In public schools, good reading instruction for all children is imperative. Understandably, parents and teachers want to do the right thing to help children excel at reading and learning. On that point, we all agree. States are passing Science of Reading (SoR) legislation claiming it’s evidence-based instruction, settled science, to address what appear to be […]
Universal Pre-K? Good Idea But Concerns About the Curriculum
Most politicians, including presidential candidates, highlight Universal Pre-K (UPK). President Biden is no different. It’s good that the President is concerned about this issue, but the plan deserves scrutiny. Supporting families who need childcare assistance, no matter the child’s age, is critical. Offering UPK for children starting from age three may bring children together, and […]
It’s Wrong to Force Four and Five Year Olds to Read! Focus on Speaking and Listening Instead!
With No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and Common Core State Standards, some adults have been led to believe that four- and five-year-old children should read by the end of kindergarten. Preschoolers are pushed to be ready for formal reading instruction by the time they enter kindergarten. This is a dangerous idea rooted […]
11 Problems Facing Students as They Return to School
If you support our students, the next generation, and a democratic public education system that we all own, it’s tough to watch the changes corporate reformers have caused in schools. They’re not the ideas that most parents and teachers support, so we wonder why they’re implemented. Most of the problems that exist in public schools […]
Demand that Kindergarten Be a Happy Time and Place: A “Garden for Children!”
Welcome to kindergarten! This is the year children are introduced to school. It should be a happy time and place so children will move forward enjoying school. A few years back we learned through a University of Virginia study that kindergarten was the new first grade. Five-year-old children face unjustifiable, draconian reforms that push them […]