History is not kind to idlers.
~The Reagan administration’s A Nation at Risk (1983, p.7)
In What Happened to Recess and Why are our Children Struggling in Kindergarten, Susan Ohanian writes about a kindergartner in a New York Times article who tells the reporter they would like to sit on the grass and look for ladybugs. Ohanian writes, the child’s school was built very deliberately without a playground. Lollygagging over ladybugs is not permitted for children being trained for the global economy (2002, p.2).
America recently marked forty years since the Reagan administration’s A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform which blamed schools as being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people.
Berliner and Biddle dispute this in The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America’s Public Schools. They state that most of these claims were said to reflect “evidence,” although the “evidence” in question either was not presented or appeared in the form of simplistic, misleading generalizations (1995, p. 3).
Still, the report’s premise, that public schools failed, leading us down the workforce path of doom, continues to be perpetuated. When students fail tests, teachers and public schools are blamed, yet few care to examine the obscene expectations placed on the backs of children since A Nation at Risk.
Education Secretary Cardona recently went on a bus tour with the message to Raise the Bar in schools. Raising the bar is defined as setting a high standard, to raise expectations, to set higher goals.
He announced a new U.S. Department of Education program, Kindergarten Sturdy Bridge Learning Community.
This is through New America, whose funders include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Waltons, and others who want to privatize public education. Here’s the video, Kindergarten as a “Sturdy Bridge”: Place-Based Investments, describing the plan focusing on PreK to 3rd grade. This involves Reading by 3rd and the Campaign for Grade Level Reading.
Cardona says in the announcement:
Getting kindergarten right has to be top of mind for all of us, because what happens there sets the stage for how a child learns and develops well into their elementary years and beyond.
Ensuring that kindergarten is a sturdy bridge between the early years and early grades is central to our efforts both to Raise the Bar for academic excellence and to provide all students with a more equitable foundation for educational success. The kindergarten year presents an opportunity to meet the strengths and needs of young learners so they can continue to flourish in the years to come.
Raise the bar? Kindergarten is already the new first grade. What will it be now? Second? Third? Fourth? What’s the rush? How is this developmentally sound? One thing is for sure: there will still be no idle time for children to search for ladybugs.
Few bear the brunt of A Nation at Risk, as do early learners whose schools have been invaded by corporate schemes to force reading and advanced learning earlier than ever expected in the past.
If kindergartners aren’t doing well after all these years of toughness, higher expectations, and an excruciating number of assessments, wouldn’t it seem time to back off, instead of raising the bar higher?
Corporations have been given cart blanche to enter public schools for the last forty years, and most school problems can be traced back to that report.
Charters, vouchers, educational savings accounts help drive parents to private schools, in part because of A Nation at Risk too.
All laws and education policies have been created with A Nation at Risk in mind: No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and Every Student Succeeds Act are examples of this push to make students jump through higher academic hoops for the economy.
Who’s questioning whether kindergarten changes, making it the new first grade (and higher), are appropriate or will scar children who start school unable to keep up because they’re… kindergartners?
We’ve dealt with this fakery by both political parties for forty years, with Education Secretaries DeVos, King, Duncan, Spellings, Bennett, etc.
Where’s Education Secretary Cardona?
Every student should have access to an education that aligns with industry demands and evolves to meet the demands of tomorrow’s global workforce.
— Secretary Miguel Cardona (@SecCardona) December 16, 2022
And today. This sounds eerily similar.
Raising the bar for students means investing in their futures & ensuring EVERY student has a path to reach their full potential.
That’s why @USEDGov is ensuring all students have the tools they need to achieve their dreams.
— Secretary Miguel Cardona (@SecCardona) September 7, 2023
Cardona talks about Raising the Bar a lot, and alignment too, and equity, which is recycled closing the gap talk, or accelerating, implying that education has been lacking and to improve it has got to get tougher.
It all loops back to A Nation at Risk.
Kindergarten has never been so high pressured, even after Covid, and it has been this way for years despite little proof children are born with evolved brains requiring faster instruction so they can grow up and beat their peers in other countries.
How must children feel while being made to carry the weight of the future economy, and if they don’t enter first grade learner ready, they could be marked for life!
And corporate remaking of kindergarten thus far, over forty years, with all its pressure, hasn’t produced a good enough child, or adult, for those who still worship A Nation at Risk.
Students still don’t read well or fast enough for them, and if they aren’t mastering the terrible high-stakes standards the corporatists created and put in place, they’re seen as failing.
Early child development be damned! A Nation at Risk does this. It opened the door not only for corporate prep, but profit as well, and to ending public education.
Yet, if anything is to remain sacred in our public schools, it should be education for our youngest learners.
There are real risks, to be sure. But they are the risks directly resulting from this terrible report. Ironically, Cardona also highlights children’s mental health, failing to connect those problems to school pressures.
If Cardona wanted to be productive, he’d highlight recess and ask to see how much art and music children get in their schools.
He’d check out crummy buildings and ensure the HVAC systems are working before the flu and the new COVID variants appear in classrooms.
And he’d gather information about the continuing frustration concerning so much high-stakes testing, an issue his boss once stated would end.
Cardona could brush up on child development and help make kindergarten KINDERGARTEN again!
Then, he’d move to undo the damage A Nation at Risk has done to older grades.
He could talk with Annie Abrams about her book, Shortchanged: How Advanced Placement Cheats Students, because maybe high school students don’t need to do college.
A Nation at Risk hurt us. It put America on the road to destroying the most democratic institution we own. It demeaned those who do the difficult job of teaching and has treated our children punitively. America’s children. How sad for kindergarteners. How sad for us all.
Reference
Ohanian, S. (2002). What Happened to Recess and Why are our Children Struggling in Kindergarten? New York: McGraw-Hill.
Berliner, D.C. and Biddle, B.J. (1995). The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America’s Public Schools. New York: Perseus Books.
Kathleen Kesson says
Great to hear a mention of Susan O’hanian. Her books are gems and should be widely read. Thank you for bringing these facts to public attention. The maltreatment of young children continues apace with inappropriate expectations and mandates in our pre-schools and kindergartens.
Nancy Bailey says
Thanks, Kathleen. Yes! All of Susan’s books are worth a read and her teacher classroom practitioner books are good too!
Lauren Coodley says
Another massive disappointment in the choice of Cardona as education secretary. I children are being hurt as this BS continues.
Nancy Bailey says
I’m afraid so, Lauren. They all seem to follow the same playbook.
Rick Charvet says
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
― Ferris Bueller
When I was teaching, I would often sing to the kids, “Slow down, you move too fast. You got to make the morning last. Feeling groovy…” Meaning, “People, what’s the hurry?” In the last two years I worked in the Community College of California system as a Career Technical Education coordinator. The push was dual enrollment. And not only for high schools students, but as far down as elementary school. This “race to nowhere” has always bothered me. There is a reason why students attend college at a certain age; there is a reason insurance companies deem people adults at the age of 25 — the brain is still forming; the Myelination still happening. I could totally relate to the child wanted to “look for ladybugs” in the grass. That’s what kids do. Heck, that’s what I do. Then if I am not careful, as Maya Angelou wrote, “Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. We need hours of aimless wandering or spates of time sitting on park benches, observing the mysterious world of ants and the canopy of treetops.” Our minds need a “break.” And, they need a break to absorb and internalize the world around us: to learn. To this day, I am curious about everything. My wife often asks, “How do you know how to do that?” I didn’t start out as a teacher as I was supposed to be an “Ad Man” writing copy for the biggest firms. Yeah, didn’t work out. Instead, someone told me, “You would make a good teacher because of the way you explain things.” I never thought of that. And now here I am with experiences to share like a movie I recorded over 30 plus years in the tumultuous public education sector. Now, as I have time to reflect, I really did “teach” to the entire gamut of school kids. From kinder to college; poetry and the arts; science and physical education — you name it, if I was qualified to teach it, I did. And, I never went through the motions. In fact, someone called me a “Thorough Thoreau.” But, as always, with Charvet, there is always a story because I like to explain the “Why’s and How’s” without being rushed. As Paul Harvey would say, “Now it’s time for the rest of the story.” When I was in kinder, we had AM and PM sessions in an old-fashioned one room building. We had sand outside to play marbles. We went to school to get us socially acclimated and away from “mom” for the first time. We had milk and graham crackers, painting with giant brushes and large white papers on easels, ABCs and whatnot. Lots of play time and daydreaming. And, of course, nap time on our canvas mats. We stored our things in little “cubbies” and then waited for mom to walk us home later in the day. When my son went to school in the early ’90s, thank God for Ms. Marfia (RIP). She was an exemplar Kinder teacher. She knew cognitive learning development and always reminded us, “Your son is right on track.” My wife became concerned because my son’s friend went to a Parochial school where the. kids were being fast-tracked into reading and writing. “He is going to be behind!” she would say. I asked Ms. Marfia about this, “He is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing. It would be waste of time to force that [reading/writing] on him right now. Next year, you will see how quickly he picks up reading because his brain is reading for it.” So, he proceeded to learn “how things worked” away from home; learned to listen; learned to get ready for story time; learned his numbers and colors and all the “natural learning a kinder should learn” to prepare him for his lifelong educational journey. Just so you know, he went on to earn a Masters in Musical Performance, is an avid reader and excellent writer and graduated from both high school and college with 4.0 GPA. His counterpart who was “rushed into reading” did not make it to college and never excelled in reading or writing (mind you, this is our experience). Since teaching never paid a living wage, I often had two or three extra jobs and one was tutoring. I knew plenty of kindergarten teachers. I tutored two kinder students. I knew their teacher. Right away, one student could read her sight words off the board and actively use phonemic awareness to sound them out if necessary. The other student had no clue. All I remember is no matter what I would ask them, the word was “pink.” We practiced making the air come out of our mouths correctly and feeling it on our hands. We used a lot of strategies. I talked to his teacher and she said, “I told the parents it was not a good idea to have him start kinder at the age of 4, but they insisted since his birthday fell within the realm of enrollment, they wanted him in class. Yes, as you can tell, he struggles. He is behind cognitively. Oh, and the other student, she is right on track. She is excelling, but she is also a year older.” In fact, (since I taught GATE — Gifted and Talented Education –) I knew the characteristics of a GATE student). I offered my suggestions for her child to be tested when she was of age. And, as always, at least they could explore that option. More importantly, if they qualified in later years, they would also be qualified for honors classes. Just options (my sons both qualified for GATE, but we did not have them participate, but were entitled to these services if wanted). The one thing I learned with highly intelligent children is they get bored quickly. In fact, if I had a GATE student in one of my classes (before pull-out programs), I had to make sure I had “above and beyond” the normal curriculum (more in-depth projects) for the child each week. I always believed “less is more” but often was told, “You will never get through the book at your pace!” When I tutored struggling students and asked why they were not succeeding they would say, “I would just get the concept. I mean for the first time got it. Then it was time to move on to the next thing. And the next thing. It became overwhelming and I just gave up. It was too confusing.” The point is: why can’t we “let them grow” and discover? Take time to smell the roses. Watch those ants march along and figure out how they all work together so well. There will be plenty of time for all the stuff we are supposed to know, but to rush it doesn’t “teach our children well.” Now you know the rest of the story. Peace out.
Nancy Bailey says
Thanks, Rick. Your comments are rich and wonderfully full of hopeful thoughts and ideas. Thank you so much for sharing. I especially love to hear about your school experiences and those of your children.
Rick Charvet says
I might add, when I was studying with The California Arts Project (TCAP) at Oakland’s Mill’s College, I had the opportunity to see a wonderful art gallery filled with young people’s artwork. I did not know their ages. It was fascinating. I later learned they were kinder students. The approach was taught through Reggio Emilia. It is well worth the peruse. Enjoy. https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach/
Rick Charvet says
And I love this scene from Uncle Buck — https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=uncle+buck+goes+to+school
Carrie says
We know that there is nothing new in education, that all the “new and improved” things are recycled. Even Nation at Risk is a recycled version of William Bagley’s “An Essentialist Platform for the Advancement of American Education,” 1983. If anyone needs a copy, I can send it to you. I doubt if it made as big a splash as Nation at Risk, though. Our whole history of US education is filled with this and all its cousins.
Why does this keep coming back? (or why has it never left?) Corporate profit? Beating all the other countries? American exceptionalism? Fear of missing out? Materialism? Corruption? Stubborn, prideful refusal to listen to child development experts (who are mostly women)? Failure to value childhood and children? Preservation of power?
I think the answer is All of the Above. Maybe I’m too cynical, but this may be a problem of human nature, emboldened by an environment of competitive markets and fueled by anxieties. We are not being our best selves, and kindergartners will not be their best selves either.
I need to stop–getting too wound up.
Nancy Bailey says
Thanks, Carrie. Everyone has ideas about how schools and teacher preparation programs should run, right? Thanks for reminding us of Bagley, and hang in there. You’re in good company when it comes to the wound-up folks.
Duane Edward Swacker says
“How must children feel while being made to carry the weight of the future economy, and if they don’t enter first grade learner ready, they could be marked for life!”
Noel Wilson discusses this labelling of children in his essay review of the standards and testing malpractice regime bilble: American Educational Research Association; American Psychological Association; National Council on Measurement in Education. (2002). “Standards for educational and psychological testing.”
“To the extent that these categorisations are accurate or valid at an individual level, these decisions may be both ethically acceptable to the decision makers, and rationally and emotionally acceptable to the test takers and their advocates. They accept the judgments of their society regarding their mental or emotional capabilities. But to the extent that such categorisations are invalid, they must be deemed unacceptable to all concerned.
Further, to the extent that this invalidity is hidden or denied, they are all involved in a culture of symbolic violence. This is violence related to the meaning of the categorisation event where, firstly, the real source of violation, the state or educational institution that controls the meanings of the categorisations, are disguised, and the authority appears to come from another source, in this case from professional opinion backed by scientific research. If you do not believe this, then consider that no matter how high the status of an educator, his voice is unheard unless he belongs to the relevant institution.
And finally a symbolically violent event is one in which what is manifestly unjust is asserted to be fair and just. In the case of testing, where massive errors and thus miscategorisations are suppressed, scores and categorisations are given with no hint of their large invalidity components. It is significant that in the chapter on Rights and responsibilities of test users, considerable attention is given to the responsibility of the test taker not to cheat. Fair enough. But where is the balancing responsibility of the test user not to cheat, not to pretend that a test event has accuracy vastly exceeding technical or social reality? Indeed where is the indication to the test taker of any inaccuracy at all, except possibly arithmetic additions?
A Little Less than Valid: An Essay Review
http://edrev.asu.edu/index.php/ER/article/view/1372/43
Nancy Bailey says
This is great, Duane. Thank you! I wonder about tests all the time and whether they’re developmentally appropriate. I look forward to reading this.
Phyllis Doerr says
Couldn’t be more depressing. Everything is going in exactly the opposite direction that it should be.. What we are doing to our children is devastating and abusive. How is it parents don’t know better and fight this fight? Don’t instinct and observation tell them something here?
Obviously educational leadership is not knowledgeable or trustworthy when it comes to our kids. So why don’t parents jump in? Perplexing.
Nancy Bailey says
It’s baffling, Phyllis. I think over the years parents have been led to believe their children must master the standards or they’ll be behind.
LisaM says
It’s no wonder that the private and parochial schools are filling up and that parents want vouchers to pay for it. People really don’t like their children abused by a system that is supported by fed/state/county tax dollars. Over the past 2-3 years as I walk in my local state park, there are more and more school aged children with parents doing “lessons” at the river’s edge and playing on the playground equipment during school hours…..home schooling, pod schooling and un schooling are becoming the norm for parents unable or unwilling to pay for private schooling. Something’s got to change or public school will only be for the “poor” kids instead of for everyone.
Nancy Bailey says
There’s much truth to this. I know parents who want to send their children to public schools, but the changes made to the school are so punitive they won’t do it. Who can blame them? And that’s exactly what those who want to privatize public ed. want.
Thanks, Lisa.
Rick says
The Next Generation Science Standards have been adopted (directly or indirectly) by44 states. Here are the kindergarten standards for 5-year-old children:
Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object.
Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull.
Make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth’s surface.
Use tools and materials to design and build a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area.
Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.
Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs.
Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.
Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather.
Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.
Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.
Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.
Nancy Bailey says
Unbelievable! Here they are. Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Rick.
https://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/default/files/K%20combined%20DCI%20standardsf.pdf
Rick Charvet says
Just for grins, well, because I tell a lot of stories “from the trenches” but…
When I first started out teaching third grade, we had a science and music specialist. We had a schedule so they could make it to all the grades, but each class got a music specialist come and expose the children to music. In fact, we had a Christmas assembly, and I wrote a parody to “The Twelve Days of Christmas” based on “educational stuff.” The kids sang it at our local Elks Club. This was in the ’90s and we did a lot of hands-on learning. But, the little ones participated in a Discover/Descubrimiento science activities. They all wore lab coats (just like real scientists) and progressed through a series of experiments (these were all printed on cards in English and Spanish). Each grade level had the same cards, but allowed for the natural cognitive growth of the child. The experiments were nearly the same, but the way the students solved the experiments differed. I equated it to my “Charvet’s Red Ball.” When I was young, I played with the ball as it was bouncy. As I matured the ball became something different and the usage varied. When I attended college I thought, “If the ball could think, what was it pondering.” I think you get the gist of Descubrimiento. The kids had fun and none of it was forced, but based on natural inquiry. Thanks for allowing me to share.
Nancy Bailey says
I’m afraid schools are moving away from child or teacher created activities and now focus on micromanaged standardized objectives. It’s sad and likely children won’t learn as well. Thanks, Rick.
Paul Bonner says
The great, or not so great, paradox of this age of “deform” is that the high stakes standardized reading and math doctrine sets a very low bar. A kindergarten where kids get to play in the dirt, paint with big brushes on easels, make believe with others, and listen to teachers reading funny books actually engenders motivation for inquiry, critical thinking, and creative thought. All tools necessary to pursue advanced knowledge. Focusing on reading fluency for the purpose of following directions on an assembly line sells our children and society short.
Nancy Bailey says
This is true. I often wonder what skills children are missing due to being pushed to master age-inappropriate standards. We keep hearing that many students don’t like to read but don’t few connect their lacking early learning experiences. Thanks, Paul.
Rick says
What they’re missing isn’t a skill so much as a reason to like school: FUN!
I used to ask my students to raise their hand if their main goal in school was to do as little work as possible and then have as much fun as possible with their friends. Not surprising that every hand goes up in the air – with enthusiasm.
Draining the fun from the school experience is wrong-headed for many reasons, not the least of which, it allows teachers to face happy learners.
The best teachers make learning so interesting that seems like fun.
Nancy Bailey says
Thanks, Rick. I recently noted some pro-Science of Reading folks arguing along the lines that teachers shouldn’t need to make reading fun but to focus on skills. That kind of talk is worrisome.
Rick Charvet says
I was a day dreamer. I loved my PeeChee folder. I love my Sports Illustrated and I actually took the cover off and covered my spelling book. The teacher yelled at me for reading a magazine in class. “But…but…” I thought I was being creative while protecting my book. Doodling was wasting time. When the days got long and I wanted to play outside, drawing on my PeeChee folder and looking at my sports heroes kept me going. I believe Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” As Paul eloquently stated kindergarten is for building community, play, and painting with giant brushes on giant easels. Then napping while waiting for graham crackers and milk later. As an art teacher/creative I can attest to children’s natural inquiry being crushed; being afraid to take risk; and learning very quickly they “draw wrong.” It took me a long time to tell them, “It’s what you do. It is your original piece of art that nobody but you can make.” My adult colleague told me when she drew purple trees, the teacher said trees are not purple. She replied, “I drew them from my window at night.” Yes, the kids miss out on key processes that will make them critically thinking adults. This is a great story you might want to peruse. https://www.creativeacademic.uk/uploads/1/3/5/4/13542890/the_little_boy_story_and_alternative_endings.pdf
Nancy Bailey says
Thank you, Paul. This reminds me of my concern about the term “play-based learning” which I wrote a post about a while back.
There are certainly times when teachers teach and play-based often means to set the stage for play.
But there are also times when children need to have time for self-expression, even when they’re older. To figure out what play means. Children need to have time to think and to be creative on their own.
Rick Charvet says
Yes. I guess you could say my “art thesis” (when we went to art institutes via TCAP, The California Arts Project, we all had to teach a very in-depth art lesson to a multitude of teachers from across California. My thesis was “Fantasy as Play” going on to explain children need spates of time to “catch butterflies and ladybugs.” The connect was that when we allow are brains to be “free to learn” our thinking evolves. And, it is so much fun! This was at Santa Clara University. My project was based on Eric Carle collage art. I made the paper and then took my adult participates on a journey. With their eyes closed, I took them down a vivid trail to find their “Animal Spirit”. After they made the connection, that was the “Creature” they were to make with the collage paper and materials. One person said, “I liked my art so much I spent $300 to frame it.” My other colleague told me, “You know how you took us to the waterfall. Well, when I got there I saw the creature. Then it turned and looked at me.” As typical, I replied, “I did that?” Then it worked. Bottom line, learning is fun. I was fortunate to see many of the “Ah Hah” moments through many of the disciplines I taught. Not everything was easy, but we sure did laugh tremendously. I remember telling them, “No learning here! I am not going to teach you anything.” What I meant was they would learn through discovering their “artist within” and whatnot.
Roy Turrentine says
It has been awhile since I visited your site, Nancy. Too much carpentry since I retired from teaching. It is still a great place to go for understanding educational issues.
Nancy Bailey says
Thanks, Roy! Congratulations on your retirement. And welcome back!