new rules, new expectations, new routines, new materials, and much more independence. The ratio of adults to children has changed. The number of children in the classroom has also changed. A mother told me just recently that her Kindergarten child was in a room with 31 children and one teacher. Kindergarten, however, teaches the skills which are the foundation for future academic learning. Kindergarten also shapes the attitude that a child has about school and about him/herself as a learner.
So, with mounting new evidence that girls differ from boys both developmentally and academically at Kindergarten entrance, the fact that the chronological age range of children entering Kindergarten can be anywhere from 4 ½ years to 6, and with what we know about how children learn and development, the Kindergarten Common Core State Standards need to be reexamined—not only or especially for boys but for all children. Achievable standards empower students and teachers, but developmentally inappropriate ones discriminate against and destroy the social and emotional development of Kindergarten students.”
Read the full post here.
