Intermediate Composition
Tina Wright
October 23, 2011
Genre Analysis
When researching the topic of Kindergarten Readiness it was surprising to find out how well a child knew his ABC’s and 123’s comes in behind other factors such as if a child is able to care for his own needs, or is the child an enthusiastic learner. The websites babycenter.com and onetoughjob.org are both great websites for parents to visit and blog with each other about the questions of kindergarten readiness. There is also a website, kindergartenreadiness.net, which can be used by parents and teachers. This site is useful because it links the user to blogs, articles (newspaper and internet based), and other websites that provide information in a way that most people can understand. All three of these sites are user friendly for the average person. They each focus on the main issues of kindergarten readiness and the fact that social and emotional wellbeing are just as important, if not more so, than a child being able to write her name.
Information regarding how the early childhood professional views kindergarten readiness, however, is much harder to find and when you do locate it, understanding what they are saying can be brutal, even for someone who is in the field of early childhood education and concerned with helping children to become school ready. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is an organization for anyone who is interested in working with or on behalf of the young child age birth through eight years. You can visit their website at naeyc.org and go to Position Statements to find out where the NAEYC stands on many subjects involving the young child, this includes kindergarten readiness. Readers can find an abbreviated statement, called Where We Stand on subjects and these are much easier for the general public (and some educators) to understand. The NAEYC is a professional organization that invites families of young children to join because it is believed that everyone working together can make for a better future for young children. That is the reason that this site is one of the better when it comes to gathering information and putting it into layman’s terms. In the full journal article, “Behavioral and Cognitive Readiness for School: Cross-domain Associations for Children Attending Head Start” there is a lot of information that the average person would find tedious and boring. Even though it is very interesting and somewhat needed information for the early education professional, this is not an article that parents would find helpful unless it was summarized with main points only. This article is based on a study done on the behavioral and cognitive readiness for children set to enter kindergarten. They used the domains of classroom participation, prosocial behavior, and aggressive behavior and how these affect cognitive school readiness. The average age of the children in this study was 4.59 years old. What this study found was that children who had low classroom participation and behavior issues are likely to fall behind their peers cognitively.
Since so much of the parent websites and articles were based on the age a child should enter kindergarten it was very interesting that the NAEYC stands by their belief that kindergarten readiness is, somewhat, based on age. In the Position Statement on kindergarten readiness it is stated that at age five most children are capable and ready to learn within a formal school setting. In this Position Statement it is said, “NAEYC believes it is the responsibility of schools to meet the needs of children as they enter school and to provide whatever services needed to help each child reach his or her fullest potential.” (naeyc.org. Kindergarten Readiness Position Statement – Where We Stand). In a poll done on babycenter.com it was shown that out of 6835 participants 60% felt that age five was the best age to enter kindergarten, while only 16% believed age six is the best age and 21% agreed that children would be okay to enter kindergarten at age four (3% did not believe children should go to kindergarten at all). These findings, however, are not what are reflected on the blog posts. Most parents on the blogs seem to feel it is always better to send a child to kindergarten later, rather than sooner. Based on what was being said there is genuine concern among parents that children with later birthdays (June, July, August, September) are not socially ready to enter school. Another common belief reflected in the blogs is that not many parents have ever regretted sending their child to school later, but many have regretted sending them too soon.
The parent genres are the ones that evoke the most emotion when it comes to sending children to kindergarten ready to learn. I am sure this is because we are dealing with someone’s child and that in itself can bring up emotions. For the most part parents are the ones who know what is best for their children, but there are many out there who feel they need advice on everything from how to deal with a runny nose to sending them to school at the proper time. From a professional standpoint the emotions brought out are from those who may disagree on how children learn and the best practices when it comes to teaching. These emotions can run high when you are a teacher that truly wants to use the most recent information on child development and how children learn in a setting with those who prefer to use the “old school” ways of doing things. Meeting somewhere in the middle is a great compromise.
No matter which side of the argument you are on, when it comes to kindergarten readiness looking at all of the facts and assessing each child individually is what is most important. Also, keeping in mind that just because a child does not seem academically ready does not mean they cannot do well in kindergarten. In a video from “Mind in the Making – Learning Modules for Early Childhood Teachers,” Dr. Jack P. Shonkoff has this to say, “School readiness and school success are dependent on intellectual competence and emotional and social health. They are not separate in any given child. The smartest kid who is in emotional turmoil will not be an effective learner in school.” That sums it all up. If your child is able to control themselves socially and emotionally all of the rest will fall into place at the proper time.
References.
Babycenter.com. (Search kindergarten readiness for articles and blogs.)
Bierman, K.L., Torres, M.M., Dimitrovich, C.E., Welsh, J.A., & Gest, S.D. (2009). Behavioral and Cognitive Readiness for School: Cross-domain Associations for Children Attending Head Start. Social Development, 18(2), 305-323. Doi:10.1111/sode.2009.18issue-2
Kindergartenreadiness.net.
Naeyc.org. Position Statements. (Search kindergarten readiness.)
Onetoughjob.org. (Search kindergarten readiness.)
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