Transitional Kindergarten Legislation
R. Ann Whitehead, M.A. Educational Psychology
We know the legislatures changed the birth date for kindergarten entrance from December 2nd to September 2nd. The change is to occur over three years, beginning in November of 2012, then October of 2013 so that by 2014, all children will have to be five by September 2nd. The legislature also mandated that transitional kindergarten programs be offered to children whose birthdates fall between December 2nd and September 2nd.
Why did the legislature take transitional kindergarten away from the field of early childhood education where it has been for the last thirty years?
Legislators told us they assumed that transitional kindergarten would be provided by those in the early childhood care and education. However, The powerful Kindergarten Teachers Association lobbied them to demand that the public schools would be mandated to provide transitional kindergarten programs. This was done not for what is best for children but in order to maintain jobs for kindergarten teachers. Although the mandate is to begin in 2012 many public schools are quickly gearing up to provide these programs next fall.
Why is developmentally appropriate curriculum important?
Developmentally appropriate requires that teachers tailor the curriculum to the developmental level of the group. It also requires hands-on learning which allows children to problem solve, hone their skills and begin to understand the world around them. It allows children to:
- – manipulate counters and other objects to understand various math concepts,
- – create simple science experiments for hypothesizing and discovery,
- – problem solve using a variety of open-ended materials,
- – use dramatic play as a way to learn how to interact with others, explore family relationships and to deal with stressful situations within their lives,
- – have many opportunities to use their creativity to express their unique visions and their personal views of the world
Why public schools cannot provide developmentally appropriate curriculum.
Public school transitional kindergarten will have the same teachers and ratios (1 teacher to 24 to 30 children) and in the end be only watered down versions of kindergarten. Having children sit at desks and do dittos and other paperwork bores them or can create stress in youngsters when they cannot be successful. Instead of increasing their academic success, many of these students will become discouraged or resistant in their future schools years.
The basic idea of changing the age requirement to September was to insure children were mature enough to meet the demands of the elementary school curriculum. Many public schools insist their programs will be developmentally appropriate. But, experts agree the public schools do not have the financial resources to implement genuine developmentally appropriate programs.
