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Kindergarten Playtime Disappears, Raising Alarm on Children’s...

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Saved by 7 people (0 private), first by anonymouse user on 2009-05-22


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the use of most such tests with children under age eight is scientifically invalid

Highlighted by icmcwaffle

In many kindergarten classrooms there is no playtime at all. Teachers say the curriculum does not incorporate play, there isn’t time for it, and many school administrators do not value it.

Highlighted by ransomtech

the curriculum does not incorporate play, there isn’t time for it, and many school administrators do not value it

Highlighted by icmcwaffle

“These practices, which are not well grounded in research, violate long-established principles of child development and good teaching,”

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“It is increasingly clear that they are compromising both children’s health and their long-term prospects for success in school.”

Highlighted by karenkkoehn

children who engage in complex socio-dramatic play develop higher levels of thinking, stronger language skills, better social skills, more empathy, and more imagination than children who do not play in this way.

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“We have had a politically and commercially driven effort to make kindergarten a one-size-smaller first grade. Why in the world are we trying to teach the elementary curriculum at the early childhood level?”

Highlighted by ransomtech

The authors of Crisis in the Kindergarten, Alliance directors Edward Miller and Joan Almon, argue that the disappearance of kindergarten play is part of a larger societal problem. “Play is one of the vital signs of health in children,” they write. “We do not know the long-term consequences of the loss of play in early childhood, but this has become a concern for pediatricians and psychologists.”

They report evidence of significant increases in behavioral problems and school failure among kindergartners. They question unrealistic standards that are developmentally beyond many young children, forcing teachers to spend long hours trying to meet them, and leading to the wrongful labeling of normal child behavior and learning patterns as “misbehavior, attention disorders, or learning disabilities.”

Highlighted by willrich

Finnish children similarly have a lengthy and playful childhood, not beginning formal schooling until age 7. Yet Finland consistently gets the highest scores on international exams.

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Crisis in the Kindergarten describes the current state of public kindergartens in the U.S. as “a national disgrace.”

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six recommendations for education policymakers, school administrators, teachers, and parents

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