Written by Rachel Arnold
Like it or not, we live in a world where graduation requirements have been raised, where academic content has been pushed downward, and where teachers are expected to cover more advanced material in developmentally appropriate ways. No amount of complaining about push-down academics and bemoaning the influence of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will change that reality. Our question should not be “Can play and push-down academics co-exist in the kindergarten classroom?” Rather the question should be “How can we as teachers ensure that play and push-down academics co-exist in the kindergarten classroom?”
Let’s be honest – it’s absolutely amazing what students are able to learn in the kindergarten classrooms of today. As I sit in on a kindergarten math lesson, I observe students discovering multiple addends for 10, solving mental math problems, and working basic addition facts – and it’s only two months into the school year. When I notice that their curriculum is aligned with the CCSS, I’m not surprised. After all, the CCSS are geared at preparing students “to enter a world in which colleges and businesses are demanding more than ever before” (“Frequently Asked Question,” n.d., p. 4). Clearly, the students in this classroom are off to a great start when it comes to attaining internationally benchmarked standards that will allow them to “collaborate and compete with their peers in the United States and abroad” (“Frequently Asked Questions,” n.d., p. 1).
However, I’m not completely immune to the frustration kindergarten teachers experience when trying to implement a curriculum influenced by the push-down academics trend. As I sit in on another kindergarten math lesson a few days later, I observe the blank stares on students’ faces as they examine the first question on the math test in front of them – the question that assumes they can read numbers in their written form. I see the disappointment when children are told that they must draw circles or triangles to represent the number five – it takes too long to draw dinosaurs with spots or family members with hair and glasses. I notice the kindergarteners’ frustration when they are not allowed to use the counters or linking cubes for building airplanes or creating smiley faces – these manipulatives are for carrying out assignments, not for exploration.
I understand why kindergarten teachers might agree with Miller and Almon’s (2009) warning that “Kindergarteners are now under great pressure to meet inappropriate expectations, including academic standards that until recently were reserved for first grade” (p. 43). I empathize with kindergarten teachers who believe that the 40 minutes of teacher-directed instruction and the 4 pages of practice items prescribed by their CCSS-aligned curriculums prevent their students from learning naturally through play and exploration (Winter & Kelley, 2008). I appreciate kindergarten teachers’ legitimate concern that the deprioritization of play within their classrooms is preventing students from developing the social and emotional skills they will need for success later on in school and in life (Bilmes, 2012; Bodrova & Leong, 2003).
However, those misgivings don’t excuse kindergarten teachers from the responsibility of meeting raised academic expectations while still dedicating time to developing mature play. Thankfully, early childhood researchers Miller & Almon (2009) offer guidance on how to integrate play and push-down academics within the classroom environment. They propose a balanced approach to kindergarten instruction: “In a healthy kindergarten, play does not mean ‘anything goes.’ Nor is play so tightly structured by adults that children are denied the opportunity to learn through their own initiative and exploration. Kindergartners need a balance of child-initiated play in the presence of engaged teachers and more focused experiential learning guided by teachers” (p. 44).
Achieving the co-existence of play and push-down academics within the kindergarten classroom will not be an easy task. However, it is the task that has been set before us. May the Lord grant our kindergarten teachers perseverance in their efforts to that end.
Rachel Arnold (’04) currently serves as the Special Education Coordinator at Bethlehem Lutheran School in Menomonee Falls and Germantown, WI.
References
Bilmes, J. (2012). Beyond Behavior Management: The Six Life Skills Children Need (Second Edition). St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
Bodrova, E., & Leong, D. J. (2003). The importance of being playful. Educational Leadership, 60(7), 50-53. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.emil.mlc-wels.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9513b574-5a40-438b-8d2f-7faba69cb136%40sessionmgr4003&vid=2&hid=4111
Frequently Asked Questions. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/FAQs.pdf
Miller, E., & Almon, J. (2009). Crisis in the kindergarten: why children need to play in school. Education Digest, (1), 42. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.emil.mlc-wels.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=4c3bbb70-7c54-4478-8ce7-0631e3921ec5%40sessionmgr4001&vid=2&hid=4111
Winter, S. M., & Kelley, M. F. (2008). Forty Years of School Readiness Research: What Have We Learned?. Childhood Education, 84(5), 260-266. doi: 10.1080/00094056.2008.10523022
Thank you for your article; I think your conclusion that a balanced approach is a great one. Now…to implement it. Right out of college I had experiences in both Reggio Emilia and Montessori Preschools. Last year I taught 5th grade; at that level, the Common Core standards read much like Virginia’s and Minnesota’s. However, this year, I am teaching Kindergarten. I think preschool/ kindergarten will be the real battlefield in education within the next decade. Brain research, politics, and the economy are driving some really crazy Educational Policies (did you know that to get a Master’s in Educational Policy you don’t have to have any child psychology or educational background? Economics and Political Science are the name of the game. So scary….) Often times I feel some of my lessons are identical to the lessons I taught for 3 year olds because some preschools drill and kill numbers and the alphabet to the point that their exposure to real world things/ vocabulary is so limited. Other times, I feel I can give some students 1st grade homework sheets because they really are quite advanced….but are they really? Over half of my students turned 5 ~after~ the school year started. Advancement could just mean a few months of experience…on earth…. Government is trying to regulate preschools/ head start. When I suggested designing centers in my classroom the very real question was and is…when will those centers be utilized in the schedule? I am a huge proponent of guided discovery; it is a lot of work. However, when following curriculum and state standards and a school that is very “academically focused” I wonder how that really looks in implementation that will be accepted by both parents and staff and myself. Are we doing a disservice to our children who are sitting quietly in class for many hours or should we be getting down and dirty outside everyday? If I learned anything from European styles of education was this: there is far more greater ways to develop fine motor skills than pencil and paper.
Random thoughts in random order on an important topic raised by Rachel Arnold:
When our oldest child experienced kindergarten, I as parent could rightly assume that the major goal of that year was to stay within the lines when coloring. Without doubt, as Arnold states, children of five can learn much more than that. Still, was there ever a time when kindergarten was not a combination of academics and play? The question is, “What is the wholesome balance?” There is mounting evidence that push-down academics under Common Core is causing emotional and psychological damage to our little ones. Just because we CAN teach it, and just because some CAN learn it, does not necessarily mean kindergarten teachers should be resigned compliance with a current fad. Google Dr. Gary Thompson/Common Core. Thompson is a child psychologist with much to say on the topic.
It’s strange, also, that complex math has entered kindergarten, but, according to Dr. James Milgram (Stanford mathematician), by eighth grade children under Common Core will be a year or two behind where they should be in math, and will be unprepared to engage in high school STEM programs. Milgram served on the Common Core Validation Committee, but refused to sign off on the standards.
The standards are promoted as “internationally benchmarked,” Arnold notes. Dr. Sandra Stotsky (Professor Emerita of Education Reform University of Arkansas, and also a member of the Common Core Validation Committee) repeatedly requested that the Common Core author team supply evidence that the standards were internationally benchmarked. Her request was repeatedly ignored. She also refused to sign off on the standards.
As an aside, it must also be said that the CCSS are an federal intrusion into education, forbidden the Constitution and several federal laws.Our founders had sound reason for leaving education to the states and localities. We ignore that sound advice at our and our children’s peril.
Completely and totally agreed. Common Core is a terrible plan for all students, and it’s dumbing down our children even more. WELS had much higher standards before adopting Common Core. Kick it back out to the curb where it belongs.
Ron (and anyone else), if you’re on Facebook, there is a growing group of parents and concerned members who are talking about how we can get CCSS back out of our schools. The group is called WELS/ELS Members Against Common Core. We’d love to have your added thoughts and opinions!
I appreciate your article on finding a balance between play and academics. I pray that our Lutheran kindergarten teachers will realize the need for play for students at such an early age and will find ways to reach the academic standards through exploration and play without feeling the obligated to force these young children to have to sit at a desk and perform “academic work” all day.
Kindergarteners should not be forced by “academic push-back” or standards to become students that sit in desks and work through worksheets. They are not ready for that and learn best by exploring and playing, and should receive plenty of time for play and exploration as referenced in these articles: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/the-joyful-illiterate-kindergartners-of-finland/408325/
http://www.edcentral.org/kinder-commoncore/
Just because the Common Core prescribes a list of standards, that doesn’t mean that it has to be done through a prescribed amount of teacher-directed instruction followed by worksheets and assessments to see if students are meeting the standards.
Well-trained early-childhood educators will find ways to blend play with learning so that students are meeting the standards set up in the Common Core. Good kindergarten teaching doesn’t change just because the Common Core has set up standards to be met. Good teachers will continue to do what they always have done as they seek to find ways to teach some the required content through various activities.
Below is an overview of the Kindergarten math standards listed in the Common Core. Read through them and see how a good kindergarten teacher could easily meet these through playful activities and circles instead of sitting at a desk working through a written test. Good kindergarten teachers know that play is important and will find times for it, along with teaching the necessary skills.
Grade K Overview from http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/K/introduction/
Counting and Cardinality
Know number names and the count sequence.
Count to tell the number of objects.
Compare numbers.
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from.
Number and Operations in Base Ten
Work with numbers 11-19 to gain foundations for place value.
Measurement and Data
Describe and compare measurable attributes.
Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category
Geometry
Identify and describe shapes.
Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes.
I am not a huge fan of some of the pieces of Common Core, but I am also very reluctant to embrace the term “push-down academics.” The primary reason that Kindergarten curriculums have changed is the result of brain research. We know more than ever how very much children are capable of and how much growth happens during the amazing first five years of life. It is also research proven that children learn best through purposeful play. Perhaps the best thing we can do for our Kindergarteners is to support their parents in their role of first and foremost teacher years before these dear ones step foot into a classroom!
Melissa, you echo my sentiments exactly! We need to be very wary of Common Core. Supporting parents is an excellent way to encourage little ones in their growth and development!
Thank you, Melissa. Instead of spending our time trying to perfect a child’s experience in a questionably useful man made system, let us, as Christians, look to the Lord and the system he set up -the family- to give our children the best we can.